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Well, that didn’t last long. Kapnos chef George Pagonis—D.C.’s sole contestant on season 12 of Top Chef—was asked to pack his knives and go on the first episode last night. So how did his short run stack up against other locals who’ve competed on the Bravo show? Here’s a roundup of all of the D.C. (or former D.C.) Top Chefs, what they’re doing now, and the number of episodes they lasted before getting kicked off.
Bryan Voltaggio
Current position: Executive chef and owner of Volt, Range, Aggio, Lunchbox, and Family Meal
Season: 6, Las Vegas
Episodes until kicked off: Runner-up
Carla Hall
Current position: Co-host of The Chew and working to open Carla Hall’s Southern Kitchen in New York and eventually D.C.
Season: 5, New York and 8, New York
Episodes until kicked off: Runner-up; 13
Spike Mendelsohn
Current position: Executive chef and owner of Good Stuff Eatery, We The Pizza, and Bearnaise
Season: 4, Chicago and 8, New York
Episodes until kicked off: 12; 4
Mike Isabella
Current position: Executive chef and owner of Graffiato, Kapnos, G, and soon Kapnos Taverna and Pepita
Season: 6, Las Vegas and 8, New York
Episodes until kicked off: 10; runner-up
Bart Vandaele
Current position: Executive chef and owner of B Too and Belga Cafe
Season: 10, Seattle
Episodes until kicked off: 8
Tamesha Warren
Current position: Chef of The Cliff in Barbados
Season: 7, Washington, D.C.
Episodes until kicked off: 6
Timothy Dean
Current position: Executive chef and owner of TD Burger
Season: 7, Washington, D.C.
Episodes until kicked off: 5
Emily Sprissler
Current position: Chef of a gastropub coming to Georgetown University tentatively called the Bulldog
Season: 2, Los Angeles
Episodes until kicked off: 3
Jeffrey Jew
Current position: Executive chef and partner in BellaBrava in St. Petersburg, Fla., with another restaurant on the way
Season: 10, Seattle
Episodes until kicked off: 2
Daniel O’Brien
Current position: Executive chef and owner of Seasonal Pantry with a new restaurant coming to Little Washington
Season: 10, Seattle
Episodes until kicked off: 1
Photo via Bravo