Watch Greek-American Chef George Pagonis from Washington, DC on the Premiere of Season 12 of Bravo's Emmy Winning Top Chef Beginning Wednesday October 15, 2014 at 10:00 PM ET!

About George Pagonis

Before opening Kapnos with Chef Mike Isabella in July 2013, Pagonis served as chef de cuisine at Graffiato. Prior to joining Graffiato, Chef George cooked at Aureole in New York under Christophe Bellanca and Marcus Ware. Before that, the fluent Greek-speaker worked at Jose Andres’ Zaytinya, where he first cooked under Mike Isabella. His first tour of duty in a fine dining kitchen was at New York’s Le Cirque. Chef George attended the University of Mary Washington and though he followed that up by earning a degree from the Culinary Institute of America, he first earned his kitchen stripes helping out at The Four Seasons Diner owned by his father in Alexandria, Virginia.

Follow George by liking his Facebook Fan Page or his page on BravoTV.com.

About This Episode:  Sudden Death
(Original Air Date:  10/15/2014 10:00 PM ET)

The wicked-awesome supersized season premiere introduces the 16 chefs from across the country who will be battling it out in Boston. Richard Blais (“Top Chef All-Stars” winner) joins Tom, Padma and Gail at judges table. The chef’testants are immediately thrown into hot water with the series’ first ever Sudden Death Quickfire Challenge where one chef is forced to cook for their life to stay in the competition. For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs must cook and serve a re-imagined version of the first dish they ever remember making, but will this trip down memory lane be a dream come true or a nightmare for the chefs? The challenge plays out at the first ever “Top Chef Food Festival” alongside some of Boston’s most prominent culinary stars including Barbara Lynch, Ming Tsai, Lydia Shire, Jasper White, Todd English, Ken Oringer, Jamie Bissonnette, Kristen Kish and Tiffani Faison.

About Top Chef Season 12

Bravo Media's Emmy and James Beard Award-winning series Top Chef will premiere its 12th season in Boston on Wednesday, October 15th at 10 pm ET/PT. Returning to the judges table for the new season in New England are head judge Tom Colicchio, judges Gail Simmons, Hugh Acheson, and host Padma Lakshmi. For the first time ever, a Top Chef winner is joining the judging panel. Richard Blais will make his debut as a recurring judge offering the cheftestants guidance from a chef and a former competitor's point of view.

This season features some of the franchise's "hungriest" chefs battling it out against the backdrop of Bean Town's flourishing culinary scene. The chefs will go knife-to-knife at iconic Boston locales including Fenway Park, Plimoth Plantation, and Cheers! Mirroring Boston's own rich history, Season 12 is full of firsts, including the first meal ever served on the field underneath the Green Monster, a challenge using only ingredients that would have been on hand at the first Thanksgiving meal, the first Top Chef food festival and the first fan appreciation challenge where fans of the show were invited to dine inside the Top Chef kitchen. The show will also feature a challenge highlighting Boston's finest from the police and fire departments.

Adding to the firsts for the series, the stakes are higher than ever as Top Chef introduces sudden death Quickfire challenges that will occur without warning throughout the season and a revamped judges table that puts every chef on the spot. The chefs will be tasked with serving up food for top entertainers, culinary stars and celebrity guest judges including: actress Emmy Rossum, Rob "Gronk" Gronkowski of the New England Patriots, MLB Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, actor George Wendt (Norm from Cheers), Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen, Todd English, Barbara Lynch, Jasper White, Ming Tsai, Jacques Pepin, Ken Oringer, and Jamie Bissonette.

The cheftestants will bring out their knives as they battle it out for $125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and the title of Top Chef.