Tramonto feels the heat on 'Top Chef Masters'

The Windy City's culinary prowess rears it head tonight as three of its top chefs enter the competition kitchen on Bravo's "Top Chef Masters."

"I enjoy the spirit of the show, the camaraderie or 'Kumbaya' as I call it, and the charity piece," said Season 2 contestant Rick Tramonto, Vernon Hills resident and co-founder of the award-winning Tru in Chicago.

At stake is $100,000 to the winning chef's charity of choice. Tramonto is slicing and sauteing for Feed the Children, an international program administered locally by Life Changers International Church in Hoffman Estates.

Tramonto is no stranger to television; he's competed on Food Network's "Iron Chef" and cooked alongside Julia Child on PBS. Yet he said he can't escape the pressure to "bring it home for Chicago." Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill in Chicago won the reality competition in 2009.

Tramonto doesn't appear on screen until the fourth episode (airing 9 p.m. April 28), in which he and the others update classic fare for the cast of "Modern Family."

Tonight's episode finds Spiaggia chef Tony Mantuano (a favorite chef of President Obama) faced with challenges to prepare Asian cuisine and create a romantic meal. Graham Elliot Bowles of Graham Elliot Restaurant hopes to redeem himself during the April 21 episode. The cutting-edge chef was cut early in season one.

During the first four episodes, different groups of chefs compete against each other; the two chefs with the highest star rating each week advance to the next round. The final six weeks whittle down the field until one chef is crowned "Top Chef Master."

The series premieres at 10 p.m. Wednesday, April 7; it airs 9 p.m. Wednesdays for the remainder of the season.