http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20081119/LIFE/811190313/1005Tune in to "Top Chef" tonight on Bravo and you will find four graduates of the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park.
The show kicked off last week with six people from the CIA, but two were eliminated after the first episode - Lauren Hope and Patrick Dunlea, a senior at the school.
Four graduates will continue to put their knowledge to the test for a chance to win $100,000 in seed money to help open a restaurant:
# Leah Cohen, Class of 2003, of Scarsdale, is a sous chef at Centro Vinoteca in New York City.
# Ariane Duarte, Class of 1988, of Verona, N.J., is chef/owner of CulinAriane in Montclair, N.J.
# Danny Gagnon, Class of 2002, of New Hyde Park, is executive chef at the Babylon Carriage House on Long Island.
# Jamie Lauren, Class of 2000, of New York City, is executive chef at Absinthe in San Francisco.
The eliminated graduate, Hope, Class of 2006, of Cincinnati, is a tournant, or relief chef, at Jag's Steak and Seafood in Cincinnati.
The eliminated student, Dunlea, Class of 2009, of Quincy, Mass., is pursuing his bachelor's degree in culinary arts management.
They are not the only CIA students who are making names for themselves in the celebrity food world.
CIA alumni were winners each of the first three seasons of "Top Chef." Harold Dieterle, Class of 1997, earned the first "Top Chef" title. Ilan Hall, Class of 2002, followed by winning the second season, and Hung Huynh, class of 2002, outlasted all challengers on the show's third season.
Students and graduates of the CIA have also been successful on other reality cooking shows as well.
Christina Machamer, class of 2008, won the most recent season of "Hell's Kitchen" on Fox network during her sophomore year in Hyde Park, and Heather West, Class of 2003, was the winner of that program's second season.Four of the eight finalists on "Next Iron Chef" on the Food Network last year were alumni, including winner Michael Symon, Class of 1990, and runner-up John Besh, Class of 1992.
