Stefan Richter

European chef, Stefan Richter, is a cheftestant on season five of Top Chef, in New York. Richter currently owns his own catering and consulting business, Stefan's European Catering, in California.

There was probably no one more shocked than Stefan Richter, when during the first half of the season finale he found himself on the chopping block to go home. After winning eight of the sixteen challenges presented throughout the show, Richter's confidence started to get the better of him, and judge Tom Colicchio called it into question, comparing that confidence to arrogance. Show Tracker: Too Close for Comfort, Stefan Edges Past Fabio Richter faces off against fellow competitors, Carla Hall and Hosea Rosenberg in the season finale on February 25, 2009 at 10 p.m. on Bravo.

Top Chef is a reality cooking series that gathers the best of the best in the culinary world and pits them against each other in the kitchen. Contestants advance based on their performance in a series of "Quickfire Challenges" during the first half of the show and "Elimination Challenges" during the second half. The honored prize is $100,000 in seed money to help start a restaurant and a featured spread in Food & Wine magazine.