Telemundo Unveils Celebrity Contestants for Second Season of TOP CHEF ESTRELLAS

Gabriel Coronel, Kimberly Dos Ramos, Sissi Fleitas, Judith Grace, Fabián Ríos, Don Pedro Rivera, Maripily Rivera, Henry Santos, Fernando Vargas and Gabriela Vergara kick-off 2015 as contestants on Telemundo's second season of "Top Chef Estrellas," the primetime culinary competition premiering Sunday, January 11 at 9pm/8c. Hosted by renowned TV personality, Ingrid Hoffmann, and featuring the return of leading chefs Lorena Garcia, Jaime Martin Del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu as judges, these prominent celebrities from the world of entertainment, music and sports will compete for a total of $100,000 awarded to a charity of their choice, but only one will win the "Top Chef" title in this hotter, tastier and provocative new season.

In "Top Chef Estrellas," the ten celebrities will cook their favorite dishes under the guidance and coaching of professional chefs. In addition, they will give the audience an exclusive opportunity to see them in a more intimate, personal way as they embark on a culinary adventure to face the following challenges:

• "Quickfire": At the beginning of each episode of "Top Chef Estrellas," contestants are instructed to prepare a quick and relatively simple dish, with certain limitations. The top two contestants will become Team Captains for the "Elimination Challenge." The contestant with the lowest evaluation will be eliminated and becomes a Sous Chef.

• "Elimination Challenge": After working with special guests that help coach contestants on the basics of cooking, how to cook with certain ingredients and provide helpful tips, the celebrities have to prepare a more complex themed dish. At the end of each "Elimination Challenge," the lowest-ranking contestant is eliminated, and loses his/her chef coat to become a Sous chef. During the final week of "Top Chef Estrellas," finalists have to prepare a three-course meal for a group of special guests, in which the Chef judges Lorena García, Jaime Martín del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu, will determine who will be the winner of "Top Chef Estrellas."

Shot in Boston, Massachusetts and produced by Emmy award-winning production house Magical Elves, the new edition of "Top Chef Estrellas" is hosted by TV personality and restaurateur Ingrid Hoffmann, who has hosted multiple cooking shows, including "Simply Delicioso" on the Food Network and "Delicioso" on Galavision. She is also the author of Latin D'Lite and "Simply Delicioso: A Collection of Everyday Recipes with a Latin Twist."

In their return as judges of Telemundo's "Top Chef Estrellas," TV host and author Chef Lorena Garcia, is one of the leading chefs in the country, having competed in season four of Bravo's "Top Chef Masters." Chefs Jaime Martin Del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu, nominated for the prestigious James Beard award, have been featured in numerous TV shows and are the owners of the award-winning restaurant "La Casita Mexicana" in Los Angeles.

About the celebrity contestants of the second season of "Top Chef Estrellas":

• Gabriel Coronel - One of today's most promising young actors who debuted with great success in Telemundo's original production, "Relaciones Peligrosas," Coronel also participated in the network's telenovelas "Reina de Corazones" and "Marido en Alquiler." Under partnership between Telemundo and Warner Music Latina, he released his debut album "Desnudo."

• Kimberly Dos Ramos - The Venezuelan actress, model and singer has starred in popular telenovelas, including "La Trepadora" and "Que el Cielo me Explique," as well as Nickelodeon's "Grachi" series. She also has participated in Telemundo's primetime novelas "El Rostro de la Venganza" and "Marido en Alquiler," and currently stars in "Tierra de Reyes."

• Sissi Fleitas - With more than 20 years of experience, Fleitas is one of the most popular Hispanic personalities who became internationally known through the variety show "Sábado Gigante." The Cuban-born beauty who lives in Mexico, has hosted several television and radio programs, and has participated as an actress in the hit plays "Monólogos de la Vagina" and Aventurera," as well as two upcoming film productions.

• Judith Grace - One of the most popular hosts in Hispanic television, became well known after winning Miss Mexico and competing in Miss Universe. She was the host of the highly rated show "Casos de Familia" for nine consecutive years.

• Fabian Rios - The Colombian actor became one of the most popular telenovela stars after starring in Telemundo's internationally acclaimed production, "Sin Senos no Hay Paraiso." Since then, he has participated in multiple Telemundo original productions, including "El Fantasma de Elena," "Los Herederos Del Monte," "Corazon Valiente," "Dama y Obrero," and currently stars in "Tierra de Reyes." Rios has been featured twice by People en Español magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful."

• Don Pedro Rivera - Composer, singer, actor, producer and artist manager, Don Pedro is also known as "El Patriarca del Corrido" (The Patriarch of Corrido). He has become a legend in the Regional Mexican music industry having discovered music stars like El Chapo de Sinaloa, Los Canelos de Durango and Rogelio Martinez, among many others. He is the father of Mexican regional singer Lupillo Rivera and the late Jenni Rivera.

• Maripily Rivera - One of the most popular personalities in the world of entertainment, Maripily became well known with shows like "Eso Vale" and "No te Duermas" in her native Puerto Rico. She launched her own clothing line and fragrance, and participated in the successful theater production "Los Monólogos de la Vagina" and the dancing competition "Mira Quién Baila."

• Henry Santos - Born in Dominican Republic, Santos is an international artist, composer and dancer, who became a solo singer in 2011 with "Introducing Henry Santos," which debuted #2 on Billboard's Tropical charts. His music video "My Way" is one of the most popular in cable networks such as mun2, HTV and LATV. He also was the winner of the dancing competition, "Mira Quien Baila."

• Fernando Vargas - This boxing champion has been fighting most of his life and not just in the ring. He's fought to survive, succeed and become one of the most celebrated boxers in U.S. history. The three-time world champion born in Southern California, is the co-executive producer of "Welcome to Los Vargas," a reality series on mun2 - soon to be renamed NBC Universo - featuring him and his family.

• Gabriela Vergara - Actress and model best known as the third runner-up in Miss Venezuela in 1996. Vergara has participated in numerous renowned telenovelas, including "Destino de Mujer" and "La Mujer."

Every Sunday, following "Top Chef Estrellas", Telemundo will present "Suelta la Sopa Extra" (10:30pm/9:30c), the after-show that reviews each episode of the Sunday night reality together with cast members and special guests. The program will showcase exclusive videos and a preview of the upcoming episodes of the culinary competition.

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