BRAVO MEDIA PARTNERS WITH LAY'S FOR FIRST-EVER LIVE "TOP CHEF" QUICKFIRE CHALLENGE

Special Event Streamed on Facebook Live and bravotv.com on March 2 at 8:35PM ET Ahead of "Top Chef" Season 14 Finale at 9PM ET/PT

NEW YORK - February 24, 2017 - Bravo Media's Emmy and James Beard Award-winning series "Top Chef" is partnering with the Lay's "Do Us a Flavor" contest to serve fans the first-ever live Quickfire Challenge Thursday, March 2 at 8:35pm ET ahead of the "Top Chef" season finale at 9pm ET/PT. Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi will host the special event alongside Top Chef Masters alum Art Smith, who serves as judge, as two surprise season 14 cheftestants go head-to-head in real time to craft a mouthwatering, prize-worthy dish. Fans can watch the delicious drama unfold through a Facebook Live special presentation on the official Top Chef page and on bravotv.com's "The Feast," the network's food-focused digital destination.

"Top Chef" has teamed up with Lay's for its iconic "Do Us a Flavor" contest which asks fans for their flavor ideas and - for the first-time ever - the story or inspiration behind them for the chance to win $1 million. The contest is the inspiration behind this special, live Quickfire Challenge. Starting today, fans are invited to vote for a special selection of flavor mashups on bravotv.com, including blueberries and corn, sriracha and peanut butter, foie gras and cotton candy, and more surprising blends. The winning combination will inspire the ingredients used in the first-ever live "Top Chef" Quickfire Challenge brought to you by Lay's "Do Us a Flavor."

Padma Lakshmi will host the live Quickfire challenge as the cheftestants use their culinary skills, flavorful personalities and winning flavor mashup as ingredients to impress judge Art Smith. Viewers can watch and comment in real time as the competition heats up live from Los Angeles. After a winner has been named, fans will have the opportunity to relive the culinary competition on bravotv.com's "The Feast" where they can view the special event and find craveable content tied to the winning dish, including recipe inspiration, photo galleries and more.

Immediately following the live Quickfire Challenge, fans can tune in for the on-air "Top Chef" Season 14 finale to see who wins the ultimate honor of being named "Top Chef." The final two chefs face-off in Mexico to serve the best meal of their lives and earn the coveted title of Top Chef. The finalists will cook an epic multi-course progressive meal with the help of three sous chefs, comprised of two eliminated chefs and one from their restaurants back home. The pressure is on as only one chef can win. The chefs must impress a dining room filled with their families, returning judges Graham Elliot and Gail Simmons, and distinguished chefs Joachim Splichal, Jonathan Waxman, Martha Ortiz, Jonathan Sawyer, Daniel Boulud and FOOD & WINE's Nilou Motamed.

Those who want even more fun from Lay's "Do Us a Flavor" contest can head to www.Lays.com now through March 19 to submit their flavor suggestions. To submit, fans will be asked to "pitch" their flavor idea through a video, photo and/or a written inspiration. Submissions will also include the flavor name, up to three ingredients and optional bag customization.

"Top Chef" is produced by the Emmy Award-winning Magical Elves with Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Doneen Arquines and Casey Kriley serving as executive producers.

About Bravo Media

Bravo Media is the premiere lifestyle and entertainment brand driving cultural conversation around its high-quality, interactive original content that focuses on the network's passion points of food, fashion, beauty, design, digital, and pop culture. The network's diversified slate includes Bravo's first scripted series, "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce," scripted comedy "Odd Mom Out," and unscripted favorites such as Emmy Award-winning "Top Chef," "Vanderpump Rules," "Below Deck," "Southern Charm," and the popular "Million Dollar Listing" and "The Real Housewives" franchises, as well as the only live late-night talk show, "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen." Available in 92 million homes, Bravo is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Watch Bravo anywhere: On Demand, online, or across mobile and connected TVs. Bravo has been an NBCUniversal cable network since December 2002 and first launched in December 1980.