Hubert Keller Wins First Top Chef Masters Episode with Dorm-Room Mac and Cheese

On last night's premiere of Top Chef Masters, Hubert Keller, executive chef/owner of Fleur de Lys (777 Sutter at Taylor) charmed a gaggle of Girl Scouts and a mess of college students and whipped up the winning meal: Cold Scottish salmon, hardy carrot and petit pea soup with cinnamon croutons, and creamy mac and cheese with prawns, mushrooms, and fresh herbs (recipes are here). His victory scored $10,000 for the Bay Area chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Keller will compete against the winners of the next five episodes of the new series for the grand prize of $100,000, which he would donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. There are three other Northern California chefs in the Top Chef Masters competition as well: Elizabeth Falkner of Orson, Cindy Pawlcyn of Mustards Grill in Napa, and Michael Chiarello of Bottega Restaurant in Yountville. The program airs at 10 p.m. Wednesdays on Bravo.