Pop Culture Passionistas: Play Virtual Top Chef and Win $5,000

Matthias Clamer/Bravo

Food competition show fans, it's not too late to help make your favorite contestant the Virtual Top Chef by visiting BravoTV.com. The online competition, created in partnership with leading gamer Bunchball, features all 18 Top Chef All-Star contestants vying to become the fan favorite. The "chef’testant" with the most points at the end of the season will get the title of Virtual Top Chef. Plus players earn points and trophies for participating and get entered into a sweepstakes to win $5,000. The more you play the better your chance of winning the cash prize.

Bravo VP Mari Ghuneim said, “Top Chef fans are incredibly loyal and passionate, so we wanted to find an innovative way to reward them for their dedication to the show, season after season... The Virtual Top Chef challenge allows fans to connect with the chefs that they’ve grown to love through content they won’t find anywhere else.”

And the game is more complex than just voting for your favorite chef. Players can earn points by posting to Facebook, Tweeting, watching episodes or reading a player's bio. Trophies include pieces of cake, spicy peppers and a refined palate. Participants need to employ strategy and think about team dynamics. They can join popular teams or recruit others to join another group. And you can switch at any time, so the standings are constantly changing.

As of this writing Team Fabio is in the lead with close to 404,000 points and Team Jamie is a distant second with slightly over 217,000 points. Not too surprisingly Tiffany, Marcel and Stephen are in the bottom three with between 1,000 and 2,000 points a piece. We are however, a bit shocked that our favorite, Carla, is only ranked at number seven with 90,000 points.

So log on to BravoTV.com and vote for the chef that whets your appetite. Have fun and good luck.

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