Cliff Crooks, the tough-but-charming executive chef of New York's Salute! Restaurant is never content with anything less than a sure win. America will soon…more
Cliff was kicked off of the second season of Top Chef for violating the rules, which included no physical aggressiveness towards his fellow competitors. Cliff put Marcel in a wrestling hold and tried to drag Marcel to the others, pretending that they meant to shave his head.
Cliff is color blind, which put him at a disadvantage in the season 2 Top Chef episode "Seven" where each competitor was given a colr and told to create a dish in his color. Cliff drew purple, and used an eggplant, which someone had once told him was purple, as a guide for comparison.