Who is Top Chef contestant Dawn Burrell?
THE Top Chef finale airs July 1 on Bravo. The three finalists will be competing for a chance to win $250,000. Dawn Burrell is a former Olympic athlete who competed for Team USA in the long jump at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Every positive trait that I have, I can attribute it to being an athlete, Burrell told Yahoo Sports. My ability to stay in it, to embrace the pressure that is in that moment, all comes from my career as an athlete.  After tearing her ACL and retiring from sports, Burrell followed her next passion: cooking. I have really good food memories as a child and so I decided to explore that a bit more, Burrell said. Food is very meaningful for us as a family. We gathered around the table during holidays, we celebrated everything with food. If there was a celebration, food was at the table. I had to explore that. I was forced to explore that because I needed something else to do.  After graduating from the Culinary Arts at the Art Institute in Houston, Chef Burrell worked as the executive chef at Kulture, where she received her first James Beard nomination for Best Chef, prior to departing during the pandemic. She joined Lucilles Hospitality Group after filming the show and has a soon-to-come restaurant in late August. Burrell also launched PIVOT, a chef-driven meal preparation service dedicated to helping families with wholesome meals. Nakajima is one of three finalists on this season of Top Chef. Born in Japan and raised in Seattle, WA, when Nakajima was 18-years-old he moved to Japan to study culinary at the Tsuji Culinary Arts School, one of Japan's most prestigious culinary schools. After graduation he studied under Michelin Star Chef Yasuhiko Sakamoto before moving back to Seattle in 2014 to start his own catering business, Kappo Kitchen. A year later, in 2015, he started his own restaurant, Naka Kaiseki and bar, where he served 3-course tasting menus of Japanese comfort food and a la carte, Japanese street food. 3 Shota Nakajima Credit: Getty  After his first restaurant became successful, he opened a second one in 2017 called Adana. Like many, Nakajima's life was turned upside down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He made the decision to close down Adana after just three years. Despite tough times, Nakajima did not give up and became a contestant on Top Chef where he is now part of the final three. Gabe Erales is another Top Chef finalist. An El Paso, TX native, Erales began working in kitchens at just 15 years old. He graduated with his Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Texas in 2002 before realizing his love of cooking and completed culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in 2006. Erales currently owns his own restaurant, a Mexican-inspired eatery called Bacalar. It is slated to open in the Fall of 2021. 3 Gabe Erales Credit: Getty  Throughout his cooking career, Erales has received multiple awards for his restaurant including 2020 CultureMap Restaurant of the Year, Esquire's Best New Restaurant in America, Texas Monthly Best New Restaurant 2020, and was an Austin 40 Under 40 Nominee. Not much information on his family is available, but he is a husband and father. Erales also has a large social media following with over 18,000 followers on Instagram.