Today it Begins: Round 1 of Eater's Hottest Chef Voting

Mirror, mirror, on the kitchen wall, who's the hottest of them all? That's for you, our lovely Eater Houston readers, to decide in this year's 4th Annual Eater Hottest Chef competition (although since Houston is a younger sibling of the family, it'll be our first).

Here's how it works: 32 chefs taken from reader nominations will compete in eight preliminary rounds of four chefs each, with y'all, the readers, voting for a winner of each round. And just so you know, there were significantly fewer women chefs nominated than the men, so we've mixed them in with everyone else.

The eight winners from each round will then be narrowed down to two finalists through a two rounds of semi-finals, which will then lead to a final head-to-head. The grand winner of that will represent Houston on Eater National against the winners from our sister sites from around the country.

The first round will kick off at noon today so be ready to vote. But don't even think about stuffing those ballots, we'll be keeping a close watch on any suspicious behavior, and disqualifications are always an option. Let's make it a clean fight.

· All Hottest Chef Coverage on Eater Houston [EHOU]