Top Chef has reportedly already invaded the New York City borough of Brooklyn to begin filming the Bravo reality show's fifth season.

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Top Chef fifth-season finalists have been residing in a terraced duplex penthouse overlooking McCarren Park in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood for the last two weeks, The New York Observer reported Friday.

"They're not allowed to talk to anyone, really, or even do their own thing," a source told The Observer. "They're trying to keep things under control before the paparazzi start camping out."

The culinary contestants have been leaving the penthouse between 8AM and 9AM and traveling to a soundstage in Greenpoint before returning in the evening, the source told The Observer.

While the source would not reveal which of the "identical" parkview penthouses the fifth-season cast is calling home, The Observer reported a 1,368 square-foot, 16th-floor unit was sold in April for $1.4 million while a neighboring unit is under contract for $1.295 million. 

Regardless of which penthouses it is, Bravo has apparently done some redecorating.

"They're already awesome, but they've furnished it like a celeb would," the source told The Observer. "One wall is orange, one is gray, one is purple. They've got that funky Real World look going on."

Bravo confirmed last week that Top Chef's fifth season would film in the Big Apple and be titled Top Chef: New York. The network renewed Top Chef for a fifth season in April and it is currently slated to premiere later this year.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
Christopher Rocchio is an entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and has covered the reality TV genre for several years.