As usual, the competitions presented on Bravo's entertaining culinary reality series "Top Chef" don't have to be profound to be challenging. And that's exactly how several of the seasoned contestants — many of whom either are executive chefs or owners of their own restaurants — found the very first quickfire challenge of the fifth season, which takes place in New York and debuts at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12.

As usual, the show is full of fun, colorful contestants — perhaps even more so this time around.

Among them are Fabio, a fiery native of Florence, Italy; Radhika, a first-generation Indian-American; Stefan, a seemingly arrogant, bald Finn; Lauren, the wife of a soldier serving in Iraq; Eugene, a tattooed Hawaiian; Ariane, a spirited Jersey gal with a lot to prove, and Jeff, a hair-obsessed pretty boy.

Three of them are homosexuals — two gay men and a tattooed lesbian — who label themselves "Team Rainbow."

"I think (judge) Tom (Colicchio) is really cute," declares one, named Richard.

Fabio and Stefan bond as Europeans surrounded by Americans, causing New Yorker Danny to accuse them of snobbery, while Carla the caterer prefers to wait for her spirit guides to show her the way.

Seriously.

Right off the bat, the 17 wannabe top chefs are shocked to discover one of them won't even make it to the kitchen. Their quickfire challenge is a complicated, three-round event, and the loser will be plucked off Governors Island by an idling ferry. Who will make it this far, only to be sent home because of a bloody (literally, at least in one case) apple?

(Naturally, it's pure coincidence that the first challenge involves apples — in the Big Apple.)

The show continues to entertain as the first elimination challenge kicks in, requiring the chefs to create dishes inspired by the cuisine of different New York neighborhoods, including Chinatown, Ozone Park and Little Italy.

The show's three judges — Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi and Gail Simmons — are joined this season by Toby Young, a food critic and author of the best-selling book "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People."

And upcoming holiday-themed episodes feature none other than Martha Stewart and the Foo Fighters. (Jersey boy Anthony Bourdain is nowhere to be seen, though I'm not just yet resigned to a sarcasm-free season.)

The success of most reality shows relies on the personalities of the contestants, and some are simply luckier than others (see the just-ended fifth season of "Project Runway" as an example of the latter). Fortunately, it appears that "Top Chef: New York" falls into the previous category. And that's definitely a good thing.