West Babylon’s Harold Dieterle and Great Neck’s Ilan Hall won the first two editions of “Top Chef.” When the fourth premieres March 12 on Bravo, the local scene and cuisine will belong to Richard Blais, born and bred in Uniondale. His parents and sister still live on Long Island. “I like to refer to it as ‘Strong Island,’” he tells us, with a wit that says as a comedian, he’s a pretty good chef. The onetime “Iron Chef America” contestant, who says he’s a proponent of molecular gastronomy - the study of the chemical nuts-and-bolts of food behavior - got his start at Mickey D’s. He worked in various kitchens while studying comparative humanities and religion at SUNY Old Westbury, and in 1998 got a degree from the Culinary Institute of America.

A culinary trail-Blais-er - cheeseburger with foie gras milkshake, anyone? - he may have been too avant-garde for Atlanta, where he now lives; his restaurants Blais, Bazzaar and Element are no more. His latest venture, BlaisCuisine.com, is being revamped as TrailBlais, which has something to do with “taste2″ (taste squared). Seven of the show’s other chefs work in New York City.

Remember “Circus of the Stars”? Well, do your parents remember?