YeahRighter Whitney caught up with the latest cut from Top Chef Season Six Jennifer Carroll yesterday. For last week's interview with Eli click here.
Interview after the break!
I got to interview the lovely Jen on my lunch break yesterday. First of all, I was really sad to see her go Wednesday night. Not only because I wanted to have a female to root for in the finale, but she's been one of my faves to root for all season. But then again, did I really want to see any of them go?
My first question: any regrets about what you did or did not say at judge's table?
"No honestly we were at judge’s table for a very long time. I feel that I defended my dishes and were proud of them."
They were apparently at judges table for 6 hours!!! The camera crew changed tapes twice. Now I know why the contestants are so exhausted at the end of the episodes.
Jen did take umbrage with Tom Collicchio's comment that she looked scattered in the kitchen during the final elimination challenge. "I was very calm in the kitchen I was upset that Tom said I looked scattered in the kitchen. I feel like I adapted."
She was, of course, referring to the fact that she didn't monitor her coals on the grill closely enough and thus had to cook her duck in its own fat rather than on the grill thus compromising the smokey flavor she had initially envisioned. Since all four of the chefs were so great, it really did come down to minute details!
You often looked exhausted and stressed, were you really like that throughout the season?
"I was beating myself up over little mistakes I made. Bringing myself down and not cooking to the level that I know I was capable of doing. But I was happy with my whole performance [throughout the season] – not saying anything bad about anyone – tried to help everyone professionalism in the kitchen is number one....We had a lot of fun actually. When I’m in the kitchen, I’m definitely focused on my work and I’m an extreme perfectionist. They didn’t really show me having fun a lot of time. They definitely showed me being hard on myself and I don’t do that all of the time."
Would you do it again, Jen?
"Even though it was hard and stressful and emotional . I made a lot of great friends and it’s been awesome for my restaurant. Great exposure and a lot of fun for all of us."
Next week, I'm excited to have a Top Chef cook off with a couple friends as a preamble to watching the finale. Which recipe from this season should I try to cook?
I think next week is going to be the most evenly matched finale in Top Chef history. Brian, Michael, and Kevin are all top notch. Go Kevin!
Posted by: Allison | December 04, 2009 at 02:06 PM