by Michael J. Lamp

 

Top Chef: DC's last woman standing was sent home this week, setting the stage for (another) all-dude finale. Yawn. Kelly spoke with RealityWanted and other reporters about Singapore, surprise immunities and chefs versus clowns.

 

Q. Michael, RealityWanted: I'm bummed to be talking to you. I was a fan. There's only been one, female winner of Top Chef. I really thought that, between you and Tiffany, we might be adding a second name to that list. What do you think it is with men making it through to the finale more often than their female counterparts - or is it just a coincidence?

A. Kelly: Tiffany and I shared your hopes for us. We were really rooting for each other. Top Chef doesn't have a great track record with female chefs making it to the end. I think it's just a coincidence. We really are judged each day as an individual.

 

Q. Michael, RealityWanted: Being part of Top Chef's first trip overseas must've been exciting. What was the highlight of your Singapore trip?

A. Kelly: Singapore was amazing. The highlight, hands down, was the afternoon we spent with Seetoh. We got to see Singapore's food culture firsthand with an authority on it.

 

 

Q. How did you feel about a team competition so late in the game?

A. Kelly: I think we were all ok with it, because we weren't [dependant] on each other's food. I think it was an interesting challenge for the finale, but in the end we all thought it was a good one.

 

Q. Ed seemed to be the only one prepared to add a second dish. Was there any animosity from you guys that he seemed to prepare for another dish all along?
A. Kelly: Yeah, we were all pretty surprised when Ed blurted out that he had planned to do a second dish. We were only allotted one hour, which is not a whole lot of time. It's like doing a Quickfire for the finale elimination. It was a little frustrating, but we rolled with it.

 

Q. Did you feel uncomfortable doing Asian dishes in Singapore?
A. Kelly: Ya know, I didn't. I think you have to do your research and be prepared. I couldn't imagine a scenario in which they brought us all the way to East Asia [without] expecting us to use those flavors. I learned a lot and definitely have a newfound love for some of those Asian flavors.

 

Q. What was the best advice you got from judges? Favorite judge?
A. Kelly: All the feedback I got from the judges was good. I don't disagree with anything they said. My favorite judge, hands down - Eric Ripert. That's solely because he likes my food. (Laughs) He says lovely, lovely things about my food, so I think he's my favorite.

 

Q. What did you think of the Quickfire twist with the surprise immunity?

A. Kelly: I think having immunity in the finale is a little ridiculous. They took it off the table after Restaurant Wars; why bring it back? I think even Ed would say that it didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.

 

Q. What was your favorite thing you ate while in Singapore?

A. Kelly: I think my favorite was definitely the chili crab. I think they call it a mud crab, and it looks like a big, blue crab. They stir-fry it, cut in half, in this sweet and spicy sauce. It's just delicious.

 

Q. How did you prepare for the Singapore trip?

A. Kelly: It was actually really fun. It pushed me out of my normal, day-to-day routine. I started researching Singapore. There are so many different cultures that [make up] Singapore. I really found that what the cuisines are all about is the spice mixtures. I started playing with some spices. A lot of reading, a lot of cooking, a lot of playing in the kitchen.

 

Q. What did you think about Kevin not using a wok prior to Singapore?

A. Kelly: I'm not surprised. Yes, I've used a wok, but [just] like any home cook [who] has used a wok from Williams-Sonoma.

 

Q. There's been a lot of talk in the media about the lack of personalities on this year's Top Chef. Do you agree with that assessment?

A. Kelly: I have to say that I don't really agree with it. I think we all had great personalities. I have two ways of answering that. One, as competition gets stiffer, you get less clowns. You get people that are interested in competing at the high level. The other thing is: we only see what ends up in the 45 minutes of TV.

 

Q. What happened with cutting your finger? Was that a contributing factor to coming out on the losing end of the challenge?

A. Kelly: I slipped and cut my finger pretty bad. It was definitely a bleeder. We always have a medic in the kitchen. I was basically one-handed for half the time. It made me nervous; kind of threw me off my game. Losing a few minutes and being nervous, maybe I didn't think things through as much as I should have.

 

Q. Do you still feel like you'll be friends with the rest of the final four for a while?

A. Kelly: Absolutely. I will say that the best part of the Top Chef experience for me was the people I met. I think it's a very special relationship, because we worked so closely and so hard together, as well as competing against each other. I still do keep in touch with the other three regularly - and Tiffany. Tiffany will be a friend for life, as well as Andrea.

 

 

Top Chef: DC airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo.

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

 

 

Follow Michael at twitter.com/mjlamp

 

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