by Michael J. Lamp

 

The premiere of Top Chef: Just Desserts is less than a week away (debuting Wednesday, September 15th at 11pm EST on Bravo). Host Gail Simmons chatted with RealityWanted and other reporters about the debut season of Top Chef's latest spinoff. Read on to hear Gail's thoughts on the country's with the best desserts, misconceptions about pastry chefs and staying in shape, even in the face of dessert after dessert.

 

Q. Michael, RealityWanted: Congrats on your Emmy win! I'll give you a simple question. What's your all-time favorite dessert?

A. Gail: It's like choosing my children, except I don't have any children. It's hard to say. I get in different moods. Right now, I happen to be in a pudding phase. I find myself making pudding - butterscotch, chocolate. I always put some type of cookie or crumble on top. I'm looking for decadent desserts.

 

Q. Michael, RealityWanted: Of all the world's cuisines, who has the best desserts?

A. Gail: That is a really good question. At the moment, I would say there's a tie in my head between Spain, because they really know how to fry their desserts, and you gotta stick it home and say America, because when I think of comfort foods in my life, I think of classic, American desserts. There's nothing better than peach pie in the peak of season.

 

 

Q. How is it different for you, hosting Top Chef: Just Desserts, versus your role on Top Chef?

A. Gail: My job as host is completely different on Just Desserts. My role on Top Chef until now has been pretty easy. I'm not saying it hasn't been exciting and challenging, but my job has been to show up, eat, talk about [the food] and leave. Being a host really changes everything. I'm in every single day of shooting. [As host], you are the person that delivers the business, all the rules and guidelines. I'm not an actor, and it was a huge challenge for me. [Padma] prepped me for what I had in store.

 

Q. How do you keep the show from being one, long variation on chocolate cake?

A. Gail: You'll see very few chocolate cakes on our show. What's interesting is that people think of a pastry chef as a pastry chef. Within the genre of pastry, there are so many variations. If you think of what the pastry kitchen offers, it's so much more than a chocolate cake or a cupcake. It's about sugar and butter and dough and jams and jellies and height and sculpture and artistry. That never crossed our minds - that we wouldn't have enough content.

 

Q. How about the personalities with this group?

A. Gail: I think the most exciting thing about the show, is how extraordinary these personalities are. The mind of a pastry chef works so differently than the mind of a savory chef. Pastry chefs are so A-type and so exacting. It really does come out in their personalities. This was the most fascinating cast to watch. They're just a totally different brain. They're all so talented, but also so competitive. There's a lot of strategy and sabotage, and what's amazing is desserts lend themselves to that because they're so delicate and so fragile.

 

Q. We're wondering what Hubert Keller brings to the table, as he is widely known as a savory chef.

A. Gail: With Hubert, it is not enough that he's a total dreamboat. Obviously, he's an accomplished chef. Not only did he start in the pastry kitchen, but he actually grew up in a bakery. His father was a pastry chef, so he grew up above the bakery.

 

Q. How will the chefs improvise on Just Desserts?

A. Gail: It's true that we throw things at them and they don't work out. It's not like you can bake a cake 45 minutes later. That became a huge challenge for them, and it made them work even harder. Granted, the times for challenges are longer, which made our days certainly longer. Same rules still apply. They have no recipes with them.

 

Q. On Top Chef, desserts are the bane of all the cheftestants' existences. Is there an equivalent on Top Chef: Just Desserts?

A. Gail: I think the equivalent is when we ask them to make savory food, ironically. You don't want your psychologist performing open heart surgery on you. In general, pastry chefs can cook savory foods better than a savory chef can cook pastry. I don't think there is anything that really stumps them all unanimously, but in the few moments when they have to use savory ingredients, it takes them out of their comfort zone, which is also the point of the show.

 

Q. What are the biggest misconceptions about pastry chefs?

A. Gail: Well, I think the misconception in general is that all chefs can do everything. What amazed me the most [about pastry chefs] was how sensitive and truly creative they are, in a way that regular chefs I just don't think are. They really are focused, driven, passionate and calm under pressure. That was interesting to see.

 

Q. How do you deal with eating so much sugar? Does your palate get overwhelmed?

A. Gail: Ya know, I never got sick of it. I thought I would. It was sort of an interesting challenge. I would finish a day of shooting and realize that I finished the day without anything nutritious. Have a good sleep and you're ready the next day to do it again.

 

Q. Are there certain ingredients that you detest? How do you deal with that?

A. Gail: The answer's no. I can't have personal biases. With pastry, there's nothing I detest. I wouldn't have wanted to do my job if there were a lot of things I was picky about eating. There are very few things in the edible world that I won't eat.

 

Q. How did you offset the extra calories?

A. Gail: I don't count calories. I couldn't tell you how many [I consumed] and I don't know or care [about] the number. I bumped up my exercise routine before the show. During shooting, I just tried to get out and exercise. Any free moments, I went for a run or jumped on the treadmill.

 

 

Top Chef: Just Desserts premieres Wednesday, September 15th, at 11/10c on Bravo.

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

 

 

Follow Michael at twitter.com/mjlamp

 

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