by Gina Scarpa

 

This past Sunday, on Food Network Star, Alicia was eliminated from the competition. Her personality was starting to come through more during challenges, but she often let her nerves get the best of her and stand in the way of her own success. Today, we spoke to her in an exclusive interview about her time on Food Network Star.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to try out for Food Network Star?
A. Alicia: I get a weekly newsletter from my culinary school, The Institute of Culinary Education, and they had the open call information listed for New York so I went.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You got to meet a lot of Food Network celebrities. Do you have a favorite?
A. Alicia: I really liked meeting Alton Brown. He has a very charismatic, geek chic persona which I think is intriguing. He was a huge help to our group at the Farmer's Market while filming our promos.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You and Penny got off on the wrong foot from the very beginning. What, do you think, was the biggest issue between the two of you?
A. Alicia: I really didn't have a problem with Penny. She annoyed me a little and I thought she was bossy but I didn't think much about her one way or the other. When I watched the first episode, it was really surprising to see that she went after me from the word "go". My jaw hit the floor listening to all the stuff that was said behind my back.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: At times, emotions got the best of you during the competition. How were you feeling and what was behind the tears?
A. Alicia: I just wanted this to work out for me so badly and it stressed me out during the competition and I lost my nerve. I also missed my friends and family a lot and not being able to communicate with them took a toll on me.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Desserts are often the kiss of death for contestants in a cooking competition. How would you rate the difficulty of this week's challenge?
A. Alicia: I thought it was easy. I am a cake designer by trade.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did you expect to go home this week or did you feel somebody else should have left instead?
A. Alicia: My evaluation is about myself and it's not productive to say that someone did worse than you therefore they should go home instead even if you think it.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you still want to have your own cooking show?
A. Alicia: Yes! I would love to co-host a show or have a show where I interact with guests. Being alone in front of the camera isn't my style.

 

Food Network Star airs Sundays at 9/8c on Food Network

 

(Image courtesy of Food Network)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa