by Gina Scarpa and Todd Betzold

 

Ben started out Tuesday night's MasterChef feelin' good after winning the Mystery Box challenge. By the end of the hour though, he had been eliminated from the competition for overcooked meat and overpowering sauce while trying to recreate one of Gordon Ramsay's dishes. Today, we caught up with Ben in an exclusive interview to hear more about his MasterChef experience and if the show has inspired him to keep pursuing his dreams.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: When did you start cooking?
A. Ben: I started cooking at age 4. I was watching my grandmother make toast in the oven under the broiler, and told her I wanted to learn. So she got a loaf of stale bread and a stick of butter and let me practice. An hour later she passed by the kitchen and heard me bragging to myself out loud: "Who ever heard of a 4 year old who could make toast?!" That's how it started, but my cooking skills really blossomed when I started traveling the world, staying with local families, and cooking with them in their kitchens at night. I have cooked on all 7 continents!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to do MasterChef?
A. Ben: I had done reality TV cooking in 2007 on Rachael Ray's "Hey Can You Cook?" project, and I just love the process of making television. It fascinates me. And the chance to cook for some of the most famous chefs in the world is exhilarating. My best friend, Karen, who I've known since I was 10, sat me down one day and showed me a few episodes of MasterChef season 1, and threatened me within an inch of my life if I didn't audition for season 2! The drama on the show was something I was worried about. I think reality TV often brings out the worst in otherwise-good people. But I made a conscious decision to go on the show and prove that reality TV contestants don't have to be backstabbing, ruthless, or rude to be interesting to watch. Only YOU can say whether I did that or not!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: So, where was one of your colorful chef hats for this episode?
A. Ben: That's a GREAT question! That episode was filmed a few months ago, and it's been so long that I had actually forgotten that I wasn't wearing a hat when we filmed. So I was screaming, "Where's your hat, dummy?" at the TV screen along with everyone else! I must have left it outside the studio before walking in. Ramsay had developed this mythology about my hats, that I'm USELESS in the kitchen without them. Ultimately, he ended up being right!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you regret the questions you asked to Chef Ramsay during your time in the pantry after winning the Mystery Box Challenge?
A. Ben: I regret squandering my first question. As he was listing off ingredients for each of the 3 dishes, my mind was trying to take in EVERYTHING, and as I was processing "beets" I totally missed "cabbage." And I was so confused while tasting the cabbage, because I thought, "Wow, he has really made these beets taste like cabbage, how did he do that?" Of course, that answer was, "It's cabbage. The beets are on top of the cabbage." Huge waste of a question. I also regret asking about how he cooked the venison. I've never cooked venison that way, and that was my ultimate downfall. If I had cooked it MY way instead of attempting his complex, finicky method, my venison would have tasted great. Not necessarily identical to his. But certainly not overcooked, which is really what sent me home.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Why did you choose Adrien to be the winner before you left the show?
A. Ben: Adrien has this deep, fiery passion for food that hasn't really been coming across on the TV screen. When he talks about food, you see these emotions just welling up in him and sometimes it overtakes him and he can't even speak. Christian and Suzy and Jennifer may have lots of cooking knowledge and skill, but Adrien is the kind of person who CHANGES the way society thinks and feels about food. The dishes he creates come from the mind and soul of a genius, not from a memorized recipe from someone else's cookbook. You just watch. Adrien is going to become one of the great chefs of our generation, regardless of whether or not he wins MasterChef.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Were you allowed back into Texas, even though you lost on the venison dish?
A. Ben: I sat up all night, waiting for an angry mob wielding pitch forks to come extract me from my house and toss me across the border into Oklahoma. It never came. I guess everyone is more worried about the drought and the 2 straight months of 110 degree temps. Thank goodness! I committed two massive crimes against Texas on the show...I put beans in my chili, and I overcooked my venison. Texans are forgiving people though, who can never be stereotyped, despite the nation's fascination with trying to do so. I am a gay Democrat obsessed with organics and sustainability who has been to all 7 continents, yet I fit right in here. I am proud to call Texas home.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What is the biggest thing you are taking away from this experience?
A. Ben: This is a really tough question. As easy as it is to say that some experience changed your life, MasterChef really has changed mine. I'm taking away a treasure trove of new friendships...these are people with whom I endured stupendous stress and trials. Our bond is probably more akin to that of soldiers returning from war, than of casual acquaintances from work. These people have become very dear to me, and it becomes increasingly rare to develop these types of friendships as an adult. It has also imbued me with a level of confidence in myself that I never had before. And it has opened some incredible doors for me that never would have been opened if I'd stayed home in my garden and my kitchen, cooking for dinner parties and birthdays and family reunions.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did doing this show help inspire you to continue your dreams of cooking?
A. Ben: How could it not? I feel like I'm ready to start a career in television, whether it's related to food, travel, or philanthropy. And the overwhelming response from my fans has confirmed it. I got over 7000 emails in the 12 hours after I was eliminated. But my ultimate goal is to start a sustainable guest farm, bistro, and microbrewery on the Big Island of Hawaii, where people can come either for the penultimate vacation escape, or to get their hands dirty learning how sustainable organic food is produced, and how we CAN harness the power of the sun and wind and rain to produce our energy and water and live at the same level of comfort at those who are burning coal or gas or nuclear fission for theirs. When it comes down to it, I'm not cut out to be a chef, stuck back in a chaotic kitchen cooking for nameless people in the dining room. I was born to connect with people, to share with them, to teach, and cooking has always been the best way I knew how to do that. TV will let me broaden that reach. Then my guest farm will let me bring that back down to a person-to-person level!

 

MasterChef airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 9/8c on FOX.

 

(Image courtesy of FOX)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa and "Like" her on Facebook! Follow Todd @tbetzold