by Gina Scarpa

 

On last night's Top Chef: Texas, the cheftestants were paired up and went head to head at a Healthy Choice block party. Grayson and Chris prepared chicken salad sandwiches and the judges were disappointed that Chris ended up leaving his sandwiches in the sun. A series of unfortunate events led to his elimination and today, we talked to Chris to hear more about his Top Chef experience.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to try out for Top Chef? Have you watched past seasons?
A. Chris: No, I don't have cable so I've seen Top Chef at a bar here and there. I know that it's the premiere cooking show, not like Hell's Kitchen. Someone who works with me had tried out for Top Chef and we got a call saying, "Would you like to try out and interview?" I'm not really a competition driven person, I'm not a fame hound. I'm kind of the guy in the background that you never see.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Which chef stood out to you the most?
A. Chris: You know what? Throughout the competition, Paul has been the guy to beat. I got close a couple times and it could've gone either way... it's tough. You're going against the very best in the nation.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You're a chef that thinks outside of the box and is very creative. Was there a challenge that you thought really showcased your point of view?
A. Chris: Yeah, I think the Snow White challenge is one of the few challenges that all of the chefs got to show off their creativity. In a season riddled with chili cook-offs, that was exciting. The tribute dinner was another exciting one. I wish there was more individuality this season.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: The team challenges don't go over well with the contestants. I assume you prefer the individual ones.
A. Chris: Of course! You go out on your own. That's why I'm happy about the way I went out. Although it was a chicken salad sandwich, at least it was my own doing.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You said that you went with chicken salad because you didn't have any other ideas in that moment. Looking back, do you have a dish that you wish you suggested?
A. Chris: You know, me and Grayson had about 3-4 minutes to make this decision. I wanted to do cheeseburgers but there wasn't there equipment to do it. With 20 seconds left, she was like, "Chicken salad!" and I was like, "Fine." I did the best I could and I did the challenge... I was healthy. I really tried to stick with what the challenge was. The cards just weren't on my side. I got attacked by bees, it was hot...

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you wish that you made the sandwiches to order like Grayson did?
A. Chris: No... Grayson was lucky. I was so far ahead in my prep. Grayson was just behind on the actual prep so she built them to order. She didn't have a choice. Because of that, she took it. Looking back on it, I should've set it up like a Subway. I should've made it right there. I made a mistake. Because of that, I go home.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What's been the plus of being on Top Chef?
A. Chris: I definitely think that people recognize you on the street. I've seen different things on blogs and I try not to read the bad things. There's a lot of support on there. At ING, we're doing flavor tripping, tasting menus. Kind of what I did the modernist cuisine challenge. We're coming out with a cookbook for diabetics. You know, I wasn't trying to be anybody else. I can do only do my best in this.

 

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

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

 

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