by Gina Scarpa and Kylene Hamulak

Despite a successful ribollita, Chef Gary Walker is the next chef eliminated from Around the World in 80 Plates. As a chef who comes across as both talented and likable in the kitchen, he will be missed in the remainder of the competition. Today, he talked to RealityWanted about what drew him to this competition, how he liked working with others in team challenges, and who he's been cooking with since arriving home.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you interested in competing in Around the World in 80 Plates vs some of the other food-centric shows?
A. Gary: Well, you know, my background before I became a chef was in the travel business. I was an interpreter for Northwest Airlines and then worked in the travel agency side. Combining travel with food was a good fit for me. I've watched Top Chef for years, I have friends who have been on it, and I have friends who have won it. When I heard about this, I was like, "Tell me more!"

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: As in a few of the previous episodes, your dish was specifically highlighted as one the diners enjoyed, yet you find yourself eliminated now. Is there satisfaction in knowing that you served the best dish you could (under the circumstances) or did you still second-guess it?
A. Gary: Considering the ribollita has to be reboiled and we couldn't reboil, I felt vindicated that the diners enjoyed it It feels good, obviously, to make food that people enjoy.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you have any particularly fun or unique memory from your trip that viewers did not get to see?
A. Gary: Ooh, that we didn't get to see! I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about those things! But the entire experience was one day after the next, surprises and amazing experiences. It's kind of hard to nail down. It was really special.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What is your opinion of the "teams" in 80 Plates - would you have preferred working with the same people on every challenge?
A. Gary: I'm truly a team player. That's definitely one of my strongest suits. I really enjoy working the team challenges and mixing it up was just sort of another way to make it fun and exciting. I've been a private chef for many years and you truly work alone, which I enjoy doing. When you have the chance to work with someone else and bounce ideas off of and collaborate with them, it's great. You really think that people wanna be this one and only but you can't get to the top by yourself.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: If you were to collaborate with one of the remaining chefs on a project, who would it be and why?
A. Gary: Well, I mean, most of them are great, talented chefs and great, talented personalities. Speaking of collaborations, I jut did a dinner in St. Louis with Clara and Nick and in June, a pop-up with Jenna. You meet these wonderful people and once it ends, you can get into other things.

Around The World In 80 Plates airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo.

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

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