by Gina Scarpa

 

John walked into the Top Chef kitchen this season with a reputation that preceded him. Deemed The Most Hated Chef In Dallas, he didn't ruffle quite as many feathers in Seattle, with the exception of one. Fellow contestant Josh seemed determined to get him out of the competition and took shots at him whenever he had the chance, even in front of the judges. Due to some faulty pans, and not having his best day, John was eliminated from the competition last week for serving unevenly cooked risotto. Following his elimination, we talked to John about what brought him to Top Chef so far into his career, his beef with Josh, and why people feel about him the way they do.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You were the oldest and most experience chef of the group this season. Tell us about your background a little bit more.
A. John: Well, I'm 55 years old. I've been a chef for almost 35 years. I worked my way through a lot of restaurants in New York. I owned my own restaurant at the age of 24 and as my career progressed, I owned 3 more restaurants in New York. I went to Lake Tahoe, I came back and worked in New York, I went to Las Vegas, I've done some consulting, and I now own my own restaurant in Dallas.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Considering how well you've done in your career, and the chefs whose level you consider yourself on, what made you want to do Top Chef now?
A. John: I did it for me, I'm a big fan of the show. It brings people and food together, and it's fascinating. I've had great respect for Tom over the years. I was a New Yorker and eating at his restaurant showed me what good can be. The guy you see on the show is what you get in real life. I've had ups and down in my career, and I loved the idea of using tv as a vehicle to get some of that out there.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: I was really prepared not to like you, given your own description of yourself early on in the season. Why do you have the reputation that you do, and why do you think you butted heads with some of the people on the show, like Josh?
A. John: I think what's happened is that being a New Yorker and having grown up through the 80s and the grand time of the restaurant business, there's a disconnect between the generations. This group of young chefs have grown up on magazines and cookbooks. Everything is The French Laundry or Chopped. They don't understand the foundations of a real chef. I bring that to the table and challenge them, and that comes across as obnoxious. That's my life though and I've earned that right. Here in Dallas, I replaced Dean Ferring, and there were a lot of eyes on me. I'm kicking butt down here and that's pissing a lot of people off. People don't like success when someone is bold and brash and honest. I'm an old hippie. I can't stop being me to make other people like me. I lived half of my life that way and that's what got me in trouble. I'm older, I have a great family and friends... I did Top Chef and that was the missing piece of the puzzle. If you watch my exit interview online, I've mellowed out, the show has changed me. Josh had an agenda and I'm not happy about that. My agenda is to have a happy life. My friends were all judges on the show and I was like, "Doesn't anybody know who I am?" I just wanted it so badly! And I had the time of my life. I'm friends with Stefan, Brooke, Sheldon, Kristen and behind the scenes, they're all great people. If you miss me from the show, vote me back on!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Speaking of Brooke, she really brought out a softer side of you. What was it about her?
A. John: I think Brooke just brings it out in everybody. You reap what you sew. Nice people get nice things back! I have many friends and I wouldn't have had all of these chances in life if I wasn't somewhat of a nice person. This is the story of my life. When you first meet me, I'm very open. On the show, I was trying to be open and they're like, "I'm here to win" They've never gotten 3 stars or a hotel to run... maybe Stefan. My perspective coming in was deep and vast on a psychological level, never mind a cooking level. You go into this crazy scenario, you have roommates. I haven't had roommates since I was 18. It wears on you! Then, they bring back veterans. There was only one advantage that Stefan, CJ, and Josie had and that is that they've been there before. Josie should've been gone weeks ago! Josh - how many times do you have tout yourself as the pork guy? My risotto was unevenly cooked. Lizzie serves rancid seafood and I thought I was going to dodge a bullet. I made excuses about the pot and Josh had to chime in. He used the second set of pots that came in. You don't go in front of Wolfgang and Tom and challenge them.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It was definitely surprising that you left when you did, given the quality of Lizzie's seafood. Why do you think you left?
A. John: My personal opinion is that moving down the line, I would've started to annihilate people just because of my experience. And I was also exhausted. My dish was not good that day. There's a lot of great cooks on the show. I'm a big fan of Kristen and Sheldon. Kristen is more of the homey type. When you get down to the end, Kristen and Sheldon are two of the best natural cooks. I wanted to put myself up against them.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Any thoughts on why CJ keeps winning each week on Last Chance Kitchen?
A. John: Well he got knocked off really early and got to study a lot. He had a lot of free time to study at that castaway house.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What are you up to now and what does this year have in store for you?
A. John: The focus is on Spoon. We have yet to get reviewed but everything is looking good and we're meeting our numbers. We're looking for some national attention. We're having the time of our lives, you can come in and have oysters or a tasting menu. It's 58 seats, very unique. My thought was that Dallas needed a glimpse of the ocean. I've had the time of my life. I'm the most hated chef in the universe... not really when you get to know me. Sometimes, opportunity knocks in strange ways. All of this attention, a great restaurant, I have a 2 1/2 year old son, I've had other offers but the focus is on Spoon. I've gotten such a tremendous response from being on the show. It's not all negative. I think Josh is more hated than me. I have respect for Lizzie, she's a sweet girl but if I really wanted to be the Top Chef, and I do, I could've taken those pickles and won the challenge. Or they could've sent me home for being selfish. Lizzie was whining through the whole thing. There's a lot of things you don't see! I hope people miss me and bring me back.

 

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

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa