Spinning off the wildly popular "Top Chef," Bravo TV is pitting 24 of the best chefs around the globe against one another in a no-holds-barred knife fight for the chance to win $100,000 for charity in "Top Chef Masters." The show, which debuts Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST, comes complete with its very own Padma in Kelly Choi, a 33-year-old former model born in Seoul and raised in the suburbs of Richmond, Va.She was cherry-picked straight from local access TV in New York, where, dressed in skimpy outfits and armed with an inquisitive mind, she gave New Yorkers an intimate view of some of the city's top kitchens. We caught up with her to talk about her rise to national stardom, how the best chefs in the world handle criticism and what the deal is with magicians acting as judges.
How did you get involved with the show?
Someone from Bravo called me out of the blue and asked me to fly out to L.A. to meet the producers. What I do on ["Eat Out NY"] is pick a dish and cook it with a chef on TV. I pick all the restaurants that I want to feature and dishes that I think the readers would be into. This Bravo exec saw me on TV and flew me out and my dream came true.
Why do you think this show matters in this economy?
Why not? Everybody loves food. The alternative is to cook at home and you can totally pick up tips. It's a fun way -- to be inspired by fun and passionate people -- to cook at home.
What was the best tip you took away from the show?
I won't tell you who it was, but it was sauce of mustard and bananas. It was sweet and tangy and it was a nice thick sauce. Kind of bizarre, but I am totally going to use it the next time I cook. The chef who made it is a total mack daddy master chef and it was really good.
Who was the chef most averse to criticism?
There really wasn't. They have all seen it all. They are used to it. We could have told any one of these chefs that his or her food stunk. Of course there was none of that. But we could have said that, and they would have listened. The intention of these guys to say yes to come on the show, they are not vying to prove themselves. They have already done that.
So who wowed you the most?
I was really, really happy to eat some of Rick Bayless' food. I knew he was a whiz at Mexican cuisine. I was dying to try his mole sauce and let's just say my wishes were met.
Since these guys are so established, was there the backbiting and drama that usually comes with 'Top Chef'?
I know that there is a lot of drama, but not that kind of adversarial one. As far as I know it was never a case of mano a mano. I never felt it at critics table.
So they were very Type A?
Very much.
Of the guest judges, who was the most bizarre judge during the season?
I am not sure I can say. We have a day where we go on location which involves magic. They are some interesting magician type people and their outlook was bizarre.
Wait, like a bunny-out-of-a-hat magic show?
I am not sure I can tell you, honey. I am sorry. Let's put it this way, the producers put together some really interesting challenges. In the first episode, Girl Scouts act as blind taste testers. That's really honest. [It just shows] everybody has a opinion about what they are eating.
10 More Dirty Restaurant Tricks
5 Things You Didn't Know About Turducken
10 Catchiest Food Jingles We Love to Hate
