"Top Chef's" top dog

In this interview and podcast, Tom Colicchio dishes on his favorite contestants, how our food obsession sprang from disco's demise, and why he's nothing like Gordon Ramsay.

By Sarah Hepola

Read more: TV, Interviews, Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Entertainment TV Interviews, Salon Conversations, Sarah Hepola

June 9, 2008 |

There has been one key question running through the fourth season of "Top Chef": "Can a woman finally win?" So far, only men have nabbed the title on the beloved Bravo reality show, as if the victors' circle were a reflection of the cooking profession itself, which is famously male-dominated. From episode to episode, the producers made sure to remind us just what a boys club the chef world can be. "It's not common to have one woman in the kitchen," said Zoi, a lesbian contestant whose girlfriend also competed on the show. "That is probably the biggest struggle as a female -- just break[ing] people's image of what a chef is." But as the season wore on, the dudes who had been sharpening their Wüsthofs for a dick-slinging showdown -- Dale with his "I'm not here to make friends" attitude, Spike with his smug grin and tilted porkpie hat -- were forced to pack their knives and go. And by the time it got down to the final four, a sea change had occurred: Three women and one man remained.

Their fate rests, at least partly, in the hands of "Top Chef" co-host Tom Colicchio. The former chef and co-owner of Gramercy Tavern and creator of Craft, the influential Manhattan restaurant that now has locations in Dallas and Los Angeles (and offshoots such as Craftsteak, Craftbar and 'Wichcraft), Colicchio has found fame as the show's measured voice of experience. TV chefs often lean on gimmicks and razzle-dazzle, but Colicchio has a subdued approach, offering critiques that are direct, honest and articulate. The same could be said for the man's approach to a meal; Colicchio has made simplicity in cooking something of a rallying cry. At his restaurants, and in books like "Craft of Cooking" and "Think Like a Chef," it is as though he is urging people to actually cook less, focusing instead on the best, freshest ingredients. (He has said the most underrated seasoning is salt and pepper; he detests microgreens.) He's a good fit for Bravo's viewing audience -- sophisticated, never ingratiating. (Oh, and in case you hadn't heard, Colicchio has a bit of a following among gay men. Interested parties can read more about this here.)

On Wednesday night's episode, which relocated the contest from Chicago to balmy Puerto Rico, the ever-driven mother figure Antonia was booted in an upset. Now three contestants remain: Richard, the wacky innovator who has dominated from Day One; Stephanie, the versatile and eminently likable fan favorite; and Lisa, the feisty underdog everyone loves to hate. Colicchio, interviewed over the phone two weeks before the finale airs on June 11, can't talk about the final contestants. But he can assure us, repeatedly, that whoever takes the title, he and the people behind "Top Chef" have no agenda aside from making sure the best man -- make that chef -- wins. (Listen to the interview with Colicchio here.)

This has been a particularly good season for women on the show. On a show like "Top Chef," where you need to differentiate one season from the next, do you feel pressure to have, say, the first female winner?

No, not at all. Pressure from who?

I don't know. From fans?

No. If we start doing what the fans want, then we might as well just open up the voting to the fans. And they're not tasting food, so that might be hard to do.

The competition has traditionally been male-dominated, as are most professional kitchens. Why is cooking such a macho profession?

Well, that's a two-part question. I'd like to go back to the first part. I don't think the show has been male-dominated. In the first season, Tiffany came so close to winning. In the second season, Elia was in the finale. In the third season, Casey was in the finale. So I don't agree with that.

OK. Would you agree that cooking is a macho profession?

It can be. A lot of professions happen to be male-dominated because women drop out at a certain point. It's unfortunate. When I was a chef at Gramercy Tavern, I think we'd been open for five years, at least half the kitchen staff, probably more, were women, and in fact they were all in the big positions -- saucier, sous-chef. Of the six or seven women in the kitchen -- well, more like 10 or 12 -- only two of them are still cooking.

And why do you think they drop out?

They have children. If you want to have a family, it's a very tough business. You're working nights. You're working weekends. It's not conducive to rearing children. I have a 15-year-old and when he was 8, 9, 10, it was hard for me.

So let's talk about this season. A lot of people were surprised that Dale was kicked off. He was one of the more seasoned chefs on the show, no?

I wasn't there that night. When I saw the episode the night it aired, I could see why people were upset. But I didn't taste the food. And this is what I keep lecturing people about when they say we make bad decisions. I think, "Great, I'm glad you were next to me eating food. I don't remember seeing you."

If you're basing your decision on a two-hour discussion and you saw five minutes of that discussion and those five minutes were clearly made to keep people in suspense, then I can understand why you're upset that Dale was gone. But what I know from behind the scenes is that they thought his dish was by far the worst dish that night, and it was such a bad dish that it got him thrown out. It's about food. We judge only on that episode. People think we sit around and watch tape of all the [behind-the-scenes footage of the contestants] before we make a decision? We don't see that stuff. We're not allowed to talk to the contestants during shooting.

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