An interview with Jamie:
Top Chef Exit Interview: Jamie Is Cut, And She’s Over All The Scallop TalkLast night’s Top Chef had a few shockers - wriggling dead eels, anyone? - but the biggest doozy of the evening came when Jamie Lauren, the soup and scallop loving cheftestant was given the boot after a salty recreation of an Eric Ripert signature dish. To many, Jamie was expected to go all the way. She had what seemed to be the winning pairing of hot, judge-pleasing dishes, combined with a cool, and (mostly) calm attitude. In an interview today, the 30-year-old chef talked about leaving the show, her “relationship” with Stefan, why the “scallop thing” got out of control, and on a more personal note: what she plans to do with her girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.
You seemed like you had resigned yourself to the idea of getting kicked off last night. Were you ready to go?
I knew that I’d screwed up. I had a pretty good idea that I was going to be the one going home, and I was okay with it. I couldn’t go back and change anything, so I kind of had to accept my fate at that point. It’s not the end of the world, for me, at least. It was so long ago. It was six months ago, and I’m kind of over it at this point. I’ve had enough time to let it marinate. I’ve dealt with it. Being on the show itself was an amazing experience and I’m lucky that I have that. I can’t beat myself up over that. It was over celery. It’s just not a big deal.
You mentioned on After The Knife that it was also easier to deal with because you were cooking someone else’s food. Do you think if it had been your dish you would have had a different reaction during judging?
Absolutely. Had it been my own food, or my own intellectual property, my own creative intelligence, I would have been really pissed if I went home. It’s easier for me to stomach going home because I cooked someone else’s food that night.
Were there any moments that you were shocked by when you watched the show on TV? Maybe Fabio’s comment “this isn’t Top Scallop, this is Top Chef?”
[Laughing] Well, I haven’t seen last night’s episode yet, so I don’t really know what happened on that. I mean, I know what happened, obviously, but I haven’t watched it yet. It is interesting to see what other people say in their interviews, because we don’t see that. I think you learn that you have to take it with a grain of salt, because it is a TV show. I wasn’t surprised by much of anything, though.
How come you haven’t watched last night’s episode yet?
I got off of work really late, and I got off and came home to watch American Idol first, then I fell asleep. Now I have to go to work again, so I probably won’t watch it for a while. I never really ran home to watch it. I wasn’t the girl who was like oh my God! I have to go home and watch myself on TV! It was never like that.
How do you feel about all the “scallop” talk?
I’m kind of over the scallop talk, to be honest. I don’t know, the scallop thing - I didn’t realize it would turn into such a big deal - I think a lot of it is because of Fabio’s one-liner. It is what it is. I do like cooking scallops, but it’s not the one thing I can cook, that’s for sure. But, I mean they are on my menu! I think the whole thing is kind of silly.
You said that you achieved what you wanted to achieve. What were those things?
For me, going on a show like that, being able to showcase who I am as a chef was definitely what I was trying to achieve. That’s what I did. I think people out there realized that I can cook, and I’m a strong competitor. I feel good about that.
While you were eating at Le Bernadin on last night’s episode, did you have any idea what the challenge was going to be?
Oh yeah. There’s no way they’re going to bring us, 6 people, to Le Bernadin, and feed us 6 dishes without us having to recreate them. There was just no way!
Have you stayed in touch with the other Team Rainbow members?
I keep in touch with a lot of people from the show. I don’t talk to Patrick as much as I’d like to, or Rich.
How annoyed were you actually by Stefan’s love for you?
The whole romance with Stefan was totally ridiculous. I think it was fabricated a lot for television. He definitely did have a crush on me, that part is true. But I think it’s more of a crush out of admiration. We had a lot of mutual respect for each other as chefs. He’s definitely one of the people who I talk to the most, which is kind of interesting. In terms of his personality, though, he can be a little bit overbearing. There were definitely times when he was a little bit annoying, especially when we were stuck in a room together for hours and hours.
Next week is Valentine’s Day, are you pro-Valentine’s Day, or anti?
[Laughing] I guess it depends on whether or not I’m in a relationship. Valentine’s Day for me is one of the busiest days of the year. We’re fully booked and I’m not really looking forward to it because it’s going to be a lot of work for us. I am looking forward to getting on a red eye after Valentine’s Day and going to New York to see my girlfriend. So I guess I’m a little bit romantic.
Are you going to cook her a special one-day-late Valentine’s Day meal?
Absolutely not. She definitely wants me to, but I doubt that I will. I’m only going to be in New York for three days.
Do you have a favorite restaurant in New York?
I have lots of favorite restaurants in New York. I grew up in New York. I think one of my all time favorites, that I’ve been going to for at least 20 years, is a restaurant called Boca Chica. It’s on the corner of 1st Avenue and 1st Street in the East Village, and it’s awesome. It’s Caribbean food and it’s always been delicious, every time I go back.
Who are you rooting for now?
I think at this point it’s anyone’s game. I think Stefan is the most talented out of everybody. I think he has a really good shot, but anybody can snag it. A lot of people thought I was going to win and I’m not there anymore, so you never know.
What was your impression of the judges?
I thought for the most part they were pretty fair. I thought Gail was probably the most fair. When Gail would speak, I would listen. I really respected what Gail had to say. I think Toby, on the other hand, is there for showmanship. And I’m just going to keep mum about Tom and Padma.
Is there anyone who you thought was sent home too early?
Yeah, well if there was someone who I thought deserved a chance to showcase her abilities more, it’d probably be Ariane. She’s a badass cook. I’ve eaten at her restaurant twice, and girl can throw down. She can cook!
What’s the best memory or moment?
The most fun that I had was on the Super Bowl challenge. Once I got past the point where I thought that I wasn’t going to be able to come up with a dish, and I came up with a dish that I actually liked, I decided to have fun with it. It was fun going up against the “all-stars,” the old contestants.
What would be your ultimate career path?
I think if I could do anything in the world, I’d do travel. I would love to travel and cook in other countries. It’s very important as a chef to experience other cultures and other people’s food. So that would be ideal. Anything after that, I mean, I don’t necessarily know if I want to open my own restaurant; part of me does, and part of me doesn’t. In this economy, it’s such a hard time to be in the restaurant industry. There’s been some talk about me opening up a soup restaurant, since I did a lot of soups on the show. Then a part of me really wants to go back to New York, so it’s all up in the air right now. I’m totally happy at Absinthe and I’m not going anywhere unless something totally amazing comes along.
Would you ever want to write a cook book?
Yeah, it’s definitely something I’ve thought about. I’ve also thought about doing more television, although not reality television. Some sort of television.
Link: http://www.fancast.com/blogs/uncategorized/top-chef-exit-interview-jamie-is-cut-and-shes-over-all-the-scallop-talk/
