Top Chef All-Stars Exit Interview: Episode 11

We were treated to the Queen of Butter, Paula Deen, this week on Top Chef All-Stars. And you guessed it: there were deep fryers galore. Keep reading to see which chef just couldn’t cut butter with a knife.

ES: What did you think of being judged by Paula Deen?
Dale Talde: I have the utmost respect for her and what she’s done. She’s not a professional chef and she’s the first one to tell you she’s not. She makes food I want to eat. You can’t eat it everyday otherwise you’d die of a heart attack. Who nicer to kick you off than Paula Deen? She’s like your grandmother.

You won a lot more prize money than most of the other chefs—did that soften the blow?
I’d trade it all in right now to still be there. I want to win. You can make money. But to be in this kind of competition and to be called the best and to win—I wouldn’t even need the money. I got a great job. I make money.

What did you think of the situation of Mike allegedly stealing Richard’s idea?
It is what it is. You can’t put a patent on food. It’s funny that Mike was so forthcoming with that information and straight up said that he stole it. That’s Jersey Mike man, that’s Jersey Mike and I love him for that. He’s gonna sit there and he’s gonna talk shit and throw it in your face.

Do you think it was fair that Antonia was eliminated from the Quickfire for only plating one dish?
Of course. It’s the rules: you have to make two. Everybody has to make two, she didn’t do what they asked her to do so she can’t win. Not to be a sore loser, but if she did win, then I’d be like: “Why? She did half the amount of work that everyone else did.”

When picking the seafood, Richard mentioned that he would be nervous to work with Angelo as he was the most recently eliminated chef. Did you think about that?
I would like to cook anything. I don’t care about that. Think about Angelo: he’s gone through 45 straight challenges. He went straight from last season to this one. That is exhausting. I was nervous too, but I liked his protein. I wanted to work with Tre but I didn’t have an option.

What do you think went wrong with your dish?
Time. I thought the dish was a little ill conceived. They were right: you pound a fish like that with andouille and it’s not going to taste of anything. Time really caught up with me.

How have you developed since Season Four?
Number one: I’m a different person. I’ve done a lot of maturing. You look at yourself like that and look at how you are perceived and how embarrassing your behavior is to you and the people around you and the people you love. My mom would never openly say she was embarrassed of my behavior but I could tell that some of the things I did were embarrassing to her. That’s not me. I’m not going to put my mom in that position. I need to change something. I looked in the mirror and said I’m going to therapy. I need to talk someone. Hash out what’s not going well in my life.