The Eat North Podcast (final episode) - Discussing the Top Chef Canada casting process with Mijune Pak and Dez Lo

With 'Top Chef Canada' Season 11 casting currently underway until mid-April, many Canadian chefs from coast to coast to coast are crossing their fingers to end up on the popular reality competition series.

On this special one-off podcast episode (co-hosted by Dan Clapson, Carmen Cheng and Phil Wilson), we chat with one of the show's judges Mijune Pak, as well as and Season 10 runner-up Dez Lo about everything from what attributes a successful TCC competitor needs to possess, tips and tricks for the application process and more.

While not every chef who appears on a season of 'Top Chef Canada' achieves celebrity chef status afterwards, there are many that do. Mijune Pak dubs one chef the "Jennifer Hudson" of the TCC franchise and Dez Lo explains how she is still making the most of her time in the limelight.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Oh what, we're gonna say,you look a big Shelton for like two
seconds. People say that usually whenthey're drunk, so like, have you
been hitting the sauce a little bitso far today? I should be branking
for six months? Thank you?Really? It happens since you saw me
last. Yes, basically that's funny. Usually baking when I see Dan.

(00:20):
Oh, that's true. I dohave that effect on people for sure.
Sadly, you are listening to aspecial one off episode of Beaten Her podcast
where we are talking exclusively about TopChef Canada Season eleven the casting process.

(00:44):
We have no one officially from thecasting department chatting with us, but we
are going to chat with an alumnifrom the show and a judge. And
I'm joined as always by my twolovely co hosts of all Things Top Chef
Canada, Carmen Chang and Phil Wilson. Hello you too. It's been a
minute. Say that it's been formillion years since? Oh what musn't come
together? More than a minute.I think it's been over a year,
actually year and a half maybe.Well, when you get to our age,

(01:06):
that's how you count minutes in years. Yeah, well's the youngest I
mean, I think you'll agree.There's a few things we've always found a
little bit odd about this TV show, But one thing is there, they're
odd pauses between seasons. It's neverconsistent when they air. We're in a
weird limbo right now where Season tenwrapped in December twenty twenty two and we're
yet to have a new season ofthe show yet. This feels like a

(01:27):
really long pause. I think theother one was after it was a season
six there was a really long andthere was also a bit of a lag
between eight and nine. Yeah,and I will say like because of the
long pause, there's definitely been someanticipation for this next season. I don't
know about both of you, butI've certainly seen more interest from chefs locally

(01:49):
in Calgary and even think I havesome roots being interested in, Like what
are they looking for? You know, what's this casting going to be?
Like? Do I apply? Likethere's been more time for them to mull
it over. I think I thoughtit was gonna be an all Star season
All Stars two for a long time. That's why I thought that we were
hearing nothing. I was checking inwith in my dms. Too many chefs

(02:12):
for many seasons asking if they'd beenlike if they're going away anytime soon or
anything, and nothing. So Imean, now we know it's just a
normal season, so I can sleepbetter at night. But yeah, no,
I agree, a lot of peopleI know as well are interested in
applying, for sure, I wouldsay more so than past seasons. Yeah,
I just kind of I'm the oppositeof you, guys. I guess
apparently I kind of forget that it'sa thing until it comes out again and

(02:37):
I'm like, oh, Top Chefsstarting awesome. I don't know the season
ends, It's like hockey season ends. I don't think about it again until
next season. No, that's fair. I think also with the show,
and we'll talk about this a littlebit later with me June, but is
it's a lack of social media presence. So I think with shows like this,
if they're not always active, it'seasy to maybe forget for a while
as a viewer that it's happening.So yeah, you definitely do need that

(02:59):
huge advertizing, Like you know,the premieers coming back, here's our big
push to remind everyone that the showis still happening. Because they do publicly
announce that the show has been greenlit. That was that's been announced for a
while, I think for at leastsix months. But I mean that that's
not really news that reaches up theeveryday Food Network Canada viewer. I don't
think for sure we'll get a chanceto talk to Des Low as well,

(03:20):
who's one of our favorite contestants.And maybe the long pause has been helpful
for people in that season, especiallyher and Trey the winner, because they
have had more time, right ormore runway to kind of promote themselves,
mark themselves before this next season startsup. I think, so let's bring
Des on to talk about that.Of course, Dez is the runner up
of season ten, and you know, she's done a lot of fun things

(03:43):
since being on the show, includinglaunching her own biscuit line and doing tons
of cool pop ups. And Ithink we all know that desire if she's
good for anything, it is afun conversation. And I will say her
biscuits are very good. I haveto try them. Still, let's ask
for that the odd man out here, I don't get a biscuit. No,
if you don't like biscuits, areyou? Oh? Are you kidding?
I love biscuits, man, Ihaven't had biscuits. I haven't had

(04:08):
it. You haven't had them either? Oh good? Yeah, I am
Carl Vancouver. Maybe I can smugglesome of my suitcase and bring it over
to you. Yes. What Iunderstand from this so far is that Carmen
is the one percent and Dan andI are definitely in the other ninety nine
thirty three percent of what you havethree point three anyway, enough, bring

(04:30):
back my deslow. We weren't quitesure what was going to happen with Top

(04:54):
Ship Canada season eleven because I thinka lot of people were expecting it to
be an all star season. I'mnot sure if you were one of those
people that maybe thought that was apotential, But now it's clear that they're
just doing a full on casting,so they're going to cast a whole bunch
of new competitors. So being someonethat's been through the casting process and also
a semi finalist on the show,I thought you'd be a good person to

(05:14):
chat with about the whole process.So I guess the first thing I want
to know is was this your firstyear to ever apply for the show or
did you try to go on atprevious years? Oh? No, this
is my first time, I didn'tyou didn't even cross my Yeah, you
obviously know people from past season.So were you recommended for the show or
did they just kind of nudge youto do it or like, yeah,
how did that work? I thinkit was Andrea who recommended me to one

(05:38):
of the casting director or producer andshe reached out to me on IG and
then I thought about it. Mymom was said, what do you have?
You have nothing to lose. Youwant to do this when you were
in New York, but now you'rein Canada and they're knocking on your door.
So it's you know, yes forNeever, you're almost fifty, so

(05:59):
I was say, okay, I'lldo it. And so what was the
casting process like from start to finishfor you? So you have to go
on to the Canada Top Chef Panadawebsite and there's a very expensive a questionnaire
basically longer than your college application,and you want to just tell them why

(06:23):
you want to be on the showand your work history blah blah blah,
you know, the normal thing,and then once they accept you. I
think I then did a two minutesvideo, or maybe that two minutes video
was also included in that long process. Then once they accept you to producer
email you and then you do azoom interview with I did it with Steph

(06:46):
Stephanie and that was it. SoI have a question for you, Dez.
I'm wondering if you could walk usthrough your demo video. Do you
remember it and do you remember whatyou think like about that video that the
producers latched onto and said we haveto have deslo oh, I did a
crudo because it's you're not there tobrace a you know, break down the

(07:08):
whole thing, or to braise somethingthat takes way forever. They just want
to see your personality. You know, if you have the courage to I
was going to say the word falls, but you have the courage to apply.
You know how to cook, right, so they know that they know
that you know how to cook,but it's a personality that they want to

(07:28):
see. I just, you know, the filet of fish quickly make a
crudo. But I definitely make thepoint to let them know why I need
to be on the show. AndI was cracking jokes, you know,
my no husband, no kid,diet, just kind of let my personality
shine through. Then that's how itgoes. They don't want somebody they're just
like head down the whole time,or just like monotone. How are you?

(07:54):
I'm fine, Like nobody wants towatch that, you know, And
I think honestly that that's my resoundingmemory of you from the show is that
you were hilarious every time they showedyou on camera. That made me want
to cheer for you, because Ilike people who look like fun people.
So whatever you know you did thatit worked for you. I didn't know
what they were filming me some ofthe stuff. It's like, I look
so stupid. I'm like, Ilove that. Why why do you?

(08:20):
Also? I don't know. Youwere one of our favorites for sure,
because your personality really shone through.What did you do to mentally prepare yourself
for the time on Top Chef?And how much time did they give you
in terms of notice? They gaveme about two months. I think I
was casted earlier on I then makean effort for the last month before I

(08:43):
went on the show to practice someof the stuff that I figure would kind
of represent who I am as achef. But then again, I haven't
done it in a long time,so I just wanted to kind of not
get rusty practice a little bit.But I just wanted to have a mindset
where I go on and if Iwin, if I go far, I

(09:05):
go far, if I go home, just not the first one. My
mom said, please don't come onthe first one. I would pre tell
you to. It's like, it'snot I'm not the first one out.
Then everything else is just cook whatyou know and just be on the show
and be yourself. It is oncein a lifetime experience. That's how I
feel. So I find that alot of chefs they're challenge with going on

(09:26):
the show is the idea of beingon camera. Is there anything that you
think helped you mentally to be preparedto be on camera? Like all the
time, just pretend everyone is naked. I feel like you probably don't do
that. Wait at that right now? Yeah, honestly I would have done

(09:52):
two or three SUPs that I knownow. Just don't mind them. They're
they're to do their job, andall the camera crew everybody is so nice,
so sweet, and they're there tomake sure they capture the best of
you too. They are not thereto make you look stupid, unless you

(10:13):
make stupid faces like I did.But they're there to really just showcase your
skill. You know, it isa coming competition after after all. Right,
So I feel like as long asyou just focus on yourself why you're
there, and then just don't mindother people, it's just noise. Can
you speak to the importance of tryingto make the most of your time on

(10:35):
a show like this, Like Carmenand I were talking about this recently,
you know, you can sometimes peoplecan get close to winning and then have
not much of a career after becausethey're just not taking advantage of the time
in the limelight. Because let's behonest, like these TV productions, the
companies, they don't really care aboutyou as chefs. They just want good
TV. Right if you're a goodcharacter, good cook, it's like you're
good for Top Chef, But afterwardsthey're not helping you pursue, you know,

(10:56):
your career. So like, canyou just just speak to the of
how you wanted to make the mostof your time on the show, because
I was on the show and Iwas able to use that platform. If
they I don't think they don't careabout you. I just think that they
you know, like all TV showthey just move on and if you reach
out, They're always there for you, just like any relationship, right,

(11:18):
like just not always just give andtake. I just took it and ran
with it, and luckily I havea lot of people around me that support
me and help me kind of keepmoving. And there are a lot of
good to chefs from Vancouver to likeMark Sinsen, you know my really really
good friend as you know Billy.They all just really supported me, and

(11:41):
Andrea helped me out with pop ups, just coming to my pop ups and
posting on their Instagram. And thenyou just be shameless, shamelessly promote yourself.
That's how I feel like, Okay, well you can only do it
for yourself. Nobody's going to doit for you, uness you hire somebody.
So just help thick face. Justkeep telling people that you're a top

(12:01):
chef. And until you feel likeI'm at a level where I don't have
to name drop anymore, you goon a show to reap the benefit then,
is what I say. Yeah,I know a lot of chefs who
are kind of hesitant to apply justsimply because they feel like, oh no,
I don't know everything about everything,like you have to on that show.
But I'm not sure that that's whatthat show is all about. Really,

(12:24):
but what skills do you think makefor a good contestant? Like was
there something going in that you thoughtwould be really vitally important as a skill
and turned out to be completely nothing. Don't overthink it. Don't go on
there and try to reinvent. We'renot a Scovia or we're there to cook
what you want from your heart.Things that maybe you have done a hundred
times, but on the show it'sthe first time for people to see it,

(12:46):
right, So don't be afraid that, oh I've done that before.
It's like old news, but it'snot all news for people. Go there
and show you show the best.If you make the best, I don't
know something, just showcase it becausepeople don't know that about you. And
if people know that about you,then maybe you wouldn't be on the show

(13:07):
because you're too famous for that.I don't know. It's like it's people
like myself, who is I thinkI'm a solid cook, a good cook,
experienced cook, but didn't have theplatform or the opportunity to really propel
into the next level. So thenyou just have to challenge yourself. Okay,

(13:28):
I think a lot of cooks orchefs are afraid to go on because
they don't be a persone out tothem. It's like it's embarrassing. But
a good chef might not be agood competition chef. A good competition chef
might not be innovative or or goodor a good commander in the kitchen.
Right, So it's you don't pigeonholeyourself and make yourself feel like, oh
just because I didn't. I canthink fast enough. But trust me,

(13:52):
when you see the ingredients, justcook what you know and just go for
favor bomb it go far. Yeah, that's how I feel. I just
kept cooking what I know and justkeep hitting them with flavors. And yeah,
here I am here talking to youguys podcast. You were packing.

(14:15):
What did you pack that you thinkwas really helpful while you're on the show.
Maybe my chili oil, which Iused a few times, but their
pantry is very stocked up. Ialso believe that you're there to cook based
on what they give you. Butif you cook out of your suitcase,
then that's not really a competition,is it to me? At least?

(14:37):
Right then then I can just bringmy entire T and T over and cook
from there. But then again it'stoo they have everything. I brought enough
of the spices that I know thatI might need more than what they supply,
just in case they run out.And then also like you only have

(14:58):
half an hour. If you're runningback and for grabbing your stuff, you're
literally losing time. So having somestuff close to you that you know where
they are it is helpful. ButI also don't believe in bringing everything where
you just literally cook out of yoursuitcase. Then then you really lose the
essence of what top Chef competition means. So how many how much are you

(15:22):
allowed to bring them with you?Is it unlimited? I don't remember.
I think there are people who broughtit two suitcases and stuff that's a lot.
Yeah, did you bring like anotebook with recipes for yourself? Allows
they're actually make sure you don't dothat because that's cheating. But you will

(15:46):
have your phone sometimes, so ifokay, look, if you're going to
have to write recipe and look upon your phone and do all the stuff
while, then maybe it's not foryou, because you should have some sort
of repertoire under your belt that youshould be able to whip out without looking
at your recipe book and also lookingat the recipe book takes time. You're

(16:07):
like, crap, where is it? Yeah, let me go it.
That's a five second Every second counts, you know, tell that I'm not
cracking dirty jokes. Every second countsto say, yep, I would appreciate
some dirty jokes. At the endof this, I say, I think
it's for your stand up debut.You no problem, that's my that's my
third career. Yeah, what's thisone? You know starts to the popularity

(16:30):
from top cheft waynes then you're goingonto the comic scene. That's good.
I'm looking at the form that peoplefill out for applying for the show,
and you're right, it's it's enormous. I don't know if a teenager did
this or this on purpose, butthere's sixty nine questions. It says what's
your signature dish? And then alsoright after that asks on a scale of

(16:52):
one to ten, rate your cookingscale. So I'm kind of curious what
you put for those like did youput yourself a ten? Obviously no,
not at all, No one,no, not even the prettiest girl in
the world. She's not even intended. There has to be some flaw.
God is fair. I think Ithink I might have put eight. I
don't remember, and I don't rememberwhat my signature dish was, and maybe

(17:15):
it's beef numbo soup, so somesort of either Asian or French dish.
So it's not important to pretend likeyou're the best, you know, it's
more important if you're applying to theshow to actually show some personality and show
that you will be a good fit. You know how to cook, but
also you're going to be fun towatch. I think, so, I
mean, you have to have somechops. Just don't go on there if

(17:37):
you don't even know how to makea hondis just saying I feel obviously application
right now while he's on the callwith us. Yeah, I can make
it very entertaining. Grilled cheese,Yes, let's do it well. Grilled
cheese. Sandwaches are hard to make. A lot of people don't know that.
If your bread is not nice,crispy is hashtat fail. Yeah,

(18:03):
you know, we'll talk to chefssometimes that are on the show and they'll
you know, give insider information,being like, oh what they show to
me on the episode is not accurate, or like I wasn't. Actually I
didn't wasn't trying to be that obnoxiousand whatnot. But I feel like this
is a show that casts for characters. So do you feel like if you're
someone in the kitchen that maybe getsangry easily and whatnot, and they put
you through the casting process, shouldyou be maybe mindful that that that your

(18:26):
fundamental personality traits in the kitchen aregoing to come through on TV as well.
You can't really hide who you are, and I think if you're just
a crappy person. Luckily my season, everybody is super nice. I actually
genuinely get along with everyone. Iwas like a social modo. But I

(18:48):
don't cannot speak for any other season. I've only watched a handful of them.
But I think you are who youare. You can hide that,
you know, It's just like youmight be able to for the first three
dates, but True Color shows,Yeah, then that's it after the third
date. Yeah, that's that's howI feel like. Yeah, they don't

(19:12):
purposely make you a bad person,because they have to have footage to make
you a bad person. What theyneed to, like spend one hour just
to focus on you and edit itto make you look like a bad person.
They have bad things to do.It's a lot of footage and they
only cramp it into eight episodes.They don't have time to sit there to
make you look like a bad person. They don't. It's not that kind

(19:33):
of show. I don't think theymay be like during an interview some bites
they might ask you some questions,you can choose how you want to answer.
It's it's you know, we're inNorthern Hemisphere. It's in the speech
right. You can say whatever youwant. If you want to trash someone,
go ahead, something for them touse. But if you want to
keep a PC and focus on yourself, that's what you're there. You're there

(19:56):
to focus on yourself and you're notthere to talk about other people. That's
how I feel what ending this show? Was there anything that really helped you
when you came off the show,because it is a long time between you
know, you stopping filming and thenthe show airing. Luckily, it's on
YouTube, so a lot of peopleare watching it now and they're telling me
that, oh, I just watchedyour episode. Uh, you know your

(20:19):
season, You're so funny. Andeven though it's a year later, but
people still go and catch up onall the shows. Uh. And it's
you know, also like being ableto come to Calgary, you know,
stay with Dan and meet you Carmenand Phil and all these things just really
helped me keep going. And havingthe network like you, you know,

(20:42):
really helped me. So I thankyou for that, really, I do,
from the bottom my heart, thankyou. I'm not going to cry
just too early for that. Wewill we we do demand some biscuits though,
I will tell you Carmen had them. The buscuits are very good.
Is gonna say. I went andbought two packs over the holidays, and

(21:03):
they're very good. But you havelike they're teeny tiny, and so you
have to stop yourself from reading awhole bag. I will try to package
it and maybe send it to Danand then you know, if you drive
up to Edmonton and then you candrop some off a film. Okay,
do you have any last minute advicefor someone who's thinking about applying for the

(21:25):
show and they're they're on the fenceabout it, Just do it. They
might not even pick you. SoI mean you're like hesitating, Oh should
I do it? Should I doit? But no, Okay, you
apply, they might not have pickedyou, So you're just cutting yourself off
even before knowing. So once yougo on, then you figured out what

(21:45):
the next step is. Right,you're already jumping the gun thinking that they're
gonna pick you. So let thempick you first. Then you then you
worry about the next step. That'show I feel. Yeah, just do
it. If you go on,it helps you so much. It helped
me so much. Nobody know whoI was. Yeah, I opened some

(22:06):
big, nice restaurant in Vancouver.People in the industry know me, but
people walking down the street they don'tknow me. Now I walk down the
street sometimes people like me down andthey tell me they're so happy to see
me. They really rooted for me. You know, I did a good
job. I was funny. Irepresented my culture, my you know,
as a female chef, as anolder female chef, right, all these

(22:27):
things, Like if I didn't goon a show, I wouldn't have gotten
all these opportunities I have right now. So I really think it's you.
You put out what you want.You know, you put up, you
have to be out there to getit. Just like I always refer to
dating, Right, you're not goingto meet somebody if you're just sitting at
home. Yeah, you can maybechat somebody or catfish someone on Tinder or

(22:51):
whatever. Is that what you do. It's not gonna happen if you put
yourself out there. My goodness thatyou got to go out and then you
figure it out. If it's notfor you, you can always quit the
show. You can tell them thatit's not for me. I'm out,
I'm out, or you can justbe like, you know what, I'm
going to go and kill it andI'm just gonna keep going. I had

(23:11):
both moments on the show, sowell, you can't argue with the success
you got from that. Thank you. Yeah, well there's it's always a
pleasure to chat with you and Ican't wait to see you soon, but
most importantly to eat your biscuits.Thank you. I cannot wait. Yeah,

(23:37):
yeah, I will press it toyou to morrow like Jesus. Yeah,
but I cannot wait to see theshow and see who got casted and
what they're doing this season. Soyeah, it's very interesting. Just happy
that it's renewed. That means therewill be a chance for me to go
back on as All Star. Right, Oh, I think you'll be the

(23:59):
first call for I would be shockedif you were not fingers and tolls crossed.

(24:25):
I gotta say, Dan, ofall the interviews we do on here,
we've talked to Dez a few times. I love talking to Dez because
she's like so authentic, she's sofunny, and she's just naturally like a
really charming fun person to chat with. And it's like we can line that
up once a week from now forthe end of the year. I'm happy.
I think we should maybe ask herto maybe she can co recap with
us sometimes at least the premiere.Let's commit to that. Yeah, And

(24:48):
certainly I think, you know,I've had a chance to have meals with
her since the last season, andshe is exactly who she appears on TV
even in real life. Sometimes youhave to even censor her a bit in
public too. I think like shedidn't calling a stand up community. Yeah,
and speaking of favorites, I knowone of our favorite judges is Mujune

(25:11):
Pack. Yes, she's always beenso generous to lend her time to us
on this podcast, so I'm excitedto hear a bit more from her about
what they might be looking for inthis next season. The thing with the
judges, they're so well media trained. I don't open get much in photo
them, but we can. Wealways try, We always try. You're

(25:33):
on the show, right, yeah, okay, okay, okay, yeah,
okay verified Jess, she's oh mygod. But you know, you
never know. That's the thing withTV is just like you know, you
might be like hot one minute andthen you're not the next or you know,
it's just it's a crapshoot. Onething that maybe the average viewer doesn't

(25:55):
know about Top Chef of Canada isthat the judges are not involved in the
casting process at all. No,that's definitely we have casting directors. But
if I feel like there's a goodcandidate or something that some you know,
someone I feel like is a goodfit, I'll definitely put their name forward.
Or sometimes the casting director of theproducers might ask me like, hey,

(26:18):
has there been anyone on your radaror you know, do you have
anyone to suggest and stuff like that, and then I might, you know,
put a name forward or something likethat. But other than that,
like the final call is not upto ask have you ever suggested someone that
didn't do well? And then maybethey took a break from asking you.
They have taken a break from askingme for sure, but I don't remember

(26:40):
anyone that I recommended that didn't necessarilydo well. You know. It's interesting
though, like for the most part, when I which I think I'm kind
of take pride of that actually iswhen like they show us the casting or
who got casted, like very oftenI'll actually know like a good you know,
not not maybe I'll know like ahandful or few of them, which
I love that because I find that, you know, very often people kind

(27:04):
of stay in their own province orlike you have to dine out aggressively to
be able to like know the facesor know the restaurants across Canada and sure
like I don't get out like likeDan you go all the way east,
and which I think is awesome.I don't get out that far sometimes,
so those ones am a little bitunfamiliar with. But when it comes to
like Toronto or Vancouver or Calgary oryou know, let's talk provinces Alberta,

(27:27):
BC and Ontario or even always yeah, sometimes it's like I've been to that
restaurant or I know it, andI think like throughout the years, it's
been kind of cool where I feellike there's been almost a transition where,
you know, instead of the executivechef making it on the show, it
was like the chef cuisine or thesioux chef or sometimes like a private cater

(27:48):
I feel like we kind of openthe doors to promote like the next generation
of chefs and not just the onesthat already have the spotlight that people already
know their names. You know,it's kind of been cool to you know,
spread it out a little bit more. I was going to ask you,
and that's a good lead in what'sthe what are the main things that

(28:08):
you and the judges seem to belooking for. It's interesting because that question,
like it's you know, I couldsay the same every year, like
you know, uh, presentation.Of course, at the end of the
day, it's all flavor and tasteand there's creativity and all of this stuff.
But throughout the years that's also beensomething I feel like has has changed.

(28:30):
And maybe, you know, maybenot speaking for all my fellow judges,
but for myself personally, is likeit's not enough to just be like
technically good and pleas you know,It's like we're looking for something different because
after and you guys know this everybodyyou know, knows so much about food
on this panel right now, andit's just like we've seen so much,

(28:51):
you know what I mean, Andwe've seen so much, like Frind,
we've seen so much, you know, this kind of plating, that kind
of plating, this trend, thattrend, and now it's really about something
that we haven't seen before, somethingthat's like different or that's unique, or
something that really showcases your personality andwhat sets you apart as every other French
trained chef. You know, rightnow we've seen, like you know,

(29:14):
so many of them come through thedoor that it's like you can't just be
like a well trained friend chef.Yeah, it really seems like the people
who make it to the end havea very clear point of view, yes,
of who they are as a chef, or clear point of view of
like their menu and their food.What do you think maybe contributes to that
point of view, Like what doyou think what do they have that makes

(29:37):
that really clear and translates into thedish. You know. It's interesting because
I feel like we've had a bunchof chefs. Yeah, absolutely, Usually
the one who wins is someone thathas like a clear vision of who they
are and what they want to do, and they kind of see the finish
line and they just go for it. But we also have the and they
don't second guess. We all sohave those chefs where they do have that

(30:02):
vision, but this competition is aboutso much more than just your vision because
we throw your challenges. So it'slike, Okay, your vision may be
like farm the table, and thenwe throw you kind of like, well,
this is a Middle Eastern theme orwhatever theme it is, and it's
just like out of your wheelhouse.So to be able to adapt quickly without

(30:25):
losing your vision in who you are, but still being able to adapt to
that challenge is like it's really anart to be able to do that.
Do you recall on your time onthe show, like finding people, because
we're talking about this vision and yourvision of your what your food is and
everything. I personally, when Iwatch that show a lot in the US
version as well, like I findthat chefs often go through this journey and

(30:45):
figure that out during the course ofthe show, and by the end their
own identification of what their thing isseems to be much greater. Do you
ever find that as well? Absolutely, I think it takes them a couple
of tries, especially in the beginning. Sometimes you have those clear winners where
you're like they're winning all the quickfires right from the get go, and
then you have the ones that kindof like creep up, like you know,

(31:07):
it's like they were kind of thedark horse along the way, and
then they suddenly creep up because theyfeel comfortable and they feel confident. And
I feel like the ones that takeit seriously and really listen to the feedback
we're going. We've also had chefswhere like we've been giving you the feedback
the last like four or five challenges, and you're literally not changing because like
you're so either hardheaded or stubborn,or like you just don't want to listen

(31:27):
to it. But like the onesthat really take that feedback without like tripping
over themselves and getting too much intheir head like, well they said this,
so I shouldn't be doing that.Like it's really tricky to be like,
this is what we meant by that, this is how we want you
to apply the feedback to what you'redoing. And I feel like it's just
gaining that confidence. It definitely helpsonce you have a couple wins under your

(31:49):
belt to be like like, Okay, I got it. This is what
they're looking for. This is whoI'm who I am, this is how
I can adapt to the challenges,and yet it takes them a few tries
to get there. I think it'sa fun part of the show for me
to watch when you when you seesomebody, it's almost like one episode someone
will have this ing light bulb momentabove their head like shit, I just
figured this out, Like I guessthis all now and not all this feedback

(32:12):
has to change who I am asa person absolutely, and that's why,
Yeah, for sure, And that'swhy sometimes it's like there's it doesn't benefit
you to be in the middle,you know what I mean. If you're
on the top, you get feedbackfrom us. If you're at the bottom,
you also get feedback of us.The middle group is kind of like
I don't even know what they like, Like they did they like my dish?
Like am I doing things right?Or am I just like coasting the

(32:35):
middle? So it's funny how youcan get really far being in the middle,
but it's just like you're not gettingany feedback from us, so you
actually have no idea what you cando to get better. Or if we're
even enjoying your food. And Ithink once people like start hearing the feedback
of like this is what they like, you know, we want to see
more of you doing this or thatdish that you did, do more of

(32:57):
that, And once they get that, then they're like, Okay, I'm
art to feel like what I'm strongat episode one of every season even went
on. Is there something that happensthat you find makes an impact on you
as something somebody does or a flavorthat just really they hit it right off
the mark and you just carry thatwith you the whole show and you try
to mitigate that as a bias atthat point or do you just roll with

(33:17):
it this is what I like andif you do what I'm going with that,
it's funny. It's like, youknow, I don't know what season
it was, it was maybe seasonErica season I think that was season eight
or nine when she won the Quick. The first person to win the first
challenge typically ends up going pretty far, and that's just been the pattern for

(33:37):
the last like, you know,ten years that we've done the show.
Is just like usually like sometimes thereis a real standout and if you can
like keep on that path, youknow, it's usually it's usually pretty solid.
But yeah, for us, thehard thing is that you're as good
as your last dish. We're nota show where it's like we judge you

(33:58):
over the entire season of how wellyou've been doing. It's literally a year
as good as your last issue.You have a bad day, sorry,
that's it. So I think thathard part is like, yes, okay,
maybe if you're continuously winning the quickfires or the challenges, or like
you're like a front runner runner,or like it was obvious that you have
talent, it's like, can youdo that every single time? Though,

(34:19):
because every single time is really hardand the fact that, like, I
mean, it sucks for us sometimeswe lose a front runner. I think
a big one was probably Matt Ithink that was maybe season six or six,
where he was winning like every singlething and then it was like literally
one bad day and then you justkind of have to go with the rules
of the show and he got votedoff, and I think that was like

(34:43):
shocking because he was literally winning everything. I think we've all known chefs that
have applied for the show made itto varying levels of interviews and not gone
on. How many times? Shouldpeople apply for this show? Like,
if I've applied five times and Ihave not got on, should I just
am I just giving up the TopChef Canada dream? Or is it just
or is it maybe like not,like at what point do you have to
be like maybe I'm not a fit? You know? Oh yeah, Like

(35:05):
that definitely could be part of it, but it's just sometimes you were like
the eleventh person to be casted orlike, you know, you were just
right at that cust. I woulddefinitely keep going for it, Like you're
definitely not getting on the show ifyou don't apply, So I think,
like I would encourage people to keepgoing. And I think we had Lindsay
Porter. I think Lindsay like applieda lot of times and she's done many

(35:28):
shows and it took a while forher to finally get on the show,
but you know, she ended upmaking it on. I definitely know other
chefs that haven't been able to geton, and you know, sometimes they
do give up because it's like,well, now I'm like the executive chef
of a restaurant or like, youknow, my life circumstances change. I
have a kid now and blah,blah blah all this stuff, and you
know, and it sucks because likeI definitely know their chefs that I would

(35:50):
have loved to see on the showthat you know, just kind of for
themselves miss the opportunity. So oneof the feedback after you hear from chefs
bout like thinking of applying with thenervous, and it's about how they're going
to show up on camera, orif they can be confident on camera or
their personality and a you've done you'vebeen on camera so long and we hear

(36:12):
from you that at Judge's table reallymatters your flavors. You know, do
you have a clear point of viewor you bring something fresh? But what
advice do you give to chefs whenthey're like worried about the camera? Honestly,
like least of your worries. Imean, the flack at the end
is might it might get you becauseyou're always going to have trolls, You're

(36:32):
always going to have haters, You'realways going to have noise. But honestly,
if you're there to like win andjust like stay focused and kind of
forget about the noise. But yeah, I mean the editing is funny because
you literally have what thirty hours offootage in the very first episode because there's
so many chefs to interview, andit's the very first episodes. You're kind

(36:53):
of we're all kind of getting everythingtogether, so you have like two days
of footage and you have to getthat down to forty five minutes. So
like, what you guys don't seeare these like hours of deliberation, hours
of giving feedback, hours of thisand that and like trying to you know,

(37:14):
I think it's just like there's somuch you don't see that's behind the
scenes, and then you know inediting they're going to take little bits here
and there and you might lose someof the context. But generally speaking,
you kind of are who you aregenerally speaking, Like, you know,
it's kind of like me, like, you know, you guys know me
on and off camera. You guysknow me as friends, and I think

(37:35):
that when you see me, youknow, in certain seasons, you might
be like, oh, like that'snot that's really her. That's a very
meat June comment that was definitely youknow, not really her. Per So
I think you kind of get alot of that, But overall, we're
not We're not like housewives of Vancouver. We're not selling sunsets. We're not
these reality shows where like the goalis for like drama and the goal for

(38:00):
manipulation and like all the juicy,hot, saucy details in the background.
It's kind of like it's a chefcompetition, so we don't we try to
remove. Of course you need alittle bit of drama, but it's like
all natural. It's not something thatwe're trying to like make happen. It's
all like the organic drama of beingin a chef competition show. So I

(38:22):
do feel like generally how you're shownon TV is kind of how you are,
you know. Sometimes you know,there's some personalities as well, where
I thought, like Camillo, Camillofrom last year, he was awesome.
His personality was like big, bold, funny, so mature and awesome.

(38:42):
I do feel like he kind oflike didn't we didn't really get that.
So once in a while you havethat, But for the most part,
like Desiree, she's literally like that. She's hilarious, she's spunky, she's
quirky, she's everything, and likethat's exactly how she showcased on TV.
So you know, it kind ofon the personality as well, and you're
willing to give to the camera,because some people like hold back on purpose

(39:05):
so they don't get the camera doesn'tget much from them. But if you're
like Desiree and you're just like allin, then like, yeah, it
kind of loves you. Yeah,most shows in Canada, unless you're the
winner, it's really hard to havea show actually change your career, I
think. So we have seen itwith some Top Chif Canada competitors, and
many of them are not even inthe finals that they're usually the ones that
really put thought into what they cando with their time on the show.

(39:29):
So can you speak to the importanceof if you're not going to win,
what should you do to make themost of being on Top Chef Canada?
Honestly, our Jennifer Hudson to meat least our Jennifer Hudson is Wallace.
Oh yeah, okay, yeah,well let's just spreaking. Did you see
it, like yesterday his post hewas in New York City Times Square,
like a huge, gigantic poster inNew York City. Oh I didn't see

(39:51):
that yet? Wow? Massive?Like okay, making it in Toronto's like
you know, a little square islike cool enough already, but like he's
New York, like blown up huge, He's Guinness Book of World Records,
like he was one of where it'sjust like, you know, people were
just like, oh, I don'tknow if he got training, blah blah
blah, and like he definitely hassome hate and he was just like positive

(40:14):
the whole time and was like Ihave goals and like I'm not even gonna
hate on anybody, and I'm justgonna be positive and do my best and
like kill it at life. AndI just like it just makes me be
like, holy crap, like youkilled it. You really did. So
I think that's freaking awesome. AndI think most of the time chefs that
don't win and the ones that winas well, I tell them, I've

(40:37):
told them for years. You canask like tons of the chef that actually
I get to talk to you afterwards. I tell them, I'm like,
the wave comes really fast and itgoes really fast. I was like,
ride that, like take everything youcan, milk it, jump on anything
you can, because it will diedown. It absolutely will die down.

(40:58):
If you're one of the lucky onesthat to stay at the top, Like
that's that's an anomaly almost, soI was like, whatever you get,
like, make sure you leverage theheck out of coming right off of TV
and then just expect it to goreally quick because people forget things so quickly
this day and age. You haveto make sure that after the show and
even the people that don't win orlike I'm not promoting the show, I'm

(41:22):
not going to say it. I'mso embarrassed. I'm not going to do,
you know, and I'm just like, it's really your loss because nobody
knows that. At the end.We've had people who don't win the show,
like Wallace, that do really well, So like who cares, act
like you won, promote the heckout of it. You were still on
it. Like promote the heck outof it, get all the attention you
can get, and people will throwstuff at you, and then it's up

(41:44):
to you to leverage off of that. I think, really it's like your
own personality. It's like, Okay, did you make use of your time
off of being in TV? Didyou leverage you take those those doors that
open for you, and like keepyour content up, keep your social up,
keep appearing out there, and keeppromoting yourself like that, Like you're
constantly selling yourself. So I recommendall chefs to do that, Like doesn't

(42:07):
matter if you're first to get votedout or you're lat or you're the one
that wins, like you know,keep going at that. Yeah. I
think Wallace does that really well becausehe's his tiktoks are so entertaining, like
that whole challenge he did, butlike can he slice like whatever? Yeah.
Yeah, his content particularly does wellon social because it's quick, it's

(42:30):
entertaining, it's incredibly well edited,and it's just these like fast, easy
approachable things and just watching like mesmerizingand you're just like I couldn't watch that
all day. So I think he'sdone really well at at just doing a
full career literally on Instagram and TikTokLike he has no last time I talked

(42:51):
to him, he has no,no, no plans on opening any sort
of restaurant. You know, he'sjust like going for it. And just
like I think he was on Dragonstonor something like that. I don't even
know, but he's done other thingsand he's managed to kind of like leverage
himself in other ways, and I'mjust like that, like that's an example.
I go by I was like,Wallace, teach me your tricks.

(43:14):
Like, yeah, since we're talkingabout Wallace, I think of him as
the only one that comes to mymind, at least as far as like
wasn't a restaurant chef particularly or evena cater and we've seen lots of both
of those on Top Chef Canada.So do you feel like in an age
where people are finding all their recipesnot so much on blogs anymore, but
they're finding like influencers and TikTok videosand they're sharing those back and forth.

(43:36):
Do you think there's going to bean uptick on those types of chefs making
it on the Top Chef Canada oror do you think maybe the skill level's
not quite there to be on thatshow. It's tricky because at the end
of the day, like we docare about technique and flavor a lot,
So just being like an Instagram chefor just because it looks pretty is very
short lived. You know, itmight get the attention of us being like

(43:59):
cool, are like Okay, whatare you doing? That's interesting, but
it's very short lived. If theflavor is not there or we see that
like this is sloppy, it justit cannot make it. You can't make
it through. Are there any pastchallenges from other seasons that you would be
delighted to see again this season?Yeah? You know what, that's a

(44:19):
really good question. I there's alwaysbeen a thing where I'm just like,
oh, I just would I justwant the dishes blind. Like half the
judges are like, I want toknow who's cooking the dish. I want
to know, like they like toknow who cooked it, But me,
I actually rather just like not becauseI feel like it's just a less biased
thing of like I expect the dishto be good because so far they've been

(44:42):
proven to be good, and Ijust feel like I would rather get rid
of that. So I like theblind tastings. But that's actually quite split
for how we feel about that.It's quite split between the judges that like
it anonymous and the judges that don't. Yeah, even that would only work
for certain challenge is obviously there's likean activation or a party or like a

(45:02):
food hall, right right, exactlyexactly like the final menu. I guess
you could probably tell between two people, but right right, Yeah, yeah,
for sure, that one's a littlebit more OCU. One thing that
is always I don't even know ifyou can really speak to this. I
do find with the show sometimes it'slack of social media presence really does contestants

(45:25):
a disservice, especially creating the nextstar unless they're going to bring them back
for an actual episode of the show. I've always found that kind of confusing.
And I don't know if there's behindthe scenes complications or like rights issues
with the main company that owns likeBravo. But again, we kind of
talked about this, but and Wallacetoo, But I think it's super important
for these contestants to be active onsocial media during the show because otherwise,

(45:47):
like you're just not going to getthe following afterwards. Yes, absolutely,
I think we encourage everyone to dothat. I mean sometimes there's been talks
about needing to pre approve, likeyou know, the content that goes up.
Like I know that the behind thescenes stuff can get really sensitive of
like what we're posting and stuff likethat, but like, I don't know,

(46:08):
for me, I'm also on theside where I'm like, that's the
stuff that gets viewed though, likethat's that's the stuff people want to see.
So I think that there's a littlebit like maybe of a more of
a disconnect there of like how wewant to promote the show. Like I
definitely promoted a lot because I'm reallyproud of the show and I'm really proud
of the people that get on it, and you know, I really love

(46:30):
supporting just all the talent in Canadathat we have. So I do think
that there could be a better job, for sure. Yeah, And it's
you know, it's definitely done wellfor some of the chefs that are well,
you know what, it's tricky.It's tricky, like it's it's also
we shoot these things like six toeight months before you see them, so

(46:51):
you know, as you guys knowevery time you travel or whatever, if
I told you to post something fromsix months ago, you're kind of like,
ah, I'm over it, youknow what I mean, what actually
happened. Yeah, for sure,it's Dan. It's like when me and
you were, you know, ona press trip together and then you tell
me like eight months later to postabout it. I'm like, I'm so
over it though, Yeah, Likeyou know what I mean, Like it's

(47:12):
not relevant. And I think inthis day and age with Instagram and stories
and everything, it's like even ifthree days ago, I don't want to
post on it anymore. It's likethat needs to be fresh, even though
people know they're not really seeing livecontent sometimes and it's banked from like a
week ago, and then it's justlike, oh, but there's something that
cool that's happened today, but it'snot going to fit within the you know,
of the thing. And so Ithink that's also really tricky because we're

(47:36):
we can't post any content. Allof it has to be held until the
day it airs, and then youcan start putting content in and by then
it's just like I don't even know, like did I delete them? Because
I need you know, you haveto go back like six eight six eight
months to look for the content.So I definitely think that makes it really
tricky to just like bank all thiscontent for like the time it comes well,

(47:57):
because you've also lost the feeling onhow you were feeling in that moment
and the excitement of it. It'snow just old news that you're trying to
repost and remember how cool it wasor what was fun about it, right,
That's a hard thing to do.One percent, it's really hard to
recall. I think the only thingthat keeps me from being able to is
the fact that when you guys seethe episode, is when I see the
episode, you know, like there'sno we don't get to see in advance.

(48:22):
We don't get these you know,to get us say in the editing.
We don't get to see the finalversion. So when like they are
at the final version and they've sentit out and it's going to air,
like, that's when I see ittoo. And then it's just like this,
actually, that's what happened. LikeI didn't even know. That's like
because sometimes I don't, like Idon't see the quick fire, so it's
like, that's what happened. Orsometimes I know what happened behind the scenes
and I know the parts that theydecided to put in, and then I'm

(48:45):
just like, oh, like Iwant to give more context to that comment
right that I made. Our OhI want to talk about like why because
in the edit it's so quick itit might look like we why did we
vote out that person? It didn'tseem that bad. It's just the way
that editing was. And so likeI usually want to come up on my
Instagram or talk to you guys thateat North and just tell you guys like,

(49:07):
oh, like you know, thisis actually what happened, or like
this was the reason it didn't Itdidn't make it look like it was that
bad, but it was really thatbad. Yeah. Do you ever do
you ever make some comments on thatshow and then immediately turn to someone and
say, you're going to edit thatout? Right? I said something really
dumb. I bet you're more like, please do not edit that out.

(49:27):
You know, we do a podcastand I may text and say I said
something dumb, please stick it outall the time. Yeah, but you
know, sometimes there's that, andthere's something there's often when I'm like,
he says something dumb, take thatout, or she says something domb take
that out. Molly's there something You'relike, there's no way you guys are
using that right. And I thinksometimes so it's funny. Sometimes it's it's

(49:52):
just like you know something that yeahyou don't you don't want to say that.
But sometimes it's also like I don'tactually think that's accurate in terms of
like that dish being authentic in thatway, like you know, it's like
a mistake and like how you talkedabout the dish or like the authenticity or
where that ingredient came from. It'slike that's not actually the origin of the
dish, or that's like not whatthat you know, because now it's getting

(50:15):
so cultural and when it comes toanything like you know, Chinese or something
like that, like I will feelvery passionately about needing to correct that thing
that you think is right that actuallyis what's inaccurate. So certain like that,
I'll like, you know, butso little gets edited in. But
I'm like, I still don't wantto be the show where, like you
know, we're supposed to be thesefood experts and then something someone makes a

(50:37):
commented about dish that's like absolutely likewrong, you know what I mean,
Like that's like so inaccurate, andthen it's just going to make like everyone
kind of look, it's gonna belike the credit of the show is going
to be gone sort of thing,right, yility of that needs to be
sort of preserved because we all havethings that we're not experts on. You
don't want to highlight those things,right for sure. So I think those

(51:00):
things and then we'll learn from eachother a lot, like from like because
we comment so much that during theshow it's like wow, like you know,
no one's gonna know Jewish food kindof like like Eden does, or
you know, Janet's way of knowingItalian food. So there's little tips that
they can give you that you're like, yeah, that's something that I didn't
grow up with, that that's somethingthat you're gonna have to share sort of

(51:21):
thing. And then for sure there'ssometimes comments when I just like make them
about like not liking a dish,and it kind of goes like maybe further
than it should or like I don'trealize how that could be offensive, and
I'm like, I don't even know, like no, maybe I shouldn't say,
but it was just something like Idid comment on a dish and I
did comment, No, you knowwhat, I'm not even gonna go there,

(51:45):
No, no, let's have it. Some of those moments, I'm
just like it just tastes like somethingfrom like a food demo shop, but
it was like a food demo shopfrom like you know, I'm not gonna
say the town but from like thetown that I would imagine that person was
from to be in serving that.And it's like, yeah, but you're
gonna like literally insult that entire townif you leave that comment in there,

(52:09):
So like, let's not do that, right, So it was kind of
one of those moments and I wentlike it went on and on about how
I was, like, you know, being served by the demo lady who's
named Betty, wearing a hairnet,and it was just like on and on,
and I was just like, Okay, I'm like, they're probably not
going to use that, but itwas just this vision that I had that
I couldn't stop. But I wasfrom that lady at a demo shop.

(52:32):
See, and that's a good TikTok. You know. That's that's the k
all right. I think we gotall the intel that we can possibly get
for today. Well, I'm actuallycurious from a viewer perspective, like,
is there anything that you guys wantto see more from like us, or
there's something that you you know thatbothers you about how we do the jurator

(52:52):
judging panel, or something that youknow we could do to make you guys
enjoy the show better. I'm kindof curious about that. I want a
villain, Yeah, no, giveme an asshole on the show. I
want to see villain's nice. Ithink that's hilarious. We talked about this

(53:14):
a little bit. I don't likeany strange themes, and I feel like
Season X had was very poorly thoughtout in some ways with like the the
the twists that it had, soI feel like I think I could just
do away with Sometimes the shows canhave too many theatrics sometimes and I feel
like I just do away with thatand just prefer the like just the cooking.
You know, did we have theatrica lot of theatrics last season just

(53:36):
with the X. It was liketheatrical all the time, and you know,
yeah, so in the end itdidn't really matter much and it was
it was a lot. Yeah,No, for sure. For sure.
It's not offending me, so that'syeah, I would love to hear it.
Yeah, Honestly, some of myfavorite challenges end up being not the
stuff where somebody is putting fluid gelsand dots of stuff all over the place

(53:57):
and everything and you're like, Idon't care. I would, I don't
care that for two hundred bucks aperson I want to see. I want
to see fancy pants people make likethe absolute best of some like homy dish
that they grew up eating, andlike find a way to make it really
interesting and in a way that I'venever seen it. Those are the kind
of things that I like, andI feel like the show is that's been
passed around definitely as like a quickfire or a challenge that's been passed around

(54:20):
before, for sure, because Ithink that's you know what. I feel
like the drag Brunch challenge theme waslike so terribly done in that season.
I forget what season it was,but I feel like you could do a
drag drag and food. I feellike you should have been there for that
one. I mean, in myopinion as an ogah host, I feel
like, yes, you you getwith where I'm coming from. But I
mean, and now they've had somany Canada's drag Race celebrity queens. You

(54:43):
get a pre on call in there. I mean, like there's something fun
you could do with that. Ijust thought that that episode was like,
if you're going to work in somedrag queens as a better way to do
it, for sure. I feellike Dan and people are like vying for
like job at Food Network to comeup with these challenges. That's that's that's
a that's ten years ago. Danclaps, not not a. I totally
think that'd be fun, though.I mean sometimes I'm like, oh,

(55:04):
that'd be fun to come up withchallenges. And you know, our producers
do look at every single episode ofevery single Top Chef all around the world
and all the different franchises to seewhat other people are doing. So like
if any competitor wants to even dothat to be like ultra prepared, you
can do that. And sometimes we'lldefinitely borrow ideas from each other and sometimes

(55:25):
they work, and sometimes they don't. Like that trick of the eye where
it was like we want you tomake a dish that's not really that dish,
so it was like it's it's acarrot, but it was actually smoked
salmon but in the shape of acarrot, and that stuffs really well.
In Europe it does, Like me, it is all all about trumploy I

(55:46):
think that's what they call it,trump Floyd, like trick of the eye,
and like the same thing with likeyou know, France can appreciate it
all these but like in North Americathat just doesn't translate. Well, yeah,
we just don't appreciate food like thatin yeah, but in Europe they
love that stuff. Yeah, Ithink as you're talking about like getting the
fresh ideas or the things that wemight not see in North American and maybe

(56:07):
this happens and it's just not editedor it's not shown, is it's edited
out, but it's the explanation fromthe chef. Especially when it comes to
culture. I think sometimes it's easyto kind of judge a dish through like
a North American lens, but ifthere's like a cultural dish, it would
be really great to hear more oflike where this came from, where they're

(56:27):
thinking, because the texture of thatculture might not translate to the North American
power one hundred percent. And that'swhy I make like a huge effort to
kind of dine as as many differentcultures or places as possible, because I
like, I would really hate thatif I was trying to make something that
had nostalgia to my culture and thenlike you know, it was kind of

(56:50):
the first time you've had is youdon't really understand it and it's hard,
you know, And that's something thatwe're really aware of, I think,
especially the last couple of few years, is like stop using like a French
eye to judge every single dish thatcomes, you know, because it's just
like it doesn't work, you knowwhat I mean? If you're making something
and you're gonna use it, likewe're not, you know, that char

(57:12):
or whatever that smoking and we wantthat, you know, whereas I know
in some some French styles, likethat's really not what you're looking for,
and so it's just trying not togo in with that eye and have those
preconceptions. And you know, likeluckily we're all pretty well traveled, but
I think that's super important to remember. Yeah, and that was great,
a lot of insight, a lotof fun back and forth. And here's

(57:35):
to hoping Top Ship Canada gets aTikTok this year. Yeah, I know,
gosh, okay, Yeah, we'llstart up and you actually maybe and
you using TikTok more. It's justso hard, Okay. Yeah, it's
a whole other it's a whole otherepisode. Maybe you can wall to give
lessons on TikTok. I know,I'll be like, can you just do
it? I'll just pay you todo mine. Yeah, all right.

(58:13):
Well, I hope for any TopChef Canada Season eleven hopefuls out there that
some of this information from both meJune and Des may have been helpful.
I mean, I think, atthe end of the day, the most
important thing is to I don't know, have a foundation of culinary skill,
of course, but maybe just alsoto not overthink everything. You know,
this is TV at the end ofthe day, and things can be a

(58:34):
little bit ridiculous and really intense.So I think, if you're not equipped
to deal with intensity, well,then why are you working in the kitchen
actually, because I mean the kitchensare also so if you lasted in the
kitchen for more than five years,let's say you too, could be on
Top Chef Canada. That's the mostimportant thing, Dan, The most important
thing is eighty villain for season eleven. I mean, I mean, I'm

(58:55):
here for villain. I'm watching dragRace right now, and drag Race a
Maria and there is a villain andshe is she's something for sure, playing
Jane and they haven't had a villainfor so long and it it is so
it's actually fun to have a villainbecause she's like actively aware of her role.
And it's that's what we need.We need a chef that is actively
aware that they're a villain. Kindof just like a shit disturber, you

(59:16):
know, someone that's like stirring thepot metaphorically and literally and yeah, I'm
here for that too. Well,and what I'm hearing is Dan really just
wants another drag queen back on theshow and done well, and I'm definitely
here for that too. Drake Queensmake everything better. Except that one episode

(59:37):
of Top Chef Canada season I forgetwhat season it was, eight or nine.
I think that was just such abotched episode our challenge and was also
a quick fire make it, makeit an elimination challenge. Give the drag
queens the respect and attention they deserve. I want to see Yanka judging Top
Chef Canada. You heard it herefirst. Well, outside of drag what

(59:58):
I also heard from Des and theseyou his agility is really important and being
having a clear point of view andso really understanding how and bringing fresh ideas
but being able to translate that ontothe plate through flavoring technique. So very
tall order. I guess we don'twant to shout out people's names on the
podcast, but I mean, I'mgonna let's be more general. I would

(01:00:21):
love to see another Winnipeg chef onthe show this year. Winnipeg has so
many amazing chefs and so many amazingrestaurants, and you know my hometown Saskatoon
is so rarely represented. I meanthat probably comes down to just there not
being a lot of restaurants. Thereare chefs able to get away, but
I'm always hopeful to see someone elsefrom the Prairies. And I know maybe
Edmonton will have a better year thisyear. All of our whole city is

(01:00:42):
just sitting here with baited breath,hoping will we have someone on the show
for longer than thirty six minutes thisyear. It might happen, maybe doubt
fault foot. Maybe you will knowme as the person who loves my West
coast, so I'm hoping to seeWest coasts albord on West h represent Thank

(01:01:07):
you for listening to our one offepisode of The North Podcast chatting about all
things Top Chip Canada casting with Chefdes Loo and Judge new June Pack.
Thanks as always to my co hostCarmen Chang and Phil Wilson, and we'll
catch you next time.