{Published in The Sunday Paper on Dec. 13, 2009}
Atlanta’s “Top Chef” Kevin Gillespie
/Photo by Fredrik Brauer
By Kirsten Ott Palladino
As I walked into Woodfire Grill the morning after the finale of “Top Chef: Las Vegas” aired last week, I noticed half-full glasses and empty bottles of wine strewn about the bar—signs that, perhaps, a festive and celebratory viewing party had ensued just hours before, with Atlantans and the rest of the nation holding on with baited breath to see if Kevin Gillespie, the final of three Atlanta competitors, would win the last and most important challenge in the competition.
According to head judge Tom Colicchio, host Padma Lakshmi and food critic and author Toby Young, Michael Voltaggio was the winner, and his older brother Bryan came in second place. The competition is a series of challenges, and each one has a winner. Gillespie, executive chef and partner of Woodfire Grill, won the most throughout, and had the show’s winner been judged cumulatively, he certainly would have been crowned Top Chef.
Still, though, in Atlanta’s heart—and optimistically speaking, in all of America’s, too—Gillespie is our Top Chef. He played the game with restrained grace, humility, heart, refined skill and an innate understanding of the purest essence of food and its ability to speak to the soul. Gillespie invited me in for a chat, and here’s what he had to say for himself.
Q /
You’ve won five challenges before the finale. Which one were you most proud of?
A /Probably the Bocuse d’Or. It was certainly the most challenging.
In the final challenge, you doubted Preeti after drawing her name first, and you got mad at her when she wasn’t pulling her weight. How’s your kitchen-management style at Woodfire?
I’m fairly easygoing in the kitchen here. And I really feel like I owe Preeti [Mistry] an apology, because it wasn’t her fault. I was misdirecting my emotions at her, and it was unfair of me.
Who would you rather have drawn?
Jennifer [Carroll] and Eli [Kirshtein]—because I’m the most comfortable with them and they know my philosophy and vision for my food.
What are the main reasons you entered the competition? And looking back, did you meet that goal?
I entered to see how I would perform. Of course, I wanted to win. And in my opinion, I did win.
Tell me about your simple, Southern style. Has it evolved over the course of this show?
My food style is to use traditions that I grew up with combined with techniques I’ve honed in my career. I cook food I believe in. But it didn’t really change during the show.
During the airing of the finale, you Tweeted that you were the first Top Chef in history to receive third place.
Yes, I do feel like I was robbed of my moment there, because normally in the final, you have the winner and the runners up. You don’t get sent home. And that was really embarrassing.
You said on the show, “Pork is my jam.” What’s the allure of pork for you?
Ha! I love pork. Pork, as an animal, is the most utilitarian—it’s the most usable. Pork has the capacity to be a leading act or to play a supporting role.
When you started the competition, who did you feel would be your biggest competitor?
From the very beginning, I felt like brothers Michael and Bryan Voltaggio would be my biggest competition. … Isn’t that funny?
On the show, Padma seemed to be a big fan of yours. How were she and Tom off the air?
You know, I didn’t get to spend a lot time with them until the show was over, but they’re both really great. Tom also is a chef, so he and I have a mutual respect for different cooking styles. There’s no “my method is better than yours.” And Padma is a really lovely person.
You said on the finale that you were an underdog in this competition. Do you still feel that way?
I came into this with no celebrity experience. Though I have plenty of experience, it’s a little bit more modest. People viewed me as just some kid from the South. People don’t always realize that [in the South], we’re not just about comfort food. I intended to show that we have fancy food, too—with focus, flavor and execution.
I hear you—and your beard—are now single. What dish or dinner could a woman make to impress you on a date?
Anything! Everyone is scared s**tless to cook for me. Please cook for me! No one cooks for me. I would love to not have to cook for myself one night or have to go out to eat. I’d be impressed with any dish she knew how to make.
How has the volume of sales at Woodfire Grill increased since this season of “Top Chef” started?
We’re up by 300 percent and booked almost three months in advance. I’ve talked to some of the others [competitors], and their restaurants are busier, too. But I really think we’re the busiest. And we’ve risen to the challenge.
What did you think about that “biscuit and gravy” comment from Tom?
I thought it was funny. People do generally think the South is full of common folk who cook food that doesn’t belong in a culinary competition. And I want to change that. The South has the richest, longest storied food history, and we should celebrate that. There is elegance and refinement in the tradition of Southern cooking that we can be proud of.
Tell me about the matsutake mushroom. It seemed to be the downfall of the evening.
The mushroom was tricky. I wouldn’t have used it after seeing the way it came out, but I had to use it. That comment from Tom last night about “Why did he put it on the plate?” … Tom knows exactly why I put it on the plate. It was either get [in trouble] for not using it or for using it. My cooking technique for it was my best perception, and it turned out not to be right. Frankly, the mystery box pissed me off because what was inside was garbage.
Regardless of how the show ended, Atlanta loves you and you’re our top chef. You really do have a gift. Out of all the chefs on the show, you cooked with the most heart, and it really comes through in the food you serve here at Woodfire Grill.
I think it’s about staying focused and honing in on my skill set. I feel like cooking is the birth of my body, soul and mind … that food is a tangible art.
In your senior year of high school in Henry County, you hid your acceptance and full scholarship to MIT from your friends and family and ultimately decided you wanted to be a chef. What was the turning point for you?
I had an epiphany. There was a moment of clarity when I realized that my happiness was not based on a fiscally sound career choice. I have to use my brain doing something that I believe in and have my choice of work allow me to live the way I want.
Where do you go from here?
I’m staying at the restaurant. I want to continue to focus on improving the quality and achieve five stars. There’s a lot that I want to do though that I can’t talk about quite yet. I want to write books. I feel like I have a gift for speaking and educating. All I wanted to do was to tell my story through food, and I think I’ve done that.
Woodfire Grill is located at 1782 Cheshire Bridge Road NE. 404-347-9055. www.woodfiregrill.com.
