Some people love him, some people hate him, but Stefan Richter was part of what made this lackluster season 5 of Top Chef interesting for me. And when I found out that he reads my blog, I was tickled.
To you haters (God, I sound so...urban), Stefan is really a nice guy. He doesn't take himself as seriously as his detractors seem to. Sure, he's cocky - but he has reason to be: he's talented. I find him to be quite flirty and amusing and rather charming.
I participated in a conference call with him on Thursday afternoon in which he was asked all of the usual questions about the show. Here are some of the highlights.
When asked what he could have done to win Top Chef:
“I won! If you’re the winner, you get the egg. A 100K egg. But if you’re the runner-up, you get the chicken. (When I called him to elucidate the chicken/egg thingy, he simply said, "I have more freedom." He couldn't reveal more than that, and I took that to mean that the winner of Top Chef ends up with a lot of responsibilities that the runners-up don't have to deal with. Meanwhile he's gotten tons of positive exposure, which is always a good thing.)
When asked about consoling Carla when she started to cry:
“Carla is very sweet. I love her. She’s funny, she’s nice. I am a softie! I can’t see a woman cry; it breaks my heart. That’s why I picked Marcel. I looked at her and thought she would not be able to deal with Marcel. I love Carla. Of course I’m a softie.”
Stefan then complimented Marcel, saying he was a good chef. But also a prick, a twat. When asked if he was surprised that word made it on to television, he said, “no, it’s not that bad. I said cock two times before.”
On being disliked:
“I’m always very confident. People call it cocky or arrogant. I call it confident.”
“I’m Type A. It’s my way or the highway. You saw that on the show.”
About his relationship with Jamie:
“I love the lesbians! Who doesn’t? She has a great smile, the best laugh. She’s a great chef. I love Jamie. We’d make pretty babies.”
What’s next?
“I have a line of clothing coming out, shirts and panties at cockychefclothing.com. A book is coming out, my story, my life. (Dirty Dishes)” “I do want to open a restaurant but I want to do it the right way. I don’t want high-end, not in this economy. I don’t want a place where you charge $13 for a Bud Light!”
What he learned by being on Top Chef:
“The most important thing I learned by being on Top Chef is that the public does matter. I love the blogs. They can make you or break you. I was never a blog reader but now I realize they are very important.”
About making friends:
“I have made wonderful friends: Hosea, Carla, Fabio, Leah. I’m 36 years old. There’s no time for arguing anymore. I’m over that shit. I want to keep them all in my life. I love them all.”
“We all understand it’s a reality show. Sometimes we say things we regret. But I meant everything I said.”
I'm sure you'll be seeing more about Mr Richter here on this blog in the near future. Stay tuned. :)