He’s done it again! And now he’s speaking to that experience. Top Chef Season 19 winner, and now Season 20 winner – Buddha Lo is giving us insight into the experience.
Buddha has been cooking professionally since he was a child, and has experience in more Michelin-star restaurants than many of us have ever eaten in. His family was in the restaurant business, and he’s honestly been pursuing excellence ever since.
Second time around
Are we surprised he won twice in a row? No, but tackling a second season on the heels of the first is quite the challenge. Of the experience Buddha said, “It feels incredible. It’s still very hard to digest … You dream of winning it once and then to be the only person that’s ever won it twice … it’s definitely, it was a lot of pressure.”
Also, he did have doubts about how the second season would go – especially as everyone there was not only a contender, but a winner. Speaking to the competition, he stated, “This has got to be on paper the hardest season of all time … you have people that have made it all the way to the end, every single one of them all the way to the end. So, to be able to compete against them and come out the winner; it’s just incredible.”
What to do now?
Buddha indicated that his second win means more than the first. But what’s he going to do with his winnings? He’s not sure, and it doesn’t seem to be top of mind. He said, “I still don’t know what to do with prize money … I’ve just lived a little bit more comfortably than I have in my in my whole life.”
It’s easy to forget that everyone on the show is a professional and has a life to go back to. Buddha is currently Executive Chef of Marky’s and Huso in NYC which is America’s only caviar-tasting menu restaurant. He will likely continue to do good work and put out amazing food there. And though he has much formal training, he is also said to enjoy cooking everything down to street food.
Top Chef ended for the season (and Padma Lakshmi is no longer), but likely another will be here before you know it. Until then, eat well.
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED AT ALL THAT BUDDHA WON? HAVE YOU TASTED ANY OF HIS FOOD? DO YOU EXPECT A TOP CHEF IN SEASON 21?
