Most people aren’t necessarily qualified to criticize the contestants on Top Chef. We just watch and think to ourselves, “I would eat that.” However, two-time champion Buddha Lo is one of the few people in the world with enough experience to meaningfully weigh in on the chefs competing in Season 21. He’s got some strong opinions.
Although Buddha is busy cheffing it up at his restaurant in New York City, he’s squeezing in some time each week to weigh in on Season 21 for People. We just saw the first chef pack their knives and go, and Buddha revealed which chef might be the biggest threat in the competition.
Buddha knows best
As a former “cheftestant,” Buddha knows the ins and outs of the competition. Watching Season 21, he said it’s been pretty easy to spot some of the mistakes the chefs have made. It’s also easy for him to see who’s going above and beyond with their cooking.
“I’m looking out for a few chefs,” Buddha said before zeroing in on his favorite. “There’s an Indian chef, Rasika [Venkatesa] — Padma [Lakshmi] would have loved that.”
Buddha continued, “I believe she’s highlighting Tamil cuisine, and that’s really interesting.”
Buddha did acknowledge that he didn’t think Rasika executed the first elimination challenge correctly. However, he said that he thinks she has a lot of potential that we’ll see play out throughout the season. Does he know something we don’t?
Rasika is from Chennai, India, and she currently works as a chef de cuisine in New York. According to the bio provided by Bravo, she started her career in the United States by working at the iconic three-star Michelin restaurant French Laundry. Since then, she has worked with chefs from across the nation, drawing inspiration from her grandmother. Her culinary goal is to reinvent Tamil cuisine. Stay tuned to Season 21 to see if she can turn it out the way Buddha thinks she can.
You can watch Rasika on Top Chef on Bravo, Wednesdays at 9/8c.
TELL US – WERE YOU IMPRESSED WITH RASIKA’S FIRST EPISODE? WHICH CHEF DO YOU THINK IS THE ONE TO BEAT THIS SEASON?
