"More intense", the semi-final of "Top Chef" does not scare Adrien

As two weeks of “Top Chef” semi-finals begin, “20 Minutes” spoke with Adrien to talk about his state of mind, the competition and his future

Will Adrien be one of the finalists for "Top Chef"? - © M6

There are only three shows left before finding out who will win the eleventh season of Top Chef .
Among the three remaining candidates, Adrien Cachot impressed the fans of the competition with his innovative, modern and explosive dishes.
The candidate shared his impressions of the competition at this stage of the game with 20 Minutes .

There are only three weeks left. Three weeks of intense competition during which Adrien Cachot, David Gallienne and Mallory Gabsi will do everything to become the “Top Chef” of this eleventh season of the M6 program. The three candidates, from three different brigades, will compete in the semi-final for two weeks, until the final scheduled for June 17. Adrien, supported by the newcomer to the season Paul Pairet, surprised viewers throughout the game with his amazing creations, always more delusional than each other. For 20 Minutes , the cook takes stock of his adventure, a few days before the end, and his state of mind vis-à-vis his competitors.

We felt you serene throughout your journey. Did things start to change when the semi-final arrived?

I have always been in the same line of conduct. Obviously, when the quarter-finals and the semi-final arrive, you have to be a little more serious. Even if the goal is still to eat well, there is pressure because the goal is to go further in the competition. I took it more seriously. Before, I really had fun and there I had fun but I got a little more focused too.

You are facing Mallory, chef de partie of a two-star restaurant, and David, a chef one star. How do you feel about these two very different personalities?

I'm a bit of an outsider. I arrive with a restaurant of 19 m2, I have a four-burner oven, and I fall in front of candidates who drive in Ferrari, while I drive a little in "Deudeuche". There is an imbalance on the material side but on the human side, there are three cooks left so I still feel good. I think I have my chances like the other two candidates.

For the semi-final, each candidate reserves for the others a test which corresponds to their personality. Which one is yours ?

I reserved a meal for them around the organ meats because that's how I started to differentiate myself in my restaurant. It's a product that we don't use too much, that is inexpensive, and that allowed me to be a little different from other restaurants, even if they are part of our culture. Offal allowed me to start my entrepreneurial career. After the quarter-finals, I might have thought about doing a more creative test, but at that point in the test, that's what I wanted to offer.

Do you come out of the quarterfinals with five rounds in a row? Do you consider it the most difficult stage?

No, there are many quarterfinal events that I really liked. The trials of the culinary show and the new way of tasting, it was magnificent. It allowed me to discover other aspects that we do not necessarily have on the competition, there is a freedom of expression which I like very much. I am very happy to advance to the semi-finals, we are tired but it is a bad time to pass. It's a game so we go all out, but we come out in a good mood. For the quarter-finals, we did one test per day, and for the semi-final, it was three tests in two days. It was more intense but we are used to working at high frequency in the kitchen.

When you're introverted, what's the hardest part: the ordeals or talking to the camera?

The camera side didn't bother me too much. It is true that it is special sometimes, as I am a little introverted, for the people behind the camera. The production had to go the extra mile and so did I. In the end, it's good because the production opened up to a profile they were not used to having. And I opened up to something that I didn't used to do either. It's also where you learn, and it's still fun.

In last Wednesday's episode, you said, "I still don't know who I really am and what I really want to do." Has anything cleared up since then?

We meet different personalities, and meeting creative chefs makes you want to have fun and come and play with them. I like the popular side so I would like to have a nice popular project and a quirky project in which I could have fun to do something funny and cool.

Since June 2, the restaurant terraces have been able to reopen. How did it go for your Détour restaurant in Paris?

I'm supposed to return the restaurant on June 15. It was my last lap in mid-March. The restaurant was getting too small for us, even if it was a nice break in our life. You have to know how to move forward. We had planned to finish with all our customers who became our friends, because we created great links as the restaurant was small. We will find them in the next place. We didn't have a terrace, we had 19 m2, that's ridiculous. We surely had one of the smallest restaurants in Paris.

What is your project now?

Now we are going to look at a future project. I'm pretty impatient, I need it to go fast. The problem is that it is an environment in which we cannot always go fast. I will take my pain patiently. I am waiting to see the opportunities that I will have.

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