Chloé Charles, the independent chef of "Top Chef".
-
Marie ETCHEGOYEN / M6
M6 broadcast this Thursday, exceptionally, the eighth episode of season 12 of
Top Chef.
No last chance this week, but the ordeal of the return of the eliminated, which saw the departure of Chloé Charles.
Noted for her dressings sometimes less refined than those of her comrades, the candidate knew "that it was on this [that she would have] difficulties", she explains to
20 Minutes
.
They were two to try to re-enter the competition.
During the traditional round of the return of the eliminated, Bruno and Pierre do not even seem to have had too much to force to find a place again in
Top Chef
.
However, their victory had consequences for Mohamed, who became a lone candidate, and for Chloe, who saw her journey stop during the eighth week.
She confides in
20 Minutes
on the fears she had before participating in the program, the image she returned and her investment in the competition.
How do you approach an event like the return of the eliminated?
It's a pretty sadistic event in a way in the sense that we tell ourselves that Bruno and Pierre are no longer in the competition.
We are happy to find them but we say to ourselves "what are they doing here?"
(Laughs) Their elimination was good news to go further in the competition.
They are angry, they are much more rested than us because the filming is still very tiring.
They want to come back because they clearly left too early.
This season, there is still a crazy level, we are all more or less at the same level, so there have to be some who start first.
Before participating in
Top Chef
, you said that it was not necessarily for you.
Why this ?
I find that
Top Chef
is more and more versed in the kitchen but at one point it was very reality TV, due to the time when it was broadcast.
There is also an economic reality with my business that I really like and fight with.
We are living through a complicated period and I said to myself that it was a way of staying in the game and getting the ball rolling.
Were you apprehensive about the broadcast of the show?
It's true that I still dreaded the image they were going to make of me.
TV doesn't have a very good image after all, an image that often alters the traits of our personality and doesn't reflect exactly who we are.
Anyway, that's what I thought.
Afterwards, I realized that there were people behind
Top Chef
who weren't looking to do that and that if I stayed on my own, it still worked.
I took the risk and I'm not unhappy with it.
Was the fact of being an independent chef an additional pressure?
I have worked for a long time in more traditional catering and I love working in a team.
I do it anyway since I also do menus for 100 people and I can't be alone.
Where it was a pressure was that I have a business and I want it to last so it was a gamble.
Will it do it or will I pass for the service ball?
I risked my credibility and this is also a bet I made.
If there's one thing the show insisted on, especially at the beginning, it's the dressings of your plates.
Did you also feel that it was a weak point before people pointed out to you?
It has always been a weak point, it has always been what the chefs have criticized me for.
I know that in
Top Chef
, it's quite special.
You have to do particularly aesthetic dressings while I prefer to have the most raw product possible because I find that it is what is most beautiful.
It's not something that works in a competition like
Top Chef
, so I knew that was where I would struggle.
During the interview, we see that you crack even if you say that you do not want to cry.
Is it representative of your level of investment in the competition?
It's an ultra-addicting competition, which plays on emotions, stress, fatigue and company.
I didn't expect to feel so much.
It's rare to feel so much stuff, whether it's joy, sadness, stress, satisfaction.
It is precious because to feel all that, it is finally a chance.
I love to feel strong emotions, that's what makes us human and that we have fun.
The emotions of disappointment, sadness, are not necessarily those that we want to live directly but in reality, it's great to feel that.
Today, are you still an independent chef in Paris?
What are your projects ?
I love my box, I love what I do.
The goal is to increase it tenfold.
At the moment, I am launching a line of delicatessen products in collaboration with a lot of different brands.
It's really to get people to cook at home, showing them it's pretty simple and it's all about condiments.
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