She's got chops: The extended interview with Top Chef's Radhika "Rad" Desai

In this week's issue we introduce you (again) to Radhika Desai, chef at Between Boutique and Lounge and the only Chicagoan competing on this season of Bravo's Top Chef. This was not the easiest interview to conduct, not because Desai is tough to talk to but because I never actually talked to her—Bravo's publicity machine would only allow her to answer questions over email, and then had to approve them to boot. (Bravo's overly protective nature is due to information about former seasons getting out, something TOC is certainly guilty of; the superstitious among you will no doubt call this "karma.") Thus, what you read here is not so much the real Radhika as it is the sugar-coated, media-trained, spit-and-polished Radhika. Not ideal, but we're all Bravo's bitches now, so we'll take what we can get.

With the show about to air, are you remembering anything you did that you now regret? Anything that makes you think: “Oh my God, my family is going to see this”?
I tried to represent myself as well as possible. Obviously, the elimination format puts a lot of pressure on you as a chef, and under pressure you can do things a little out of character. In one of the commercial spots I say “I can cook my ass off.” When I saw that, I was worried how my family would react. My parents are from India originally and are fairly traditional, and the show is broadcast in India, so a lot of relatives are going to have the opportunity to get a close-up look at my life on the show. I’ve told them to keep in mind the pressure and watch the show with a filter.

What do you think the implications of you being on the show are for Between?
With the word out that I’m going to be on the upcoming season, we’ve already seen a spike in business at Between and everyone from servers to suppliers to customers have been a lot more friendly toward me.  I think of myself as a regular girl, so it’s kind of strange that everyone wants to be my new best friend. But, I encourage everyone to come in and meet me and taste my food or ask for my autograph, as crazy as that sounds to me. The restaurant is located kind of off the strip between two pockets of restaurants and bars so I hope my role on the show could be something that draws people down the street a little bit. We are starting a new fall menu on Election Day that includes braised duck samosas and butterfish with corn chorizo sauce, as well as the return of the curried lobster bisque. I encourage everyone to vote, and then come check out the new dishes.

Has being on Top Chef been a longtime goal of yours?
I’ve been a huge fan of the show since the first season. But honestly, as a chef, I didn’t think I was ready to try out until this past season… I found myself thinking what I would do, or how I would interpret a challenge more often watching the fourth season. I think in the past year and a half at Between, I’ve developed my style and made little bit of a name for myself.  This is my first job as an executive chef and I think it’s been great preparation for this moment.

Tell me about the process of getting on the show.
There is a ton of competition to get on the show. My brother is a doctor and he jokes that it was probably easier for him to get into his fellowship than it was for me to get on the show. At each step of the process I was nervous, [but] my family and my friends were incredibly supportive. Every point I got past, they never seemed surprised, and I thought, if they have this much faith in me, maybe I can do this. For the most part, the process had me nervous, but there were a couple fun points, [like] filming the application video. We shot it at the restaurant and had a lot of fun with it. I’ve never laughed so much. Thankfully, it was well edited.The most fun part was when they called to tell me I made it. I remember I was walking to work, and I started screaming like a teenage girl.

Now that you’re about to become a food television personality, I wonder what your impression of other food television is.
I think the Food Network has some very good programs—I’m a huge fan of Iron Chef America. Some of the TV chefs that I’m a big fan of are Ming Tsai and Tom Colicchio. The TV chefs I tend not to like are those who aren’t formally trained in cooking and the arrogant chefs. I’ll let the readers use their imagination on that one. When I come home from work, I’m usually pretty wound up and want to watch something.  Other than food shows, I have my DVR set for Project Runway, Top Design, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Now that you’ve gone through the Top Chef process (or most of it, at least), do you have any regrets?
I can’t say too much about that, but I would say, I’m glad I went for it and I encourage other chefs to try out for it.  It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I made some great friendships with the other chefs.

Did you enjoy being in New York? Had you spent a lot of time in New York before?
I’ve been to New York a handful of times.  I was in Times Square for New Year’s in 2000 hoping the world wouldn’t come to an end with Y2K.  I’ve also been to NY to cook at the James Beard House a couple times.  I didn’t get to see much of the city either time.  I’d like to take some time and go as chef and sample some great New York restaurants.

Eat anywhere in New York that was amazing?
No comment.

You’re the latest Chicagoan to be on Top Chef—who do you think the next Chicagoan to be on the show should be?
Chicago has a lot of great chefs, some established and some up-and-coming. I can’t pick one that I think should be on the show, but I would like to see someone young, fresh and creative to represent Chicago on the show next year.

Top Chef premieres on Wednesday 12 at 9pm. Photo: Martha Williams