Gail Simmons is Proud of the Way 'Top Chef' Has Made Americans Think Differently About Food
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00:00First of all, congratulations.
00:01What do you think is the secret to the success of Top Chef?
00:06I mean, the show.
00:07We've had so many incredible seasons.
00:09I agree.
00:10You know, it's hard to say.
00:11I think it's really the backbone of our show is the chefs.
00:14Our casting department finds the most extraordinary stories
00:17to tell, the most talented people.
00:18And we choose a different backdrop
00:20every year, which allows the script to write itself.
00:24We have an amazing team.
00:25And with Kristen Kish as our new host,
00:27she has just kind of evolved it to a place
00:29we didn't even know we could go to.
00:32You know, the relationship that we all have together
00:35is very special.
00:36And it's like we have this amazing traveling circus
00:39family that I think is very rare on television.
00:42Are there any off-screen moments, any fun moments
00:45that you can recall, special memories?
00:47Tons.
00:47I mean, I think that over the years, there's been a million.
00:50But right now, especially, I love
00:52that Kristen and I get to sort of push Tom to his limits.
00:57And I think we just all have a lot of fun together.
00:59We eat out together.
01:00We explore each location together.
01:03You know, we get to bring our families on the road with us.
01:06And we all just kind of love doing what we do.
01:09I mean, eating and finding great talents and delicious dishes
01:13day after day is just like a dream job.
01:15I know you have tried so many dishes, more than anyone
01:19probably has ever tried.
01:20What's the most interesting thing
01:22that you've tried so far?
01:23Anything that you can recall?
01:24It's hard to say.
01:25There's millions.
01:26You know, that's the amazing thing about being alive.
01:29Every five hours, you are hungry again.
01:31And I think that the best part of the job
01:34is that you kind of can never have the same thing twice.
01:37So every season on the show, there
01:39are dishes that blow me away.
01:40And they could have never been created,
01:42except in that vacuum of a world that we put to them, right?
01:46These challenges that we set that
01:48push our chefs to produce wild, amazing creations.
01:53And I think that's the point of the show.
01:54That's what I love the most about it,
01:55because every day is different.
01:57And I never eat the same thing twice.
01:59Yeah, that is a dream job, honestly.
02:01I read, too, you said the show has changed how Americans
02:04are eating out now and eating.
02:06And it's created monsters.
02:07Talk to me about that.
02:08Why do you think that?
02:09Well, that's sort of a joke.
02:10But it's true that I've said it, because I
02:12think when we started making this show 19 years ago,
02:16we all ate very differently.
02:18And I think it's always a bit of a chicken and egg situation
02:20of, did we do it because the industry was moving that way?
02:25Or did we do it, which set the industry in motion
02:27to move a certain way?
02:28But I think we've really worked closely and very proud
02:31of the industry that we represent
02:33as the restaurant industry, the hospitality industry.
02:37And I think that civilians, when they go eat out now,
02:42we've given them a language for that.
02:44And sometimes we joke, Tom and I,
02:46that it's worked against us, because we'll
02:48sit down in a restaurant not to judge food.
02:50We are off duty just enjoying a meal.
02:52And we'll hear people beside us at the table next to us
02:54saying things like, this dish needs more acid.
02:57And we'll be like, oh, that's totally our fault.
02:58I'm really sorry.
02:59We just created.
03:00But I'm proud that we have made people think a lot more
03:03about the way they eat, what they order out,
03:05trying new things, diversifying the way they think about food.
03:08And I think at the end of the day,
03:10that's the point of why we do what we do.
03:11Exactly.
03:12And lastly, where do you see the future of Top Chef?
03:15Where are we going to go from here?
03:16There's a whole world to explore.
03:18Traveling is really integral to the show.
03:21So I love that we're in Canada this year,
03:23which is my home country.
03:24And I think that's going to make it feel really different,
03:26really fresh.
03:27I think there's a lot that Americans don't know about
03:29Canada and don't realize.
03:32And then, I mean, the world.
03:33Let's conquer it all.
03:34I'm ready.
03:35You can keep going forever, right?
03:36We can, if they let us.