Robin Leventhal didn’t get along with much of her competition on this season’s Las Vegas edition of Bravo’s Top Chef, but it wasn’t from lack of trying. The former owner of Crave, a popular Seattle bistro that closed due to an impasse with the site’s landlord, has battled back from cancer, so she knows a thing or two about adversity. The fact that she remains positive and upbeat is a testament to her strength.
On dealing with the other competitors’ disliking of her, she says, “I approached every day with generosity in my heart and hoped that they (her chef competitors) would give me the same consideration. I don’t like maliciousness and I didn’t want to be subjected to it, so I distanced myself. I think that made me unpopular.”
While she wasn’t a villain ala season 2′s Marcel, Leventhal wasn’t exactly an endearing personality during her time on the show.
When Leventhal won immunity in the second episode and opted out of competing, it sent the message that she was perhaps fearful of cooking against everyone else. There’s some truth there. Yes, Leventhal’s competitors were too forceful in their disliking of her, but to be a Top Chef, to be a winner in a competition filled with extremely talented chefs, not to mention world class chefs and writers as the judges, you have to go for it each and every time. There’s no second place here and your reputation and your talents and drive need to be apparent day in and day out. Sitting on the sidelines may keep you in the game another week but it won’t carry you to the top.
Also, I think I’d be as pissed off as Michael Voltaggio was on this week’s episode when he had to try and cook in the same area that Robin left a mess in. It turned out okay for him, but he really should not have had to clean up after her. And when she came in and attempted to clean up while he was already cooking is just gasoline on a fire. I’m a fairly patient and easy going guy, but I don’t think I could have managed to let her off on that one had I been in Voltaggio’s shoes.
However, as for the claim that more talented chefs went home before she did, that’s all a bunch of crap. Mike Isabella registered nary any excitement from the judges and could never deliver on his rampant cockiness and over-inflated ego – time and time again he delivered food that was shocking in its mediocrity; Mattin, Preeti, Ron and Hector, all seemingly talented, got booted off for making food that was, in some cases, insipid or vile. Ash shot himself in the foot by marginalizing himself. And Ashley…well Ashley didn’t deserve to go home the week she did, quite frankly. But by and large, those that went deserved to go.
But that’s the way it goes. It’s safe to say that the five remaining contestants all deserve to be there. But my money’s on Eli going home next. Then again, Jen’s been in the bottom the past three times, so it could be her. We shall see.
The day after the episode in which she was evicted aired, Leventhal fielded questions from myself and others in the media. Below are their questions as well as mine and her responses.
Can you talk about the cuisine in Las Vegas and what makes it different from any other city?
We did get taken out to a few meals which was absolutely wonderful. I thought it would be all flash. There is a very upper echelon dining experience. I cherished the meal at Paul Bartolotta’s and Rick Moonen’s. Both I felt were very genuine and heartfelt meals that were about flavor and not about flash. There were wow factors there but it was not pretentious at all.
Did it frustrate you that the other contestants this season had quite an opinion of whether or not you should be in the competition as long as you were?
It was disappointing that they didn’t respect me. I did everything in my power to not let it frustrate me because that would have empowered them. Who are they? They’re not judging me. It’s the judges that are going to send me home.
Were you trying to take a lot of risks in the season?
My strategy and my intention was to stay true to what I knew and make my comfort food. Flavor is paramount. We always eat with our eyes first, presentation is important. But I don’t have the molecular gastronomy skills under my belt. I’m still as good of a chef as Michael Voltaggio, but we are very different chefs. His food will attract and appeal to a different clientele and I felt my goal was to stay true to what I know. I have plenty of friends that love my food, too. My style didn’t feel as dynamic in execution. Which is where I think I sabotaged myself. Not recognizing that the dynamism is on the plate and in your mouth and not how it got there.
Watching back what were some of your thoughts of the food critiques you received?
There were a couple that hurt. My Sesame Street thing. I had actually done a dim sum a few weeks before I left for the show. It’s called “Dragon’s Eye”. And it’s sausage with an egg inside of it. I thought it was so fun and delicious. I think that I got critiqued a little harshly. It didn’t look as nice as I would have liked it for sure. Paul (Bartolotta) mentioned that the meat itself didn’t have a lot of flavor, whereas I actually did season it dramatically and tried to make it very sausage-esque. I think my savory flan on my deconstructed clam chowder. I actually thought it turned out beautifully, but Toby (Young, Top Chef judge and popular food critic) thought it was rubbery. How much is true and how much is perception…I think food is subjective. In the end I am really proud of what I did.
You seemed to butt heads with a few of the contestants. Was there as much tension as they cut it to be?
Yeah, unfortunately. It’s ironic because I really did my absolute best not to have friction. I tried to distance myself and not subject myself to (that) energy. You can only go so far and then your buttons get pushed. The whole country knows I talk so it was hard for me to keep my mouth shut.
Did you have any expectations about what it was going to be like or what the judges table was going to be like?
I think I had a lot of fears going into it. It’s one thing to sit on your couch and watch a quickfire and it’s another thing to be in that kitchen. It’s not your usual space and your bearings are all discombobulated. I focused on keeping myself centered and trying to cook food I knew. What my expectations were and what I delivered were not synonymous, unfortunately.
What was it like watching the episodes on TV? Do you like watching yourself on TV or do you shy away from it?
I’m hypercritical of myself already. It’s a little challenging, but at the same time I think that who I am as a person comes through. I appreciate that they gave me a chance to show who I am.
It seems like in the last few challenges Michael Voltaggio started to get under your skin. Did you leave pissed of at him?
I don’t want to have angst in me. I don’t want to empower any of that negativity. Mike and I actually made up immediately at the end of our service. I think that’s just a reflection of the intensity of a competition and the intensity of dinner service. We both right afterwards gave each other hugs and apologized. I think that ultimately that’s the reality of our business.
Are you rooting for any one of the chefs left?
Kevin! He’s my hero. I like Kevin to win. He’s such a genuine kind person. An incredibly talented chef. Incredibly genuine in spirit. He’s just so gracious to everybody. He never let the drama become a factor for him. I think he was very serious and committed to the process. I wish I could have learned more from him. I was just very endeared by him as a person and impressed by his food.
What is going on with Jen? She seems to really be falling apart.
We’re all falling apart! It’s hard. The competition is your daily challenges, but it’s also the longevity, the endurance factor. It’s nonstop, day in and day out. I took my mornings to restore energy and I really cherished the half-hour a day that I got to myself. That was my self-empowerment, whereas I think the other people were burning the candle at both ends. Every day you have to face your own inner self, too. Can I do this? Can I keep it up? Somebody had asked, ‘Who’s the hardest judge?’ I would say I’m the hardest judge on myself. And I think Jen, too, is really hard on herself. She is hyper intensely hard on herself. So I think she’s beating herself up a bit.
What’s next for you?
I’m developing a product line that will both give a percent donation for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also keep my hands in food. I’m also going to create a tableware line that will marry my love of the food and the table and bring my masters in fine arts degree to the forefront again.
I was wondering if there was one dish looking back that you wish you could redo from scratch what would it be and what would you do differently?
I would redo my panna cotta dish that I just got eliminated on. One of the things in the Bellagio was a chocolate fountain. One of my deserts at Crave was a banana chocolate terrine. It would have answered the assignment. It would have been something I know and was tried and true and dear to my heart and would have been visually dazzling and taste delicious. The only problem with that is it’s a frozen dish. So that can pose it’s own challenges. I basically pushed my envelope into an area that was beyond my comfort zone. If I could redo anything it would be take that one challenge back and make what I know. And listen to my brain. I kept saying, ‘Why do I keep doing this to myself? Why can I not come here and do what I set out to do?’ Which was make my comfort food. I regret that, but I don’t live life by regrets. It was an amazing opportunity.
With regards to the hostile nature in the house, is there anything on your end that you feel you could have done differently yourself to perhaps get along more?
I’m not much of a suck up. I’m definitely a team player and I’m a generous person. I don’t like maliciousness and I didn’t want to be subjected to it, so I distanced myself. I think that made me unpopular. I did stand up for myself which maybe was part of it. I should have just shut up and taken it, maybe? I don’t know. Would I do anything different? I think I did what I had to do to survive that atmosphere. I approached every day with generosity in my heart and hoped that they would give me the same consideration. It did culminate and it did get worse as people got eliminated. As my friends were gone…’cause when it was a big group at first it was a lot of fun and everybody loved everybody. I think it was a reflection of the competition, our exhaustion, the challenge of living in a house and being trapped together. There was a lot of things and I don’t think it was really as much me as I was a convenient scapegoat. But most of the people I got along fine with. It’s like high school and everybody wants to be on the cool team. Some people were nice to me on the sly. When nobody was around they’d be nice, but when Mike I (Isabella) was the ring leader everybody thought it was way cooler to laugh at Robin. If I provided them an outlet then I served a great purpose that they needed.
Which one did you have the most friction with? Was it Mike Isabella?
I didn’t mind Mike. At least he’s straight up and says it like it is. Eli was a disappointment. I really wanted to foster a relationship…at the bare minimum civility. He had no tolerance for me. I thought it was tragic. We share the same birthday. We should have commonality. He had it out for me from the beginning. Every episode I tried to make amends and move on there was no interest in coming halfway. I just tried to do my best to live in the same space as these people and to get along.
Official Robin Leventhal Website
That rascal Kanye West had the nerve to rain on Robin’s parade…
I LOVE YOUR BANANA TERRINE!!!!
I have eaten at 5 star restaurants around the world so my palette has had its trials and I am surely a food snob. I would usually eat once a week at Crave because it was simply perfect non-pretentious food. I love Robin and I especially love her food.