Top Chef’s Luciana Berry tells what Tom, Gail and Padma are really off camera | Television & Radio | Showbiz and television
“They’re very nice, very nice,” Luciana told Express.co.uk. “I think like that old style of trying to get the public’s attention to see the program on the shelves (by being) very rude, I think it’s gone.
“So they’re very polite,” the Top Chef star continued. “Because we already know it in the kitchen, chefs like to yell at us and hit us.
“But now there is a difference because they want respect. So I think it’s an old fashioned TV show so they’re [the Top Chef judges] all nice and all polite, in fact more polite than you think.
“You know, even when they must like to criticize a dish, they’re so nice,” Luciana reaffirmed before delving into how attitudes in the kitchen overall have changed over the years.
READ MORE: Top Chef’s Luciana shares hidden ‘advantage’ on World All Stars season [EXCLUSIVE]
After all, a number of TV chefs have become small-screen hits for their abrasive and unrestrained behavior in front of the camera, with Gordon Ramsey and a number of others who come to mind.
But these days in working kitchens, Luciana shared her perspective on how those days are up and a more inclusive and respected workplace has emerged.
“One thing I always believed in, when I’m working in my kitchen I have like a lot of chefs under me, when a chef has to shout – people will follow the rules because they’re scared of you”, she said. .
Luciana continued: “But no, they should follow your rules because they respect you.
“So that’s my discipline in the kitchen, there’s no shouting because you want people to enjoy what they’re doing, working with food is an art. So you have to appreciate what you do. »
Luciana spoke of her own experience working under the high pressures of a high-level kitchen.
She explained: “I’ve worked in so many kitchens that I see a lot of women crying.
“So we just had International Women’s Day and I actually want to do an article for it because I’ve seen working in a Michelin star kitchen and seen women crying on the toilet.
“And it was always me who told them, ‘Get out, wash your face and go. Now, if there is someone who says something bad to you, say it back, fight for your place. Don’t cry like that.
“So often when I go to events for the London School of Business, when I talk about women in hospitality, I know how difficult it is.
“But I’m a tough person, so I don’t take shit from anybody in the kitchen. So if they tell me something, they’ll give it back.
“That’s why women in hospitality are growing now because men, they realize you can’t be sharp, you can’t be rude, you can’t slap people. So that makes a place bigger for us, which is so good.
However, while she may adopt a calm manner in the kitchen, there is one ingredient that Luciana doesn’t exactly share a fondness for.
She said: “There is one ingredient that I absolutely dislike cooking, dislike eating, in fact, hate.
I love every ingredient, I love everything except rhubarb. I can’t have rhubarb! If there’s a rhubarb, oh my God, I’m leaving!”
Season 20 of Top Chef airs Thursdays on BRAVO in the US and available to stream on Hayu in the UK every Friday.