James Oseland on Judging Top Chef Masters Season 3: "It Actually Physically Hurts to Say Goodbye to Somebody"

James Oseland said it plainly: "It actually physically hurts to say goodbye to somebody — genuinely. All of the contestants in their own right are brill…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

Saveur magazine editor-in-chief James Oseland returned as a judge for Season 3 of Top Chef Masters on Bravo. The former editor for Vogue, Organic Style, Sassy, the Village Voice, and Mademoiselle brought his discerning palate back to the critics table, where his vote would help determine which of America's most celebrated chefs stayed in the competition and who went home.

According to James, it was an easy decision to return to the series. "It's just such an amazing, wonderful gig to have gotten and to be asked back to do the third season was one of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make," he told Daedrian McNaughton.

Top Chef Masters pits 12 world-renowned chefs against each other in fierce culinary competition. Each week whittles down the chefs until the finale, where one winner is crowned "Top Chef Master" and receives $100,000 for the charity of their choice. Celebrity guest judges this season include Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, Maroon 5, and pop sensation Kelis. Top Chef Masters airs Wednesdays at 10 pm ET/PT on Bravo.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What peaked your interest to return for Season 3 as judge?

JAMES OSELAND: I had done the previous two seasons of Top Chef Masters. And sometimes I have to pinch myself. It's just such an amazing, wonderful gig to have gotten and being asked back to do the third season was just probably one of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make because it had been such a joy — and indeed making this for a third season was also such a joy. It's just an incredible gig. I feel so incredibly lucky to have gotten this gig not just those two times but now even this third time. What a blessing.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: It must have been a challenge for you to judge all these celebrated chefs. What was the most difficult for you?

JAMES OSELAND: The hardest part is eliminating people. It's actually a gut-wrenching process. There are times when you genuinely, like no joke, have to push back the tears because it's just very, very hard. All of the contestants in their own right are brilliant cooks and in many instances they have done just such exquisite work that it actually physically hurts to say goodbye to somebody — genuinely.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What is your take on the night crawlers episode?

JAMES OSELAND: Where do you buy night crawlers? I don't think they have those at the Safeway or the Whole Foods. Where was the food source? I'm a little scared. I've eaten insects in various parts of the world but having seen that footage — the thing that personally flipped me out was the fact that they weren't dead. A lot of those critters were moving around. When they hit your mouth, I don't think necessarily they were still squirming — they'd been cooked — but when they came into the kitchen as basically raw ingredients, they were really raw ingredients.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Are you loving this season's Top Chef All Stars?

JAMES OSELAND: Absolutely. We're not going to go on record but I would say — oh my God. What an awesome season. It is just so good. It is just like the best Top Chef yet. It's a knockout.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How did your experience this season differ from the other seasons and what made it stand out for you?

JAMES OSELAND: It's a completely awesome season. The format switch-up — moving away from the tournament style — really did make a very profound difference to what the chefs were cooking, how they interrelated with each other, how they were involved with the whole greater process. The chefs ultimately became more comfortable because we were giving them the chance over the course of multiple episodes to get familiar with the kitchen, to know where the salt was kept, to know that the kind of salt used in the Top Chef Masters kitchen is a coarse-grained kosher salt versus a really fine-milled kosher salt. On the first two seasons, a lot of times it was kind of tricky for the chefs in those tournament rounds — it was really hard to get a sense of who they were because they were in so many respects just struggling with the basic fundamentals of cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen. I know how I feel if I'm not cooking in my own kitchen. This season really gave these guys the opportunity to become more comfortable in their skins and show us truly the amazing cooking they are capable of. And what a great thrill it is to be able to identify one chef and know — oh, this is chef so-and-so's dish. I can feel it. The way that's spiced, the way these carrots are julienned. It's just so interesting and cool.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How was your experience interacting with the celebrity judges?

JAMES OSELAND: The thing that really blew me away about Christina Hendricks was what we learned in the course of sharing this really gorgeous meal with them — she and her husband are serious cooks. I mean they're not gobblers. They're like serious, serious cooks. We were talking serious cooking technique and serious dishes that they've eaten and that they were going to cook even that weekend. That was just a complete revelation. Who knew? And the amazing contestants on America's Biggest Loser too — who are celebrities in their own right. That was just one of my absolute, total, hands-down favorite meals. It was a real treat to eat with these guys and hear their stories. It was really touching and amazing and gives you this extra layer of consciousness about what you're doing — that it's not just this gorge fest, but for a lot of people, a lot of consciousness has to go into the act of eating. I thought that was a real gift.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Did you have a pick for who you thought was going to win during that first episode, and were you surprised by the results at the end of the season?

JAMES OSELAND: The answer I can safely say is yes and no. One of the funnest things about being on Top Chef Masters as a judge is that in a way you're kind of just like the viewer at home watching the season — you're kind of dying to know who's going to win and who's going to make it to the final round. Of course you want to remain always an egalitarian and fair judge, open to each and every episode's particular challenge. But of course in your mind you're like, I wonder if it's going to be so and so. I have a feeling it's going to be so and so. Except usually I just kind of keep it to myself and do a kind of internal wagering — and then just as quickly as I've done that, I try and shut off that switch because I just want to be there experiencing every single dish that each contestant is preparing. Just like you, the viewer, watching the first episode — you're like, I bet it's going to be so and so. Just by default I go through my own similar deal. And usually I'm never, ever right.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Whose opinion do you value more — fellow chefs or a food critic?

JAMES OSELAND: I think that we as critics are also cooks and we tend to know — I wouldn't say necessarily a chef's level of knowledge about cooking, but we also factor into our reaction to a particular dish concerns like, I wonder what happened with the technique here. I feel in my gut that probably the oil was a little too hot or this protein was a little too cold and thus this didn't work out the way it should in the final dish. And you're always trying to battle that thing in your mind that's totally falling in love with a particular dish or a particular part of a dish and still retain that openness so you can really examine it in an open and egalitarian way as possible. We take our jobs really seriously. We're never, ever, ever out to hang anybody. We feel incredibly lucky to have the jobs that we do and we always strive to maintain the completely highest, cleanest standard possible.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What will your wardrobe look like this season?

JAMES OSELAND: There are yet more cardigans. There are yet more bright and hopefully fabulous cardigans. And as we speak right now, I am wearing this sweater — a V-neck that I wore on the show. It's kind of like a clown red, basically.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How many pairs of glasses?

JAMES OSELAND: Just one pair of glasses that I had just bought actually in Portland, Oregon about a week before we started taping the show at this crazy, wonderful old vintage glassware shop in Portland. But I'm just so happy that someone is aware that I do put a little bit of consciousness into what I put on — not only on the show but in life. Ruth was probably witness to me trying on at least eight different outfits before a particular episode. What do you think of this one? Is this one okay? No, but that's going to clash. Am I going to look stupid if I wear that? I am just so honored and touched and flattered that you noticed that.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Did you gain any weight while filming?

JAMES OSELAND: We didn't lose weight though. It's the Top Chef Masters 20. That's what it is.

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