Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi on Top Chef Texas: "There's a Food Revolution Going On Throughout the Country — and It's Happening in Texas Too"

Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi said it plainly: "There's a food revolution going on throughout the country — and it doesn't matter if you're down south, up north in Main…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

On October 25, 2011, Bravo held a press call one week ahead of the premiere of Top Chef Texas , Season 9, airing Wednesday, November 2nd at 10 p.m. on Bravo. On the call: Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi. Premier Guide Miami was among the outlets on the call.

There's a food revolution going on throughout the country — and it doesn't matter if you're down south, up north in Maine, out west in Portland or Seattle. There's just great stuff going on all over. And it's happening in Texas too.

The season — bigger, more ambitious, and moving across the state

Padma Lakshmi framed the Texas season as a deliberate escalation: "We're coming off of an Emmy win; we're coming off of people knowing and loving the show and being very familiar with the format. And so in a sense the people that we have to top are ourselves. The choice to move from city to city wasn't a negative — it was a positive. Let's do something much more ambitious than we've done ever before. Let's move the show, let's take it on the road, let's keep the contestants guessing, let's have more contestants than we've ever had." On the 110-degree heat: "We were there at the hottest time possible." Colicchio agreed: "What I didn't like was the 110-degree temperature every day. It was brutal." On the mass elimination format for episode one — cooking yourself into the competition rather than getting in on resume alone: "Sometimes you get a clunker. You have somebody who the resume may look great and you look at it and go wow this person is going to be great and they turn out to be terrible. So it was a way to cook yourself into the competition." Lakshmi: "You'll see exactly what Tom is talking about with one chef in particular. He seems great on paper, he seems really well spoken and you eat his plate of food and we're like... I don't want to ruin it."

Last Chance Kitchen — the Webisodes the contestants didn't know about

Colicchio confirmed he was the sole judge of the Last Chance Kitchen Webisodes — and that the 16 eliminated contestants (18 to start the bracket) had no idea the second-chance format existed: "The contestants were completely kept in the dark. They thought they were just going home." On why the concept worked: "It addresses the person whom the viewer thinks got a raw deal or maybe they were more talented and they were kicked out too soon. It's not a cumulative event — if you make the worst dish, you're gone. What this does is give that person who gets kicked out early the opportunity to get back in." He confirmed that whoever was the last person standing in the Last Chance Kitchen would re-enter the main competition, though he declined to say when. Lakshmi: "I'm very curious. I don't know who it is either."

What they actually ate in Texas — and the restaurants worth seeking out

Colicchio on San Antonio: "There's a little place out of town that I went to breakfast for a few times called Las Gueras — the blondes, it translates to. Small little neighborhood place, real traditional Mexican food — it was really wonderful." He also recalled a modern small-plates restaurant he'd walked 20 minutes to reach: "It almost looked like it was an old gas station or something." A San Antonio reporter identified it as The Monterey. On La Gloria: "That was a fun place." On the broader Texas food scene: "If you're thinking of finer food in Texas you think of Dean Fearing and Robert Del Grande and Steven Pyles — they sort of took that Tex-Mex thing, refined it and made it great. Now there's a whole generation of younger chefs who came up behind them who will take some of those ideas and really make them modern. Going to restaurants like The Monterey in San Antonio, Barley Swine in Austin, Craft in Dallas — these are restaurants that are doing more to dispel the notion of ribs and meat than anything we can do on a TV show." Lakshmi: "Barley Swine is one of my new favorite restaurants. It's delicious. That restaurant could stand up to any great restaurant in New York or LA."

How they stay fit — and what they actually think about at judges' table

On the question every food television host gets asked: Lakshmi was candid: "It's hard, it's really hard. Both Tom and I box but I carry a jump rope in my suitcase and I run up and down flights of stairs. You can always find an emergency staircase in any hotel or building. I do go up in dress sizes. I just have bigger dress sizes so you don't really notice. I'm lucky I gain weight everywhere, proportionately. What it takes me six weeks to gain it takes me unfortunately 10 or 12 weeks to lose." Colicchio: "I've been boxing for about three or four years. Prior to that I played a lot of basketball but I had to stop — injuries. I try not to lift weights because I bulk up too much. I used to be a swimmer from age 8 to 17. I have a hard time getting in a pool now; I don't know why, it's just this mental thing. A lot of painful memories." On what they actually think about at judges' table: Colicchio: "Early on we figured out that the only way the viewer can experience the food is through our conversation. So we decided we have to have a real honest conversation about food. We're not mugging for the cameras, we're not saying outrageous things just to sound outrageous. We're having a serious conversation about the food — good, bad and different, whatever it is, we're being honest. And I think that's what really comes through." On defending your dish: "Please defend yourself. Please tell us why you did what you did, what you were going for — that's all well and good. Just don't make it personal." Top Chef Texas premiered Wednesday, November 2, 2011, on Bravo.

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