BY JAY BOBBIN
'All-Stars' winner RICHARD
BLAIS displays his
journey with the show is over. Richard Blais finished Season 4 of the Bravo competition as the runner-
Even if someone has won "Top Chef," that doesn't necessarily mean his
up, then came back to win Season 8, dubbed "Top Chef: All-Stars." He now operates several eateries from his Atlanta home base, and his life after "Top Chef" is being traced in an unscripted show titled ... well, "Life After Top Chef," which Bravo currently is televising on Wednesdays. "One of the biggest things I realized was that I just had to let it play out
•What are you currently reading?
"Not as a self-promotional tie-in, but I'm reading the final manuscript of my cookbook, mostly. And I think there are a couple of the last two 'Hunger Games' books floating around, since my wife is into those."
•What did you have for dinner last night?
"I was doing some filming in L.A. and got back really late, and I had a rib-eye steak and french fries. When you're training for a marathon, that's an awful thing to have at 11 at night, but that's what it was."
as it played out," Blais says. "If you try to manipulate a situation, it doesn't work. You can't really act your way through real life, and restaurants aren't perfect, and family life isn't perfect ... but you manage and you get through it as a team, and I think that's what the show displays." Blais isn't the only franchise veteran profiled in "Life After Top Chef";
Spike Mendelsohn (who was among Blais' "All-Stars" rivals), Jen Carroll and Fabio Viviani also are in the spotlight. Admitting there's a certain comfort factor in seeing others get the same treatment, Blais accepts that "Top Chef" will be in his life for a very long time, extending to his intention to participate in a related cruise in April. "Over 100 people have now participated on the show," he reflects,
•What is your next project? "I have the cookbook coming out early next year, and I'm always looking for new television and restaurant opportunities. And I'm running the New York City Marathon (on Nov. 4) for Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which is part of the Clinton Foundation that fights childhood obesity."
"probably closer to 200 if you count the spinoffs. Some people go through it and decide they didn't like the experience, but my first job was at a McDonald's when I was 14. The fact that I get to do these things and have these experiences, I have a lot of gratitude to Bravo and 'Top Chef' for."
Weblinks
"Emily Owens, M.D." premieres Tuesday on The CW, with Mamie Gummer as a former high-school geek who's now an intern. Learn about her life at www.cwtv.com/shows/emily- owens-md
On Sunday, AMC starts a new season of "Comic Book Men," filmmaker Kevin Smith's unscripted tribute to avid collectors. Get words and pictures at www.amctv.com/shows/comic- book-men
Fresh zombies are on tap as AMC's "The Walking Dead" returns on Sunday. With it is the live after-show "The Talking Dead." Learn more about that at www.amctv.com/shows/ talking-dead
Wednesday, ABC begins a new season of "Suburgatory," the fish-out-of-water sitcom about a city girl and her dad in suburbia. Get caught up on last season at beta.abc.go.com/ shows/suburgatory
"The Men Who Built America" premieres Tuesday on History, profiling the business titans who shaped the nation. Click on www.history.com/shows/men-who-built-america
In its first season without creator Dan Harmon, NBC's "Community" returns to the schedule on a new night - Friday. Find out what Greendale's finest have been up to at www. nbc.com/community/
•When was the last vacation you took – where and why?
"It was actually Barbados, and it was part of the prize package from 'Top Chef: All-Stars.' We took that way later than we should have."
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8 The Goshen News • Viewer's Choice • Oct. 15, 2012-Oct. 21, 2012
