All Top Chef Interview with Chef Debbie Gold

Thank you, Chef Gold, for answering our questions!

Did you watch the previous seasons of Top Chef?
I have seen parts of the other seasons. Not in their entirety, as I am usually working. I do know what happens after every episode, as a cook, friend or family will be talking about what happened. So I get to keep up with what is happening without having to see it myself.

Did you do anything to prepare for the competition?
Going over some base recipes.

If you could go back, is there anything that you would do differently?
Hindsight is always 20/20. Plus having more time and no pressure lets you think through what was asked.

Did you watch the episode?
I begin to watch, then I begin to feel the stress that I felt while on the show and then I can’t watch anymore. However it is interesting to watch the judges talk before the chefs are brought out.

Tell us about your restaurant.
The American Restaurant was opened in 1974 and is owned by Hallmark Cards. The Restaurant has a wonderful pedigree. It was designed by Warren Plattner (who designed windows of the world). James Beard and Barbara Kafka were consultants on the menu when it first opened. These are just a few of the talented people involved in the creation of The American Restaurant. It is the only four star Forbes and four diamond restaurant in Kansas City. My food is about simplicity. Bring out the best of the individual ingredient.

When you arrived at the Top Chef kitchen, who did you feel would be your biggest competition?
You can’t really tell who will be the biggest competition. All the chefs are talented. It really depends on luck, talent, and ability to perform under the circumstances of each episode.

Have you remained in touch with any of the other chefs?
Absolutely! This was a great group of people. We got along very well. I was already friends with some of the chefs, before I was on the show. I have become fast friends with the others.

Have you participated in any other cooking competitions?
I competed on TCM Season 2. I competed on Ready, Set , Cook and also for various local fundraisers.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I spend my time with my children. I love to travel and I collect old (and new) cook books and antique scales. I can spend hours and hours going through antique stores. I love art and the theater.

Chef, is there anything else you would like to say to your fans?
Thank you to all those that supported me on the show. It was great fun and I gave it my best.

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Bravo Exit Interview - Debbie Gold

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ATC Love to Chef Debbie Gold

This wasn't Chef Debbie Gold's first trip to the rodeo, and unfortunately her stay on this season of Top Chef Masters still didn't allow her to show us her stuff. Her problems started at the grocery store, which didn't carry either the green papaya or mango that she needed for her salad, so she improvised. The judges unfortunately found it a bit weird, and Chef Gold found herself on the way home.


So sorry to see you go, Chef Debbie - maybe the third time will be the charm? :)

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Meet the Chefs - Debbie Gold

Executive Chef, Kansas City’s The American Restaurant
Competing for: Children's TLC

A James Beard Award winner and four-time nominee, returning Top Chef Master competitor Debbie Gold is the executive chef of one of Kansas City’s finest dining establishments, The American Restaurant. The Chicago native subscribed to Bon Appetit magazine in high school and began whipping up impressive meals for the family. While enrolled at the University of Illinois, she would graduate with a degree in restaurant management. Gold spent two years studying at Ecole Hoteliere Tain l'Hermitage, France while cooking at several Michelin starred restaurants and a Bed & Breakfast. When she got back to the United States, she ended up in Charlie Trotter's kitchen where she held down every position from the hot line to pastry. After a second two-year stint in France, Gold returned to Chicago, working as the pastry chef at the Everest before becoming the executive chef at Mirador. After running the kitchen at The American for seven years and receiving national accolades and recognition for her work there, Gold opened her own restaurant, 40 Sardines. Gold built 40 Sardines into a hugely successful restaurant and was nominated for “Best New Restaurant” from the James Beard Foundation. Ultimately, after running 40 Sardines for 7 years, Debbie had some life changes and opted to close the operation and return to her roots at The American. Gold values fresh, seasonal foods prepared with classic techniques. She is the mother of two daughters, Misha and Sophie, both of whom have the same passion for cooking as their mother.

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Just Announced - Top Chef Masters Season Four!

Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters” season four is smokin’ in Las Vegas with 12 new award-winning chefs hungry to compete for the title and win $100,000 for their charity, premiering Wednesday, July 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. In each episode the winners of every quickfire challenge will be awarded $5,000 while the victors of the elimination challenges will receive $10,000 for their designated charities. Celebrity chef Curtis Stone is back as series host alongside returning judges James Oseland and Ruth Reichl with new judges, food and travel journalist Krista Simmons and features editor of Gilt Taste, Francis Lam. In a dazzling season of high stakes, big egos and sizzling drama, top names in entertainment join the judges table including Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, folk rock music duo Indigo Girls, famed Burlesque performer Dita Von Teese, popular American party band The B-52’s, Olympic Gold Medalist Brian Boitano, Las Vegas performer Holly Madison, among others.

This season's competitors have some repeats among them in the form of Thierry Rautureau, Art Smith, and Debbie Gold.

Chris Cosentino – Chef/ Partner Incanto Restaurant, San Francisco; Competing for Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research
Clark Frasier – Owner of Arrows; Competing for Outright Lewiston/Auburn
Mark Gaier - Owner of Arrows; Competing for Equality Maine Foundation
Lorena Garcia - Owner of Lorena Garcia Cocina Restaurant; Competing for Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Inc
Debbie Gold – Executive Chef of Kansas City’s The American Restaurant; Competing for Children’s TLC
Kerry Heffernan – NYC Chef; Competing for City Harvest
Thierry Rautureau – Chef/owner: Rover’s and Luc; Competing for Food Lifeline
Missy Robbins – Executive Chef: A Voce Madison & A Voce Columbus; Competing for Grow to Learn NYC
Art Smith - Executive Chef and co-owner: LYFE Kitchen and Southern Art Restaurants; Competing for Common Threads
Sue Torres - Chef/Owner: Sueños; Competing for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Takashi Yagihashi – Owner: Takashi Restaurant and Slurping Turtle; Competing for the American Red Cross, benefitting the Japanese Tsunami Disaster Relief
Patricia Yeo – Om Restaurant & Lounge/ Moksa Pan Asian Izakaya; Competing for Heifer Project International

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Top Chef Masters 2 - Meet Debbie Gold

A James Beard Award winner and four-time nominee, Debbie Gold has led Kansas City’s The American Restaurant to national recognition as its executive chef. Initially studying restaurant management at the University of Illinois, Gold received her professional culinary training at L’Ecole Hoteliere de Tain L’Hermitage in France.

After apprenticing for two years at Michelin-starred restaurants across that country, she returned to Chicago to hold positions at such reputable venues as Charlie Trotter’s, Everest, and Mirador. Although Gold took a hiatus to begin her successful restaurant venture 40 Sardines, she returned to The American Restaurant as the executive chef to once more lead the locale to a host of honors, including consistent AAA Four Diamond and Mobil Travel Guide Four Star ratings.