A lot of people seemed to think this season’s Top Chef finale was a little anti-climactic, and from a reality show drama standpoint, I get that. The closest thing this season had to a “villain” was top-knotted LA chef Phillip Lee (did you know his wife is a model? don’t worry, he’ll tell you), who was eliminated four or five shows before the end. The finale wound up being a contest between Orange County restaurateur Amar Santana and chef de cuisine of The Matador Room in Miami, Jeremy Ford — far and away the two most laidback dudes ever to compete in a Top Chef finale.
Competitions are always more compelling if there’s a villain, if you’re really invested in the outcome, and with Jeremy and Amar, it was hard to be too upset about the idea of either of them winning. There was almost some drama, with Amar trash talking Jeremy’s molecular techniques, which the judges didn’t seem to love either, but when Jeremy ended up winning, it didn’t feel like an upset. He’d won the very first challenge, and the most challenges during the season, and with the exception of the “fast casual concept” episode, when Tom Colicchio ridiculed Jeremy’s “Taco Dudes” concept, he felt like the favorite for most of the run.
I got the chance to talk to Jeremy over the phone the morning after the finale aired, to find out what he thought about the finale’s “technique vs. flavor” billing, his loves of jiu-jitsu and Metallica, and whether he really agreed with the statement “Dudes wouldn’t be caught dead at a gastropub” (because somehow I felt like Jeremy and I would know more about places dudes hang out than Tom Colicchio). I soon discovered that he’s been reading our weekly power rankings, and that he uses the word “dude” at least as much as you’d expect, if not more. In fact, if you don’t taste salt water and get a contact high just from reading this, I will have failed at my job.
UPROXX: At the end there, I think you said you thanked your mom for putting up … I think you said your various schemes. What were you talking about on that one?
JEREMY FORD: More or less, just giving her credit for always being super supportive of all the different routes and journeys I’ve taken in my career and life. I think it’s hard to support something like, “Oh. I’m going to be a rock star in Los Angeles.” Any mom in their right mind would never be supporting that kind of idea. No matter what it was, she was always so amazing.
Did you start pursuing being a chef pretty young?
Yeah. When I was 15, I had some interest in cooking. I started at a really young age at a really nice restaurant in Jacksonville actually. Matthew’s. I learned really quick, that discipline. It was a four star restaurant. I was very fortunate.
Do you think you have to start when you’re really young to be a Top Chef?
Dude, there’s a lot of guys I’ve met throughout my career that had a moment in their life and wanted to change careers and followed their dreams and passion and get out of a desk job and go be a chef. You can be successful no matter what.
For me, I never went to school. I went to hard knocks, man, and just worked my ass off, dude, and put my heart and soul into it every day. I was on the job. Luckily enough I was able to work for some really good chefs.
What was it like trying to get those jobs with really good chefs? What is the process like? Is it really competitive trying to get those jobs?
Yeah. Typically, when I was … 10 years ago, 12 years ago … I was in Los Angeles kind of playing in bands but knew where my heart was. I literally walked to the back door of Mozzeria off of La Cienega, which is like one of the most renowned French restaurants in its day. I just knocked on the back door, man. The guy was like, “What are you doing here?” I just told him I wanted to work there. I’d do whatever it took to get in there. He made me come in there and work for free for a couple of days. He saw my lack of knowledge, but work ethic was worth keeping me around. I ended up working there for almost 2 years and running every station.
How old were you at that point?
God. I had just turned 17.
What kind of bands were you playing in at the time?
Heavy metal, man.
Who were your influences?
Machine Head, Metallica. At that time, As I Lay Dying, like really heavy stuff, man.
So the show packaged the Top Chef finale as a battle between technique [Jeremy] and flavor [Amar]. Did you think that was a fair depiction?
Yes and no. I just showed more technique than Amar did. I think his flavors are amazing. He went the more simplistic route. Given the circumstances, cooking for 44 people … It’s not a bad idea to be flavor forward. For me, I thought that, considering what Top Chef is … It’s a very innovative show. You know, there’s been risottos done a hundred times. I think doing something different and funky but still really flavorful is the way to win.
You referenced jiu-jitsu a few times. How long have you been training? Who do you train with? All that stuff.
Yeah. Jiu-jitsu, man. I definitely haven’t been training the last couple of months. I’ve probably put on like 25 pounds, but I’d been training before that for like 10 years. So, I should be getting my black belt, hopefully, when I get back to training.
Oh wow.
Yeah.
10 years for a black belt. That’s impressive.
Well that’s jiu-jitsu, dude. It’s not like taekwondo where you pay for two years and get a black belt. Jiu-jitsu’s actually like a real sport.
No, I know, I mean that’s fast for a black belt.
Yeah. It’s probably been longer than 10 years. Still, I’ve been on and off. I’d probably had it by now, but these little six month breaks kill you, man.
Did you go to culinary school?
I did not.
Was there a thought process behind that? Were you just working and then you just decided not to?
No, dude. I actually went to culinary school for about four weeks. I was working, at the time, at the best restaurant in Jacksonville. I was young, man, like 15. I was working at one of the best restaurants with a fake ID, actually. I was working there and I’d go to class. It was like we were learning to make big batches of like 20 gallons of cheese sauce. I’m like, this sucks. Then I would like drive 45 minutes to work. Then, I’d go make tuna tartar with like curry infused oils and microgreens. I’m like, “This is what I want to do.” You know what I mean? I just said, “The hell with school, man.” Thought go the other route, man.
Have you ever come up against obstacles based on not having gone to culinary school?
Yeah. There’s a lot of fundamental things that you pick up at school that takes a lot longer to learn. The financial side is always a little bit tougher because I didn’t go through a lot of the financial side of school and that part of the degree. For me, it’s pretty simple math. Some butchering definitely would’ve been cool. Do more butchering stuff, like breaking down whole animals and sides of a cow or whatever. Nevertheless, you pick it up either way.
What are your favorite and least favorite ingredients to cook with?
My favorite ingredient is definitely chilies, man. I love preserving them. I love pickling them. I love the heat and the sensation it gives you when you use them. I’m definitely a chili forward chef, I guess you’d say. Then, what I least like working with is probably lobster because I’m allergic.
Oh, wow, that never came up.
Yeah. It sucks. The worst part about it is I love eating it. I love working with it but can’t stand the way it makes me feel.
You’re obviously not like deathly allergic to it?
No. It’s like a scratchy throat feeling, swollen palms. It’s just a weird, annoying feeling. Even if I smell lobster stock brewing, it makes it hard to breathe. It’s a bummer. You know?
Would you like to defend your Two Dudes Taco Shop concept at all? I kind of thought it was unfair the way Tom claimed that dudes wouldn’t go to a gastro pub.
Taco Dudes!
Taco Dudes. That’s right. In that episode, Tom claimed that dudes would not go to a gastro pub. It seemed like that was a false assertion on his part.
For me, I go to a gastro pub. I’m a dude. I think depending on the format and on the dude, it depends on the person … I think it’s a cool concept. I’m still out there searching, if someone wants to pick it up.
What are your post-show plans? Did winning the show change any of your plans, career wise?
You know, I’ve always… I think every chef wants to eventually own their own restaurant and grow their own empire. Currently, I’m really happy and Jean George is really happy with what I’m doing at Matador Room. I’ll continue to grow that knowledge from him and underneath his mentorship. For now, that’s where I’ll be.
Right. What are the upsides of not owning your own restaurant?
The upside is, financially we’re doing well at Matador. You always take that risk when you go to open up something on your own and the buck kind of stops with you. When you work for a bigger hotel, you have a lot more freedom. Your schedule is much more flexible. You can take more time off. Balancing the family and chef life… It’s definitely a plus and a bonus to be in a bigger resort.
What do you think the hardest part of a chef’s job is that most people don’t think about?
Most people don’t realize how hard it is to keep solid talent. The turnover rate is really high in the industry. It’s not easy to find people you trust. Not only trust, to train and actually absorb the knowledge. It’s a really tough, like never-ending battle, man. You’re never 100% staffed and ready. You’re always kind of like playing catch-up. A lot of people think it would be a 1,000,001 cooks out there, but there’s really not. It’s hard to find like good, solid, reliable, loyal talent. You know?
Right. On that note, who is the weirdest person that you think you’ve ever encountered in a restaurant setting?
The weirdest person I’ve ever encountered?
Yeah.
A dish washer that wanted to stab one of my sous chefs.
What was their disagreement over?
I’m 99% sure it was a racial issue.
Okay.
I do believe there was a very, very close encounter with a knife.
It seems like that would happen a lot, what with all the knives around.
Not really. You got to be pretty psycho to go after someone with a knife.
Did he have to be restrained? Did it just die down on its own?
Yeah. He was restrained and thrown out of the building.
[awkward silence]
All right. Food or restaurant trends. What are your favorite and least favorite food and/or restaurant trends?
My favorite trend is the shared-style eating. I think in the last five, seven years it’s grown more and more popular. I really love the fact that you can tell people… We have an order/fire system. We don’t hold food in a hot box or underneath the heat lamp to pair up other people’s dishes, which is very old school mind thinking. I love the fact that we’re like, send out food, and people share it. It’s a lot fresher way of eating. Food’s not sitting in a window drying out or getting cold while you’re trying to pair up other items. I really like the way the food world’s kind of moving.
Any least favorite?
Honestly, my least favorite is just … I don’t know man. The whole, like, fast casual on every corner, that every cool chef is trying to do is getting a little bit annoying.It’s like everybody kind of jumped on this fast casual thing. It’s become a “Let’s see who’s going to do a cooler fast casual” thing. It’s just getting like every other day there’s like more and more news about fast casuals opening up.
Are there any foods that you never order? Besides the ones that you’re allergic to?
I usually eat everything, dude.
Fair enough.
Yeah. There’s really nothing that I steer away from, man. If it’s got a cool preparation and an interesting step, I’ll order it. There’s really nothing out there that I’ll say no to.
What’s something that most people cook wrong?
I think what most people cook wrong is just simply not having a hot enough pan and getting like not a sear. You know? Like a piece of chicken, when the skin is really crispy and cracking like glass, compared to a chicken that is in a medium-heat pan… It’s totally different.
Do you have a favorite food movie?
Ratatouille.
Everybody says that. That’s the only answer I’ve ever gotten to that question.
Because it’s a bad ass movie, dude.
Yeah. I can’t argue with that. All right. Home fries or hash browns?
Hash browns.
Vince Mancini is a writer, comedian, and podcaster. A graduate of Columbia’s non-fiction MFA program, his work has appeared on FilmDrunk, the UPROXX network, the Portland Mercury, the East Bay Express, and all over his mom’s refrigerator. Fan FilmDrunk on Facebook, find the latest movie reviews here.
