Patrick from Quincy Still a Top Chef in Our Hearts

The Top Chef "audition" process was relatively simple for Patrick; he filled out some forms and submitted samples of his cooking and recipes. The response? "We really like you." (It's hard to see how someone could not like Patrick.) He feels he was chosen for his passion and creativity, and he definitely emphasizes his passion on the show.

This summer, Patrick headed to New York to compete with experienced chefs twice his age. Though Patrick's time on the show is over, the season is not done filming, according to production team members. Upon getting to the show, Patrick says "at first it was a lot of camraderie... we were literally on the same boat to the island." The contestants were all nervous, sharing their stories and "looking to each other for support." There were some "instant connections" formed, such as that between Patrick, Jamie, and Richard, the gay and lesbian chefs who formed "Team Rainbow" and discussed Tom Colicchio's alluring blue eyes. Though the premiere episode displayed some instances of ego, with eventual challenge winner Stefan branded as either arrogant or confident depending on who you listened to, Patrick says the competition was "never really cutthroat."

The guest judge for the season premiere was Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who opened his first U.S. restaurant in Boston. Patrick found Jean-Georges "such a humble person" who "just judged us based off of the food." It was "a dream come true to be cooking for a pro... but also a nightmare" due to all the complications that the competitive cooking environment introduced. A major challenge was the fact that "it was our first time using any of the equipment," meaning the chefs had no idea how the burners or ovens would respond. Another obstacle was the time crunch—not just physically cooking something in two hours, but coming up with an inspiring new idea in that time as well. "The simplest things become difficult when you've got a clock behind you," Patrick says, and having to invent a recipe so quickly also "threw a kink in the gears."

So what's it really like to be on Top Chef? Despite speculation to the contrary, Patrick asserts that contestants are not allowed to consult books or other reference materials and must come up with recipes entirely on their own. "It's all us—there's no books allowed," Patrick says, adding, "You come with your knives and your mind." He also affirms that "what they show is what happened" between the contestants, and there's not as much dramatic editing as some people imagine. Patrick does remark that (as would be expected) the footage is heavily edited down, noting that he might see a short clip on the show and say "Hey, that was a two-hour conversation!" And notwithstanding Team Rainbow member Richard's affection for Tom Colicchio, Patrick says the relationship between the contestants and the judges strictly professional. There's no Padma-and-Tom hangout time, which is as it should be. Patrick feels the judges are fair, and he could understand their decisions, which are about "the food... not your personality."

So what's next for Patrick? "I dearly want to travel," he rhapsodizes, and travel is definitely something that was emphasized to the contestants on the show's first episode. He's applying for some fellowships and hopes to tour Europe, particularly Spain. He hopes that "people can use my story to inspire them to go after their dreams." And as he put it in the premiere episode, “this isn’t the end of my career—it hasn’t even begun yet.” We wish Patrick the best of luck as he launches his culinary career.