PadmaLakshmi

First of all, I was genuinely upset, but I am really upset most of the time. I loved CJ, and he is definitely someone who stands out across the seasons, but telling a chef to pack their knives is the worst part of my job.

I am the person who spends the most time with the chefs. I am in the kitchen with them every single day. And I know how hard they work, and I can see how passionate they are about being the best that they can be.

And to leave your family and friends and your work, and take that personal and professional battle on with cameras rolling and millions of people watching you is just plain hard sometimes. It's as wonderful when you do well as it is awful when you don't. And I physically feel that pain along with them. I can't help it, I never had much of a poker face.

That's a hard one, but if I had to pick just one it would be Kevin Gillespie from Season 5. I love his attitude about food, but also how evocative he is when he speaks about food. So much of Kevin's laconic poetry wound up on the cutting room floor because we just didn't have time for all of it at the Judge's Table. But he's just so articulate, and soulful. And that's just when he's talking about food, so you can imagine how delicious his food is when he actually cooks!

Fried chicken.

I am positive that my Indian background totally influences how I think about food, from when I was very young in my grandmother's kitchen in India, to today. I'm really thankful for my Indian heritage because I believe it gave me an extensive understanding of spices and how to make food tasty without necessarily adding a lot of fat. Because much of Indian cuisine is indeed vegetarian, it's also easier for me to eat in a more conscientious way without feeling deprived. Once you understand how to mix and blend spices, most of the hard work is just chopping and cooking time. And by the way, Happy Independence Day!

There was a quickfire once that was really like a gameshow where each chef had to identify a spice or ingredient blindfolded, and whomever had the most points won. That was really fun, and I think it highlighted something that I don't think we often address on the show, which is an actual knowledge and education about ingredients that are out there. A good chef can smell or taste or feel their way through a myriad of ingredients, and both knowledge as well as palate played a pivotal role in that quickfire.

AND it was really fun.