Top Chef contestant Nyesha Arrington on appearing on the show: ‘I didn’t know how to be a TV chef’

What do you remember most about your childhood? “My maternal grandfather was a chef in the US Army during the Korean war. He met my Korean grandmother there and brought her back to the States.

“When I was a kid, my grand­mother looked after me on the weekends and all we did was cook. I joke that this was my first sous-chef position, at five years old.

“I peeled garlic, helped her make fermented sauces, kimchi. My dad’s roots are in Mississippi, so we ate lots of gumbo, collard greens, biscuits, fried chicken and andouille sausage.

“I would have friends over and play restaur­ant, and I always made soups, stews, brothy things with noodles. I was around 15 when I watched Julia Child make a meringue on television.

“I was blown away, that you can take egg whites and turn them into something completely different, without adding anything. I grabbed a cereal bowl and a s***ty whisk and tried to make it, breaking all these eggs, and my mom was like, ‘What are you doing?’”

How did you like culinary school? “My friend had gone to the culinary school at the [now closed] Art Institute of California in Los Angeles and I begged my parents to take me to attend a seminar.

“They wanted me to be a doctor, but I ended up going there after high school.

“I would wake up at 4am for the commute. There was not one day I didn’t love it, and I aced every­thing.

“There’s a scene in the movie Ratatouille where the food critic is eating the ratatouille and it takes him back to his childhood, and the first day in class I felt that. I literally felt the energy of the world line up for me.”

What was it like working under Josiah Citrin, of two-Michelin-starred Mélisse, in Santa Monica? “It’s not for the faint of heart, or people who don’t want to be the best.

“It requires you to check your emotions at the door and be a tool in a big machine in the best possible way. It was the hardest job I ever had at 19, but damn it if it didn’t make me a really good chef.

“He went on to be my mentor. It was harsh and difficult, but it made me strong. I was 35 pounds [15kg] lighter. I never ate, I never slept, I lived an hour away from the restaurant. I would show up on Sundays to do inventory, unpaid.

“I would go to the farmers market with him, do all the things you’re supposed to do when you’re coming up. I had some of the best cooking experiences of my life with him.”

How did you handle the pressure? “One time I had just sharp­en­ed my knife and it was so sharp that it cut through my towel and sliced four of my fingers open right before service. It was a busy night.

“I went to the handwashing sink and I rinsed my hand, and when the water hit the cuts it hurt so bad. I grabbed a towel and put tape around each finger and then put a glove on and I went right back to the line because that was the only option in my mind.

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“I was the only woman in the kitchen and led dinner service like a boss. I cared for my wounds after.”

You worked for Joël Robuchon at L’Atelier and The Mansion in Las Vegas. What was he like? “He smelled like baby powder. As soon as I smelled baby powder he would just appear. He would always pinch my cheeks and greet me in French.

“A lot of chefs would say, ‘How come he only talks to you?’ Maybe because I’m the only female in the kitchen or maybe I’m doing a good job? I don’t know.”

What was it like competing in Top Chef, in 2011-12? “On the first day I made pork ravioli. [American chef and restaurateur] Emeril Lagasse was a judge. I would run home from school to watch his shows.

“When I watched him eat my dish, I felt I hugged his soul. He said, ‘You need to be in this competition,’ and I felt I was going to burst into tears. But being on that show was the most uncomfortable I have felt in my entire life – I had no control.

“I’d have a conversation with the other contestants, but when the cameras were on, they were different characters. I didn’t know you should do that, I didn’t know how to be a TV chef.

“I saw people blend something, throw the blender on the floor, throw sauté pans on the floor. That made me freak out. I cannot take a piece of fish and throw it in the trash. I wasn’t ready for that.

“I was eliminated in a team event. Afterwards, I called my dad thinking my career was over. I had put myself in front of a million people and I was judged and ridiculed.

“But I went back for another cooking show, called Last Chance Kitchen, winning seven competitions back to back, and also won Chef Hunter [2011] and Knife Fight [in 2013]. I’m stubborn and I like to win.”

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The late food critic Jonathan Gold said your food tasted like Los Angeles. How did you meet him? “I met him in 2012 at an event and, when I walked over to his table, I didn’t feel intimidated, I immediately felt loved, energy-wise.

“Jonathan said things about what I wanted him to feel in my dish without me saying anything. That was powerful.

“At my restaurant Leona [now closed], he came many times with his wife and son. I made him a whole roasted dumpling squash. It’s a small yellow pumpkin and I put tapioca risotto in it, pork, wine and balsamic reduction on the plate, and a seeded salsa.

“He got that dish right off the bat and named it one of the 10 best dishes in LA.”

What are you working on now? “I’m working on a book, but it might turn into three books. It’s part memoir and story­telling and recipes and anecdotes.

“The first one is on sauces and stocks, as that’s a huge part of my repertoire, which goes back to my childhood making soups.”

Nyesha Arrington was recently a guest chef at Test Kitchen, in Sheung Wan.