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In another life, Kristen Kish might have been an astronaut. As a young child, she even went to space camp for a day. “I sat in the little simulator, and I touched all the buttons,” she recalls, her face lighting up.
“I want to go to adult space camp,” she declares. And maybe, she’ll do it. One day. But for now, Kish is the face and three-time Emmy-nominated host of Bravo’s “Top Chef.”
She was probably destined to be a chef: At age 6, she recalls using her tennis racket as a frying pan and leaves as ingredients. She jokes that she was probably the same age — or perhaps in her teens — when she first managed to cook a chicken breast and stuff it with couscous. It was “bland and dry, and just the most boring bite of food ever. But that was the first time I made edible food.”
On this week’s episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Kish talks about hosting the show, her early memories of cooking, and confidence. Also, the Roundtable looks at the outstanding variety series race, which this year could potentially have multiple winners. Will all five nominees take home an Emmy, or just one? And here’s where things stand right now in the limited/anthology race (“Beef” vs. “DTF: St. Louis”) and comedy (“Widow’s Bay” vs. “Hacks”). Listen below!
Confidence is a key theme, as Kish wrote about her struggles to fit in while growing up in her autobiography, “Accidentally on Purpose.” Today, Kish is the most confident version of herself in every way.
Take her iPhone, for instance. She has the newest model but doesn’t use a phone case. “I was a case person for a very long time, and I just wanted to be the no-case person. The only way to do it is to do it,” she laughs. “I do have a protective screen. It’s a privacy screen, so I do drop it, and the screen cracks, and then I buy another screen protector thing. I don’t know. I’m living on the edge here. Maybe I’ll go back to a case one day. But for now, I feel free.”
But reaching this point took work. “So much of my confidence came from validation of those I trust the most. Because if I couldn’t see it and I was questioning myself, like, ‘Why did I get this job?’” she says. “I think that over time, the people in my life reminded me, in very subtle ways, that I am the best person for this job. I am exactly where I should be, and I am allowed to be whatever I need to be. I don’t have to fit in. I don’t have to fit a mold. I don’t have to be what other hosts used to be. The whole point of me stepping into this role is that I am uniquely positioned as me — as a person in the cooking industry for over 20-plus years.”
Having been a contestant (Kish appeared on Season 10 of the show and went on to win), she brings a unique perspective to her hosting role. “There is a unique perspective that only I have,” she notes. “And it was reiterated time and time again through Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, our production team, and the network. The more you hear it, the more you start to believe it, and then you start to feel it. It was a journey.” She adds, “They also helped me get to a place where I felt like my best self.”
If there’s one thing Kish has brought to “Top Chef,” it’s her face card: tears and laughter. Kish’s emotional responses have become as rewarding and heartwarming as seeing the chefs rise to their cooking challenges. This season, the show took Kish to the Carolinas. “I enjoyed the cast, the arc of the winner. I mean, spoiler alert. If you don’t know by now, it was Rhoda.”
This year, “Top Chef” landed four Primetime Emmy nominations, including a nod for Outstanding Reality Competition Program. “I just am so proud of being part of a show that has been part of the award circuit and part Emmy nominations for however many years in a row. I don’t know how many in total — a ton of them — and to be, I guess, the newbie, it’s still so exciting.”
And then there’s her love for caffeine. If you follow her Instagram, you’ll see her frequently post about coffee. “It’s one thing that remains truly consistent for me is my caffeine consumption, and it’s almost a ritual.” At the time of recording, she’s already on her fourth cup of the day.
With a new season about to start filming, the one piece of advice Kish gives to the chefs is simple: “You gotta cook what you want to cook because the last thing I want is someone to not do well because they tried to cater to the right taste. Make whatever you want.” She adds, “Cook whatever you want to cook, because it’s not about creating the best dish that I like with all my preferences. It’s about creating the best dish that you possibly can cook.”
10 QUESTIONS WITH KRISTEN KISH:
1. Childhood nickname: “Kishie.”
2. Something you loved as a kid but can’t believe you were into it now: “So many cringy things! Some of my brother’s clothes that I thought I looked wonderful in. My brother is 6’2″ and eight years older than I am, and I was much smaller.”
3. Go-to karaoke or sing-in-the-shower song: “’I Have Nothing,’ by Whitney Houston.”
4. Give me an alternate title for your show: “Just Don’t Fuck It Up.”
5. What’s your secret talent?: “I can play the piano. I played the trumpet and baritone, and still know how to play those things. I’m also good, the model kits where you build the models of little dining scenes or whatever. I love doing those, one of my favorite hobbies. It’s therapy.”
6. Favorite ice cream flavor: “So many choices! Butter pecan.”
7. The one item you couldn’t live without: “This is not sponsored, but Dr. Bronner’s unscented blue chapstick tube.”
8. What TV show in all of history do you wish you were a cast member of?: “Any movie or show that is set in space. I always wanted to go to space camp.”
9. Fictional character you most admire: “Let’s stick with TV. In TV, we’ll go ‘Paradise.’ Sterling K. Brown, big fan. I want to meet him!”
10. Your favorite piece of advice: “One thing I learned after competing on ‘Top Chef’ was with all the self-doubt I had, I was already good enough. I started to enjoy my process of life a lot more knowing I was already good enough.”
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
