This Thursday, there was no last chance test in the tenth episode of Top chef and that cost Lucie her place. The candidate from Glenn Viel’s brigade was unable to convince the jury of the M6 show, nor Gilles Goujon in a second step, with her plate of citrus fruits. A few minutes earlier, there was a bit of frying on the line with Arnaud, his partner, during the preparation of their potato dish. “I missed it that day, nothing was right,” she told 20 minutes.
During the first test of this episode, you fry with Arnaud. What has happened ?
Arnaud and I are very close and when we have things to say to each other, we don’t hesitate. We talked as usual except that there were the cameras. But there is no major problem. He and I are pretty whole. I believe that I can have lively discussions without getting embarrassed. But we are rather tight-knit and benevolent with each other so in general, there are no more clashes than that.
Glenn Viel comes to your rescue to lighten the mood. What was it like working with him for the whole season?
I’m the chef of my restaurant and there all of a sudden, we had to get back into a position where you have a chef again and you receive orders again. It was quite welcome in the sense that he coached me really well and was super caring with me. Luckily he was there on my adventure because he really tried to bring out the best in me. Finding yourself with a chef above you was special because I was no longer used to it. But when it’s with Glenn Viel, it’s more a pleasure and a chance than anything else.
During the tasting of the second proof, the chefs say that it lacks a bit of citrus. How do you explain it?
I passed by that day, nothing was right. I took risks which were not controlled, I advanced on a wobbly line and after a while, it is the seesaw.
You say it wasn’t your day. Is it just a formula or did something really happen that week?
I think that Top chef is like a marathon on the mind. There is the kitchen of course, but there is also all the pressure of the challenge, this environment where we were confined… I think that day was not my day because I was not well enough in my head. I felt like I couldn’t move forward. I’m stumbling with my colleague, we’re going to the second event, I love citrus fruits and I don’t know why, instead of doing something that I’m good at, I take crazy risks… That day, I was not in tune with my mind.
We don’t really see your reaction when you are eliminated. What goes through your head at the time of the announcement?
We look at each other with Thibaut, he is all white and I tell him that I would be delighted to give him my place. We have an exchange where he looks at me with his overly benevolent eyes. I realize that it is now that the adventure ends. Everyone expects me to cry and not at all, I’m calm. I understood that my dish wasn’t crazy, that the others were better than me and that’s the game. It didn’t work, I’m not a bad player, I’m leaving my place.
One of the highlights of your season is your reunion with chef Alexandre Mazzia, your former mentor. Was this moment as strong to live as it was shown on the screen?
I am a very intense person, I live things to the full so for me, it was super strong. When Alexandre Mazzia takes me in his arms, it’s sincerely super strong. I may not have realized it but I had been wearing this for a while. Suddenly, it was phew to see him again, in this context even more. Everything was exacerbated, it was intense for both of us.
How did you experience the broadcast of the show?
We are not prepared for people to judge and talk. We cook and that’s it. Afterwards, I’m not going to read the comments, I’m not going to try to hurt myself. I was largely busy doing cool stuff rather than wasting time reading uncool stuff. We prepared for that by taking a step back even if it was not easy all the time. There are also a lot of people who write to me to thank me, to congratulate me. Above all, I keep it.
What are your projects ?
There is an opening project for an ephemeral restaurant this summer, still in Nantes in the field of street food. I also organize events on the exploitation of my market gardener, it allows to make a direct link between the land and the plate. And then with my spouse, we are moving next month to our urban farm project. There is all that to put in place: the opening, new productions, a catering offer, the processing of leftover production. There’s a lot of stuff in the pipes and Top chef helped a lot with that.