Top Chef Final Four: Interview with Brian Malarkey

Brian Malarkey wasn't going to do Top Chef.

"I was apprehensive about doing the show," Brian said. "First it was a challenge of if I was going to get on the show... Once I got on I really had to think, 'Do I want to do this?'"

"I called up the day before I was going to ship out and said no... I don’t want to be edited. I don’t want to be your pawn... I was really nervous about the whole process," Brian added.

Thankfully the "very persuasive people at Bravo" talked Brian back into doing the show, and he's now in the final four - along with Hung, Casey and Dale - on Top Chef, which is a very impressive feat.

Brian, who said he's very popular with kids, older ladies, and the gay community, had a feeling from the start that he'd make it to the final four.

Yet he also thought the final four would be a bit different than the current one. "I thought Lia and Tre were going to be in there. Hung was a given... I thought myself, Hung, Lia and Tre would be a real nice top four."

Not only were viewers shocked when Tre was sent home and didn't make it to the end (let alone the final four), but his elimination had an effect on the chef-testants as well. "That was the worst about Tre leaving. Tre was the chef of the house. Every night he'd make big meals," Brian revealed.

In some sense, those in-house meals were a part of the competition that viewers never saw, as it was another chance for the chefs to size up their competition. Brian said, "Everyone was eyeing everybody up every single night. It was like a Quickfire every night."

Either way, Brian said he was confident he'd make it to the final four because he has a lot of diversity in the kitchen and is quick on his feet. (Yes, diversity. I asked Brian if he thought it hurt him at all that he did so many seafood dishes. "My whole philosophy in cooking is to put the best product on the plate... When I go to the market, the best looking thing there is what I'm going to cook... I made a neon green peasant pie the other day. I've obviously got some other skills." Brian added that it was Miami and "seafood would be the best thing to eat" due to the hot weather.)

Why else did Brian have a feeling he'd make it to the final four? "A lot of the challenges don't really come down to the cooking skills, but your charisma..."

I thought it was called Top Chef, and the judges do always say things like "It's not Top Sommelier," and they only care about the cooking. So I asked Brian to elaborate, and what he said did make sense.

"Like the Restaurant Wars," he explained. "It did come down to cooking skills, but Dale and I were up front as general managers..." And in episode seven, when the chef-testants had to use catering trucks to cook for those enjoying the Miami nightlife, "That was much more motivational than cooking," Brian said.

On the topic of Restaurant Wars, anyone who watched the show noticed that Brian had a bit of sweating problem* - at least the judges seemed to think so. During the judging, Ted Allen read blogger Andrea Strong's comment to Brian: "Get thee some Right Guard." A few days after that episode aired, Right Guard sent Brian a year's supply.

"I thought Howie would be the one that got the Right Guard comment." Yet maybe they thought Howie wouldn't promote it as well as he could? "I don't know if they have forehead Right Guard," he laughed.

All joking aside, while Brian said, "CJ's definitely going to be my best friend that I'll know for a lifetime," he also said he has a "really strong bond" with the other members of the final four... "even Hung."

Even Hung?

"[The viewers] have horrible opinions of him. I was a roommate and kind of a big brother to him. He'd start saying the most ridiculous things, and I'd say, 'Hung, Hung, you're on TV,' and he'd listen to me." Though Brian added that he was surprised by some of the things Hung said during his private interviews, he did say of his fellow final four chef-mates: "I'd gladly meet any of those people with a hug."

Brian thanks everyone for the support, saying that being on Top Chef was a life-altering experience... *and he wants everyone to know he really doesn't sweat that much. Stay tuned to the site Brian Malarkey is in the process of launching: http://www.chefbrianmalarkey.com/.

Watch Top Chef tonight at 10 p.m. on Bravo.