Justin Stephens/BravoIt's always important to stand up for what you believe in.
Unfortunately, on last night's Top Chef Masters, one contestant did just that and was sent home for sticking to his guns.
So who got the boot and what's he saying today? Read on for our exclusive chat with the eliminated chef, who says he isn't as arrogant as he comes off...
New York-based chef Suvir Saran was sent packing for his "bland" and "boring" vegetarian take on a bacon-topped hamburger. And while Saran says he was simply trying to showcase a healthy alternative to using red meat, his plan backfired and left the judges thinking he was cooking more for himself than the episodes' special guests, contestants from this season's Biggest Loser.
First of all, do you think you should have gone home last night?
Somebody had to. Being Hindu, we don't take that too gravely...For me, when I entered the Top Chef kitchen I knew I'd have to go out one day.
Would you have done anything differently, like using meat in your dish?
Not at all, because I wanted to. I went and bought meat, I bought bacon, but then that day I said, "Suvir, you talk to large audiences of hundreds of thousands of people that come to listen to you and you inspire them to make lifestyle changes on their diet..." I woke up thinking, "Shame on you. Do the right thing." I'll make a statement. Hopefully the judges will go with me and they'll realize it's not about this minute, it's about long-term change.
You gave a speech on the negative health effects caused by red meat right before Hugh Acheson served his meat-filled dish. Were you trying to sabotage him?
Not at all. I was making a conversation on meat in our diets. Hugh just happened to be the chef who had plated that dish. It could have been another chef.
When you talk about your strong beliefs, some people take it as arrogance. What do you think of that?
When I speak about something and I believe in something, I've done a lot of homework and I'm happy to share that. I'm not preachy. I speak the inconvenient truth every day I live, and it seems preachy and arrogant, but it comes from a very humble place that actually cares about the people who think I'm affording them with arrogance.
Lastly, do you and your partner, Charlie Burd, have plans to get married anytime soon?
We talk about it everyday. We don't want to just get married in another state. We live in New York state, and when New York gives us that decency and allows us that very basic human right, I will be the first person standing in line to get that.