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Top Chef's Mike Isabella: "Robin Is Crazy and Annoying"

Last night's eliminated cheftestant sounds off on his kitchen nemesis. Plus, will he ever see another Natalie Portman movie?

By Marc Malkin Oct 29, 2009 4:55 PMTags
Top Chep, Mike IsabellaBravo Photo: Justin Stephens

Mike Isabella admits the leek dish he prepared during last night's Top Chef, well, sucked. But he didn't think he'd be the one told to pack his knives and go.

No surprise, but he thought Robin Leventhal should have been sent home.

"In Robin's dish there were beets and zucchini and chickpeas and a Moroccan marinade and goat cheese and mushrooms," Isabella told me earlier today. "It didn't make sense. It wasn't good and it didn't make sense."

That's not all the Washington, D.C.-based chef had to say about his rival. Read on for more…

You and Robin just never got along, did you?
Not at all.

Do you think you could ever be friends?
Maybe if we all didn't live together during the competition I think me and Robin could have been in a better situation. But we've talked. We definitely talked after it was over.

Why did so many of you have a problem with her?
She's crazy and she's annoying. She's nice but she just talks all the time and it gets annoying when you're very focused and in a serious challenge. You always hear her talking and commenting on things and saying things that don't make sense.

Did you ever think it would be leeks that would do you in?
I didn't think anything would do me in. I thought I was going to make it to the finals and I think pretty much 95 percent of the people thought I'd be in the top three or top four—maybe even 100 percent. [Laughs.]

Will you never watch another Natalie Portman movie? (She was the surprise guest judge who asked for the vegetarian elimination challenge.)
It's not personal. I'm a really straightforward person. It is what it is…Bottom line is it was a bad dish, and in this competition, if you put out a bad dish, you go home.

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