Top Chef's Robin: They Really Did Hate Me That Much

Last night's eliminated cheftestant opens up about not being the most popular gal in the kitchen

Robin Leventhal knows she wasn't exactly the most liked contestant on this season's Top Chef.

"They hated me," Robin says of her fellow cheftestants. "I think they just wanted to hate me."

Yikes.

There's more. Read on to find out what she says about being eliminated last night for a—gulp—simple panna cotta, Eli's Circus Circus disaster and her not-so-pleasant reunion with Mike I.

What did you think of last night's episode?
My first thought when you ask that is, so many people told me it should have been Eli. People thought it was going to be Eli.

The judges were so disgusted by the taste of his dish.
Yeah, the texture, the taste and aesthetically. But I knew in my heart I failed at such a fundamental dish that I did deserve to go home. It was my time.

Did producers play up you not getting along with a lot of the other contestants or was it real?
I would like to say it was edited that way, but yes, it was truly bad…I think I was a release. I was a scapegoat. I lived it and it sucked. If anything, there's a little retribution in there because they were ugly and the whole country gets to see it now. And I hope that they see it. But I can't be remorseful for their, um, immaturity. I think I'll leave it at that.

Let's talk about the red scarf incident. (When Mattin was voted off instead of Robin, the others wore the Frenchman's signature scarf to show their solidarity.) What did that feel like?
That hurt. That sucked. It was really hurtful because Mattin was like my last real close friend and he had just been eliminated. Everyone loved Mattin. He was a wonderful, cheerful, great person to have in the house. He and Ash both were a blast. Once they were gone, the atmosphere totally changed.

Have you spoken to Mike?
We just filmed the reunion show and I was like, "You didn't really hate me that much, did you?" And he was like, "No, I did." So you know, I didn't know how much of it was real or how much was just a response to a situation. I think he's a tough guy, but he's not all bad. I just think it's part of his culture and I think there's a bit of Jersey that comes out.