T O P C H E F
JANUARY 15 2009
AMERICANWAY 57
Fernandes. “Cumulatively, over the course
of the show, my performance outweighed
Lisa’sby 110percent, and I felt that it could
have gone either way in Puerto Rico,” she
says, admitting that she might have been
outclassed that one time but maintaining
that shedeserved some leewaybasedon the
degree towhichsheexcelledoverFernandes
during previous challenges. “At the judges’
table that night, I said, ‘It’s hard to believe
that this is not cumulative to some degree.’
They toldme it isn’t.”
That exchangenever aired.
What alsonever airedwas the aftermath
that followedLofaso being told topackher
knives. Feeling queasy, as if she had just
been dumped by a boyfriend, the loss was
agonizing. “You cry randomly andwake up
in the middle of the night thinking you’re
still on the showand that itwasall adream.
Itwasdevastating,” she says.
Extending the torture, because of her
flight schedule, shehad tospend threemore
days inPuertoRico—where shewasout of
the running but in the company of other
eliminated contestants in town for the
show’s finale. One night, they went out for
dinner at a top Puerto Rican restaurant.
Thrilled to have them there, the chef pre-
pared a surprise tastingmenu. All was ex-
cellent, andLofaso felt some of her sadness
dissipating. Then came the fifth course:
pigeonpeaswith risottoandpork. Itwasan
almost exact replicaof thedish that had led
toLofaso’selimination. “Iwas like, ‘Are they
kiddingme? Is this a sick joke?’” she says,
remembering. “Everybodyelsebegan laugh-
inghysterically. But I criedmy eyes out.”
As she tellsme this, though, she looksup
and smiles, appearingweirdlyvindicatedby
the experience. “It proved tome thatwhat I
didwas onpoint. Theymade the samedish
that I’d intended tomake. I’dhad the right
ideabuthadmissed themark in termsofex-
ecution,” she says, shrugging. “Sometimes,
we fall short. Sometimes, it’snot perfect.”
The sound of a busy restaurant filters
up to the lounge. She needs to get back to
work, but before heading down tomanage
her kitchen, Lofaso turns to me and says,
“I’mnot kickingmyself over thatmeal.And
I still don’t think it was a bad choice toput
everythingononeplate.”
MIChAEl KAplAN
is a journalist based in New York City. He
has written for publications such as
Details
,
Portfolio
, and the
NewYorkTimes
.
Continued frompage 50
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