Charleston Chef Shuai Wang Reflects on ‘Top Chef’ | Eater Carolinas

"At his North Charleston barbecue spot, chef Shuai Wang hosted a pop-up with Top Chef season 22 winner Tristen Epps, who served Afro-Caribbean cuisine; the first customer queued at 8 a.m. and the line stretched until the 11 a.m. opening, with many fans waiting three hours to try oxtails, pork belly, mango chow, and more — they sold out by 1 p.m. Shuai Wang said, "Everyone’s been so genuinely sweet and supportive, especially all the Charlestonians. Everyone’s been saying, 'We were rooting for you the whole entire time. Regardless if you won or not, we’re just so proud of you and proud of how you represented Charleston.' It’s very heartwarming." He recalled a young fan who expected to meet him and instead "dropped by [a nearby spot], because she made me a friendship bracelet, and she wanted to give me a hug. I almost cried because it’s so, so sweet. Everyone’s just been amazing and supportive. So I can’t say enough good things about my fans." On watching the show he said, "I did. I did because we don’t get to see how they edit things or how we look on camera or whatever. But I watched the whole entire season, even the Picklegate incident (during episode 6, Wang accidentally throws away another contestant’s pickle garnish). But it was really fun. Hearing some of the things that the judges say about your food was crazy. Like Tom [Colicchio] talking about my grilled cabbage dish — what an honor." He reflected on feedback: "And my wife [Corrie Wang]. You know what? It’s either good or bad. I really appreciate them. Because, with the good ones, I think, 'Oh, my God. I can’t believe I did that well.' And with the bad ones, I think, 'This is a great learning experience' or 'I should have done this instead of that' or like, 'If I ever make this dish again, in real life, how do I improve upon that?' All the comments are very constructive. Some of them you don’t get to see on camera. Tom is obviously a wealth of knowledge and super talented at so many restaurants. He’s just very smart. And Kristen [Kish] has been to been in our shoes. Gail [Simmons] is a super badass and makes really amazing food — when she cooked for us at the finale, it was so, so good. All of their criticism was very constructive and a huge learning experience for me." Looking back he added, "Minus pickles? I don’t think so. I wish I wasn’t so nervous in the beginning, but I couldn’t help it, There’s so much anxiety and nervousness. I probably would have done a little better, earlier, but that wouldn’t create such good television later on. I wish I had more time to practice between Calgary and Milan, but I came back and went straight to work, so I got distracted. Other than that, I don’t know. I’m not a person for regrets, because things turn out the way they’re supposed to. I’m happy with everything that happened, and honestly, I had such a good time." - Erin Perkins