Kristen Kish Talks Fast Food, Top Chef, And Her Restaurant Arlo Grey - Exclusive Interview

First of all, congrats on the wedding!

Thank you. Thank you. Yeah.

What is the cooking dynamic like between you and your wife, Bianca?

I cook. She does cook every so often like meals and full meals and she does most of the baking. But for the most part, I'm pulling together dinner when I'm home.

Does she have a favorite dish of yours?

Oh, wow. I mean, everything I make, I feel like she says it's her favorite, so I don't really know. So all of it.

That's the best answer. You've been busy filming a new batch of episodes of "Fast Foodies." What do you have in store for season two?

I think just like any great TV show, season two, hopefully, it's always a bit better because you know what 24 minutes of TV makes it in and what doesn't. So we're able to more efficiently operate, I think. [In relation to] the behind the scenes aspect of "Fast Foodies" is, we are allotted a little bit more prep time during the day. So our days didn't run super long because in the first season we were cooking everything from start to finish. Now at least for season two, we had a little bit more time where longer processes we could actually do off-camera, which then I think yielded some more creative food because we had more time. So I think some really crazy food is in store. I think some even more weird remixed versions getting into our chef brains. I feel like there's more entertainment and what hopefully season two is going to bring.

On the show and at various events, you've cooked for some big names. Is there anyone in particular who you've been particularly proud to serve your food?

I'm going to give you the cheesy answer of everyone, because everyone is different and they all bring a different perspective and personality and value to each episode, which I think why "Fast Foodies" is so special is that every episode feels different because every episode we have such a unique character person kind of coming in. I think just, here's the thing with chefs and cooking, normally we're like, "This is technically perfect. This is creatively on the mark. This is exactly what it needs to be." But a guest comes on and will be like, "Not you today. I want to pick someone else." I think that's why it kind of diffuses any preconceived notion of what we think we are good at, which I think is actually quite fun and allows us to relax a lot more and lean into the chill nature of what the show is.

I think some particular favorites of mine were Joel McHale, him and I have since become really great friends. He is a true, and I hate the word but I'll say it, he's a true foodie in a lot of ways. Fortune Feimster, I was a huge fan of her from long before "Fast Foodies" even came into conception, so cooking for her, such a pleasure. I think for season two, I'm not allowed to give any names, but we have every, it's not just comics, there's other people that do different things, which is really kind of cool. So we broadened our horizons a little bit.

Another "Top Chef" winner, Mei Lin, is getting a lot of buzz for the Szechuan hot chicken sandwich at her fast-casual restaurant daybird. Have you thought about doing a fast casual concept? If so, what would your dream menu item be?

Wow. Okay. I adore Mei Lin. I think she's probably one of the greatest chefs anyone has ever seen. She's like a magic unicorn and also happens to be a wonderful friend. I've never thought about doing it. That being said, I've also not really put any time or effort into even a second restaurant with everything else that's happening in my life and having Arlo Grey. For me, if I'm going to open up a place where I serve food, I need to give it 120,000%. If I'm not capable of doing that in this point in time, I probably won't do it because I'm not one to just throw a restaurant, stamp my name and not give it any time. So for me, having Arlo Grey is good for now. I can give it adequate amount of time and give everyone that works there time, know everyone by name and have a family and create a family. But never say never, but just not right now.

Is there a dish that you served at Arlo Grey or maybe you've served in the past that you think would fit well in the fast casual space?

You know, Arlo Grey is certainly not fast casual. But I try to lean heavily on an elevated experience but with familiar food just done really, really well. So a lot of the food that we serve at Arlo Grey is all stemmed from maybe a less than glamorous food item, so there's always something where it comes from. One of the pastas, the bestseller and the signature dish, I would say at Arlo Grey, is house-made mafaldine. We use Texas grains from Barton Springs Mill. We wash mushrooms and dry them and dehydrate them and rehydrate them, build them into a sauce, but it's all stemming on my love of Hamburger Helper out of a box. So that umami, salty, goodness that's super craveable and homey, I just elevate it into a place where, obviously you can charge money for it and call yourself a restaurant.

But a lot of that comes from wanting and needing, I think, for food to connect to people, whether or not they know who you are, what your style of food is. So if you can give familiar without feeling pretentious or off-putting, there's got to be one flavor profile that relates to somebody, someway, somehow, right? So for me, that's what makes a restaurant a neighborhood restaurant and not just [a] special occasion. It's what makes a story come full circle. It's what connects me with potentially all these different strangers coming into the restaurant and then being like, "Oh, I think I get it." So yeah, it doesn't happen every time, but so long as I can give it the old college try, I'm going to do it.

You were a guest judge on the last season of "Top Chef." Returning to the show, does it bring back happy memories of winning, or are you reminded of the stress and anxiety from the competition?

I think it's both. I mean, my season was, I don't know how long, a while ago now, right? So life has transitioned from Kristen Kish "Top Chef" being the only thing that was recognizable to my name to speed up now where I've done several other things. That being said, you're always aware of what "Top Chef" did and the experience that it provided, and also how it made you feel. So yes, I had the joy of being able to say, yes, I won. But I will never forget what it felt like to go through the process during that point of time in my life and understanding who I was and not being completely full circle or confident with the direction I wanted to go and who I actually am. So I think it's less about being stressed out because of the actual happenings of what was going on.

It was that paired with the fact of that point in my life was also kind of in limbo. So it takes you back to a point in time, personally, not just professionally. So yes, for me, it does create a lot of stress only because that's just who I am. So I remember, when I first stepped foot as the guest judge to introduce Restaurant Wars and I was so nervous, not because, I mean, I've done TV, right? I've stood next to people. I've delivered lines. I know what to do, but there's something about it where it immediately takes you back to being my 28-year-old self and being so unsure of my abilities. Then you just kind of revert back into that space. 

So I remember [telling] Padma [Lakshmi], I was like, "I'm so nervous." I can't hear myself because my anxieties and everything is super high right now. She said, "Do I always make you nervous?" I said, "No, no, no, no." I said, "No, we've hung out personally as friends, several, many, many, many times over the past 10 years or whatever it is." But it was standing with her in that moment, delivering that challenge. I was like, "No, no, no, no, you don't make me nervous. You just make me nervous right now." It's just because you go immediately back to the space, of the point in time, where you actually were competing.

Can you speak on how your previous restaurant experiences informed your approach as a leader in the kitchen of Arlo Gray?

I think there were a lot of reasons why I didn't want a restaurant. After I left working for Barbara Lynch in Boston, I did everything except open up a restaurant. I cooked, but I didn't have one specific place with my name on it where I was in charge of anyone. For me, I think there was a lot of fear. One, I didn't want to screw it up. I was scared that I wasn't good enough to open a great restaurant. I was scared that people wouldn't come. I was also unsure of how to actively be the leader that I wanted to be based on what I went through that I never wanted to put anyone else through, right?

The timing of everything just kind of worked out where yes, Arlo Grey came to be and we started hiring. I didn't get it right, right off the bat. I mean, Arlo Grey has certainly always been a family. There's a mix of so many different kinds of people in and out of the kitchen. So when we were hiring, I always was very aware of hiring women in leadership positions.

That being said, whoever is hired, regardless of your gender needs to perform in order to complete a job. So where it is now, it just so happened that these amazing women wanted to come back after we had closed for COVID for eight months. So they were the ones to come back. My chef Alex [Munoz] was the only male culinary person in the kitchen, he came back. So they kind of chose their way back. I did not hand-select anyone. I did not specifically say, I want these four women to come back with me. 

But for me it was about, again regardless of gender, there was an expectation set on day one to say these stupid, somewhat harmless, but the seed of where things can grow into bigger issues, somewhat harmless little passing jokes, it's not going to be tolerated. You're not going to do it. I don't care if it offends nobody, you're just not going to do it period. So, that was always the expectation. I think that I didn't have to teach these people how to be good humans. The ones that are with me right now, they just are. That's where I say they helped. And they really defined the everyday kitchen culture that they want to be a part of. So for me, I think that I've worked in primarily all-male kitchens, none of them where I felt threatened, but a lot of them where inappropriate things were said. Assumptions were made of why I was excelling faster than they were, or why I was getting a job that they felt they wanted, or taking credit for things that I did or demeaning my accomplishments.

So those are the things that I was like, that's not going to fly. I'm not going to do it and none of that behavior will be accommodated whatsoever. So kitchen culture behavior, so many things out there show the ugly side. We talk about the s*** that's wrong, which we do need to talk about, but I'm really proud now. I get to talk about how amazing we are and my team and what they've done. So yeah, I mean, I'm incredibly passionate about making sure that narrative also is met. Not only with all  the bad stuff that we do need to talk about, because we're bringing awareness, but also it's met with "let's showcase all the amazing people doing great things too."

Beyond "Fast Foodies" and the mystery TV project, any other projects we can look forward to from you?

Oh my gosh. There's quite a few. Ask me in four months or just it'll be on my Instagram sometime. But yeah [I'm] working on a lot of yeah, "Fast Foodies" and then a couple other really great television projects. One is a huge passion project that I've been working on for... for many years. That starting to finally take some forward momentum where we're actually going to, the fact that going to happen and then [I] may or may not be working on more written things, I could say.

If you're in Austin, be sure to stop by Kristen Kish's critically acclaimed restaurant Arlo Grey and keep an eye out for the debut of the second season of "Fast Foodies" on TruTV.