Restaurant Wars is a milestone on every season of Top Chef, a time when the cheftestants get the pressure of cooking to the best of their ability further weighted by creating a cohesive and effective pop-up restaurant experience. And the latter can make or break the former, as Sara Hauman experienced this season. The “Yogurt Queen” entered the season with little confidence, feeling she couldn’t measure up to the prestige of her competitors. But she proved herself wrong immediately, winning the first two challenges back-to-back. In fact, the first half of the season would prove to be incredibly successful for Sara. She racked up another win alongside Shota Nakajima and never fell into the bottom, even as her culinary skills were pushed to their limits.
Then came Restaurant Wars. On paper, the team of her, Dawn Burrell, Chris Viaud, and Gabe Erales had the credentials to crush whatever was in front of them. But as soon as they hopped onto a global seafood theme, it became clear that it was every chef for themselves. Throughout the planning process, Sara was nervous about her team’s lack of cohesiveness and leadership. And those fears came to fruition at service. Not only did they produce a confusing and mixed bag of a seafood menu, but their lack of service made the “chef’s table” experience an awkward one for the judges. And it was enough of a disaster for frontrunner Sara to stop short, having received criticisms for her two dishes and their placement in the menu.
Read on to hear Sara’s thoughts on her time in the game, and check out Last Chance Kitchen to watch her and other eliminated chefs fight for redemption and a chance to get back into the competition.
What compelled you to apply for Top Chef, especially in the middle of the pandemic when things are so hard on the restaurant industry? I had been approached by Top Chef before the pandemic and had even gone through the casting process, but it never seemed like the right time for me. With the world in a state of chaos and the uncertainty of pretty much everything, I thought, “What is there to lose?” and just went for it.
You said you immediately felt that you didn’t belong on the season alongside the prestige of the others in the competition. Did that feeling ever go away? I struggled with confidence even before Top Chef in both my personal and professional life. While competing on Top Chef, I found more and more confidence in myself and my abilities with every challenge. The vulnerability and uncertainty didn’t necessarily go away, but it did become easier to have more fun and get out of my head.
You came onto Top Chef to build your confidence. How much did winning the first two challenges off the bat do that? I definitely felt incredibly lucky to have won the first two challenges. While I did partly think it was a fluke, as the competition progressed, I actually started to really believe in myself. I was incredibly proud of how different (and quirky) my food was from all the other competitors. Top Chef really taught me to be more comfortable with exactly who I am and to stop apologizing for it.
It was pointed out that you have a “thing” about using yogurt. Were you worried about how often you used it, considering how much the judges may criticize you for doing so? Yogurt! I do love yogurt but have honestly never used it so much in my life. It was one of those strange ingredients that I gravitated towards for some reason. My cooking style is on the lighter side, and I think adding yogurt to a dish is a way to add richness without overdoing it.
You and Shota worked together on the surf and turf challenge, and it seems like you collaborate off the show as well. What was it like to build that partnership over the course of the season? Shota has openly been my biggest fan. We both approach cooking and look at food in similar ways and, with the close proximity between Portland and Seattle, it makes it very easy and natural to collaborate. Shota and I motivate each other to be better and do more every day.
One of the best things that came out of competing on Top Chef for me was not only the support from just Shota, but from all my Top Chef family in believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself. We all continue to lift each other up, and I couldn’t ask for a better, more talented group of friends.
You’ve been noted to take many out-of-the-box “risks” on your dishes this season. Was that a planned strategy on your part, or just the way you conceptualize dishes? I never really thought I was taking risks. I would think of a dish and just go for it and cross my fingers. It never really occurred to me until after filming that I was being so risky with my dishes. For the most part, it all worked out.
Let’s get into Restaurant Wars. You expressed a lot of anxiety throughout the episode that your team’s concept and camaraderie weren’t there. Can you talk more about that? While I am very adaptable in the kitchen, I like to have an initial plan. I really felt like we didn’t have much of a plan. It seemed like everyone just felt things would fall into place and work themselves out, especially with regards to front-of-the-house and service. I don’t have any FOH experience, and I didn’t want to let my team down. It was a lack of communication and talking through the concept that was our downfall.
The judges remarked about how your service really wasn’t there, especially compared to the other team. Did you get that sense when you were cooking for them? I think our service was different. I don’t have a lot of fine dining experience and I approach service in a more casual way. But all of my teammates were set on a more traditional sense of service. We really fell short on interacting with the judges and providing an overall enjoyable and fun dining experience. When I go out to eat, both the food and service play a huge part in my overall thoughts of the restaurant. Food and service is a symbiotic relationship in a restaurant to me and when the service is exceptional the food will always taste better.
There was some talk about where your dishes fell in the menu. How much do you think Dawn’s lack of information about her first course affected the way the judges viewed your halibut? I will be the first one to admit that my halibut dish fell short. I wanted to use albacore but was given opah, which tasted off, and the only fish I had left to use was halibut and not much of it. Making such a huge switch in the middle of chaos really threw me off my game.
Dawn is a very intuitive cook. I can relate to her in the sense that we have a vague idea of the dish we want to cook, but can’t really communicate it well until we are in game mode and are actually creating. It was a huge bummer to have been placed in the position of “team leader” to a certain extent. It was as if the judges thought I personally made the decision to place my dishes in that order when in reality it was very much a team decision. Not knowing the temperature or richness of Dawn’s dishes did not help my case, but neither did Gabe’s very large amuse with raw fish. We all just dropped the ball on communication.
Were you surprised to be eliminated over Chris and Gabe? The only person who felt safe, and for good reason, was Dawn. Gabe and I talked off-camera privately, and he told me I had nothing to worry about and that he or Chris would be going home that night. I look up to Gabe not only as a chef, but as a human, and so I found some comfort in this conversation. But ultimately, no one is really safe at Judges’ Table.
You said you have made yourself more vulnerable than you ever have on Top Chef, giving yourself a chance in exchange. Can you talk more about that? I have always been the quiet one. I don’t like conflict and I tend to sit back and observe. Competing on Top Chef gave me a voice. I started to see that I am good at what I do, and I have something valuable to offer to the world of food. I still have a long way to go on the confidence journey, but I continue to stay uncomfortable and do things that scare me. Top Chef taught me that I am a risk-taker and often the risks I take pay off handsomely.
Finally, are there any links or recommendations on how to help the restaurant during this time, either for chefs or patrons? Get vaccinated and go out to eat! The only way restaurants will survive is with our support. The restaurant system has been broken for a long time, and I hope this fresh start will continue to change things for restaurant workers positively.
Next, check out our interview with Avishar Barua, who was eliminated in Episode 7.
