After weeks of fielding insults and abuse from Hell's Kitchen star Gordon Ramsay, which promising chef was crowned the master of cooking #@%&! risottos and $%@#% beef Wellingtons in the season finale? Why, that would be 25-year-old Christina Machamer, a culinary student who impressed the hotheaded chef by winning a record-breaking nine challenges during the season and leading a relatively seamless final dinner service. The morning after watching herself nab the executive-chef position at Ramsay's London West Hollywood, Christina took the time to call EW.com and talk about her friendship with Corey, why Jen went over the line, and who really was the fashionista of Hell's Kitchen.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Are you glad to be able to finally tell people you won?
CHRISTINA MACHAMER: It's nice. It's nice not to have to find a secluded area to talk on the phone. It's a new feeling.
Your family knew too. Was it hard for them to hide it?
I don't know if it was as hard for them. It was definitely nice that they were under the same contract that I was, so I did have some sort of a confidant along the way.
Really, did you think you had it in the bag last night? You were the ultimate challenge winner after all....
I honestly didn't watch very much of the episode last night. We had a big party and so my attention was sort of drawn. But the day of, I definitely felt like I had it in the bag. I was definitely very confident with the way my restaurant finally turned out and the venue and the team that I had, so the stars were sort of aligned.
I can't think of a better final two than you and Petrozza. It seemed most of the drama went out the window once it came down to you two.
I loved it when it was just the two of us, because Petrozza and I had sort of bonded once we got into the final six, once we were on the same team. Not really over food or Hell's Kitchen, but talked about our personal lives. We both came from the same school, so we had a lot of that to talk about, a lot of the same instructors. And so sharing the final two with him, by then, we had formed a friendship. It was definitely competitive, don't get me wrong, but it's one of those situations where both of us were wholly deserving of the prize, so working with him was an honor.
NEXT PAGE: ''What did I get myself into?''
You Might Also Like
- DVD Commentary Gordon Ramsay vs. Julia Child | Youyoung Lee
- Television News Americans go abroad for new reality show
