Peter Couture, guest blogger extraordinaire

TBT's Peter Couture recently spoke to Richard Blais and Hung Huynh about their post-Top Chef careers and they were a study in contrasts:

Blais, a TC finalist last season, is opening in Atlanta what he hopes will become a chain of “modern burger boutiques” called Flip and shopping a reality show based on his cooking demonstrations and consulting work. Huynh, meanwhile, is scouting New York locations for his first restaurant (“casual fine dining”) while working a temporary executive chef’s gig at Solo, which has a fusion kosher (!) menu. Oh, and Huynh is competing at Epcot this weekend in the U.S. semifinals of the prestigious culinary Olympics known as the Bocuse d’Or.

Here are a few tidbits from my interviews with these talented chefs that didn’t make it into publication:

• As viewers of Bravo know, the network loves to recycle its reality contestants, using them in its other shows. Blais says he’s beginning his “writing career” by blogging for the latest installment of the network’s reality franchise. “My aspiring writing career will start with blogging (The Real) Housewives of Atlanta,” he says. “I’m looking forward to talking about it because I know a little about the landscape.” But Blais says not to expect him to appear on the show. Blais, who was in Tampa last weekend as part of “Top Chef: The Tour,” asked for a dinner recommendation. I told him Cafe Ponte.

Blais also talked about how he is developing a Krispy Kreme milkshake, which left me and everyone else in the office craving the doughnuts and ready to make a road trip to Atlanta. To paraphrase the movie line: “We think his milkshake will drink your milkshake!”

• Huynh, the Season 3 TC winner, talked about the “How to Chop like a Top Chef” video clip he did for New York Magazine, which displays his amazing knife skills. “Yeah, tons of people watch it,” he says. “It’s funny, I hope no one cut their finger (off) trying to emulate me.” (laughs) See it on YouTube). Oh, and memo to home cooks: Hung mostly uses just one chef’s knife — you don’t need that huge block of knives in your kitchen!

So what about knife skills? Top Chef viewers will remember when one of Hung’s fellow finalists, Casey, had trouble chopping an onion during a challenge. Don’t we expect all chefs to have great blade work?

“It’s a basic thing,” says Hung, laughing. “If you’re a writer and can’t type, that’s kind of weird.” (Sorry, Chef, I’m a two-finger typist). “But I’ve seen famous chefs who have great restaurants out there and are really creative and very successful but they have a lack of knife skills. In the end, it’s very different with each chef, some are good in (certain skill) areas, some are not.”