Aspen Food and Wine: Top Chef Paul Qui Keeps Mum on His New Restaurant

By Kathleen Squires

It has been a banner year for Austin chef Paul Qui. Since taking the title in Top Chef Season 9, he won a James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Southwest, making restaurant Uchiko the hottest ticket in town. We ran into the strikingly cool Qui in Aspen, who was markedly mum on his next move.

Zagat: What has had a greater impact on business for you, winning Top Chef or winning the Beard Award?
Paul Qui: It’s hard to tell because it’s been one right after the other. But I think both have affected my business in a positive way.

Z: Rumor has it that you have plans for a new restaurant?

PQ: Yes, I am working on a new restaurant but what it will be, I will leave to surprise. That’s all I can really say right now. It will be in Austin for sure. It has yet to be determined if I will be doing Uchiko at the same time. 

Z: Would you do the Top Chef experience again?
PQ: I probably would. It was fun and I had a good time doing it.

Z: Some of the challenges were crazy, though. Do you think cooking in a gondola is a good test of a chef’s skills?

PQ: Absolutely not. If I would have gone home during that challenge I would have been totally fine with it. It would not have hurt my ego at all.

Z: Have you done a lot of travel after the Top Chef experience?

PQ: Yes. Some of the big highlights were my dinning experiences. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London; Robuchon in Paris; Jiro in Tokyo. All amazing experiences. But we did have some weird sausage at a fish and chips joint in London. It was a red hot dog that was just way too red. 

Z: Tell me about your recent television appearance on Royal Pains?

PQ: It was kind of bizarre. I played myself judging a food competition so it made it easy for me. After that, I don’t think there will be any more acting on my part. I think I belong in the kitchen.