I’m watching Top Chef Seattle right now and a few thoughts come to mind.

I LOVE THIS SHOW. This is my favorite cooking competition show. Actually out of all the different types of competition shows - I love food because I feel like that was my world. You know what, it was my world for such a long time. 10 years in the food industry. Catering, baking, restaurants. I love food. I love that it makes people happy. And I love that it’s an art. It seriously takes talent to create good food.

THE PEOPLE HERE ARE GREAT. Shows like these help me recognize the names and faces of the leaders of the industry. And then the contestants are great too - either hilarious or entertaining or filled with drama.

Fabio is hilarious (he walks his pet turtle!!). Shout out to Dale - filipinos represent! And I definitely had a mad crush on Season 2’s winner - Ilan Hall (pictured above).

Watching tonight’s marathon of Seattle episodes makes me think that 1) Seattle is BOMB. and 2) an old post I wrote about the show’s host, Padma Lakshmi. So I pulled it out for you b/c it’s a good post.

I wrote this on April 25, 2011. Here you go:

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okay, so #1 - my seven inch scar

lemme explain. i love to watch Top Chef. and one night it inspired this blog entry:

last night i was watching Top Chef and saw Padma’s scar on her arm. it’s a 7 inch scar that’s very visible on her right arm. and so i decided to google it.

i pulled up an article written in 2001 about her journey and her scar. to me, it’s symbolic. This past year left a huge gashing scar on my heart, on my life. and like her, i was ashamed. i tried to cover it up. she could’ve done great things, been a successful model. but instead she’s covering it up and ashamed and did small time modeling.

in college people would comment “what a shame … she could’ve been a great model” and she herself felt ashamed. she continued to model, book a few shoots. but everything she did involved long-sleeve shirts. caked makeup to cover up the scar.

then she was discovered by a huge time fashion designer. he wanted to cast her because of her scar. he wanted to show case her because she is a beauty. this was a beauty mark. she was of course surprised … but then new jobs were booked. she became an IT GIRL.

she’s famous now. and hosting Top Chef. wearing sleeveless dresses, hiding nothing.

and i read this article. this scar is a mark of how the doctor saved and salvaged her right arm. it was shattered but with surgery and therapy she was restored. why hide that? because of this scar she still has a fully useful arm.

i cried reading this article. because her arm is like my heart. that accident and that scar is like my devastation brought on by this last year.

i’m just going to have to let God do His work, do some surgery and fix this. take the time to get some therapy. and then let the road be laid out before me. blessing begat blessing. opportunity begat opportunity.

soon enough i’ll be hosting my own Top Chef and wearing sleeveless dresses of my own. figuratively speaking.

i’m going to wear my scar where people can see it. so they can ask and that i can testify about how good and merciful God is.

amen and amen.

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anyways. this is my seven inch scar. and i’ve been ashamed of it and tried to cover it up, but i’m not going to hide it anymore. God is gracious on my life.

Ok that’s all. BOOM.

Top Chef.

JOANNE GARCIA

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