Top Chef Alum Kevin Gillespie Details Living an "Authentic Way" After Emotional Health Journey

Kevin Gillespie hasn't just faced the heat of competing on Top Chef on multiple occasions. After being diagnosed with renal cancer in 2018, the James Beard-nominated chef also took on the challenges of his diagnosis head-on.

Kevin, who appeared on Season 6 of Top Chef as well as Top Chef All-Stars, recently reflected on his health journey during a conversation on Food & Wine’s Tinfoil Swans podcast.

It was during this podcast appearance that he detailed the many ups and downs he faced in his recovery as he looks to his next chapter in the culinary world by celebrating the opening of his latest restaurant, Nàdair.

“[Living to my] nineties is likely never gonna happen for me, and that's okay, but that also means that I intend to live it to the fullest and even though I love what I do for a living, it is not everything that I am as a person," Kevin, who won Top Chef Season 6 Fan Favorite, shared on the podcast. "I'm gonna continue being a chef despite the fact that my doctors have told me to retire 25 times at this point. I'm not ready to retire yet. But I'm also not delusional enough to think that I get to just wait to do a lot of the things that I wanted to do in life, like I should just start doing those now, so.”

Kevin Gillespie discusses how his renal cancer diagnosis changed his point of view

These days, Kevin shared during his appearance on Food & Wine’s Tinfoil Swans podcast that his focus has changed in the wake of his cancer diagnosis six years ago.

“I love my wife [Valerie Combs] so much and the life we have together. And I'm scared of being a burden on her. That's about it," he said, adding that his has a new point of view when it comes to winning accolades after everything he went through amid his cancer diagnosis. "None of that stuff bothers me anymore. If I never win a James Beard award despite being nominated, I think for 187 consecutive awards, that will be fine. Because that won't keep me alive… And the only thing I really care about at this point is being able to live as long as possible, alongside Valerie, in an authentic way where I am not trying to be someone who I am not.”

When the time does come for him to step away from his bustling culinary empire, he reveals his plans for the future: “Because when I'm done, we're not closing them, like, I'm just giving them to the team that works there, that's always been the plan. They'll be theirs. And I just want to get them both into a very stable place before I hand them off and, and hopefully let other people live out their dreams through these places that we built together.”

Details on Kevin Gillespie's new restaurant, Nàdair

By the way, Kevin isn't slowing down anytime soon. Earlier this year, he opened up his new eatery, Nàdair Restaurant, which is keeping him busy when he's not spending time with his family. Nàdair, located in Atlanta, is a love letter to his Scottish heritage as well as his roots in the South with a focus on "seasonally focused wood-fired cooking influenced by the natural world," according to the restaurant's Instagram bio.