Richard Blais Reveals How Chefs Really Feel About Signing Autographs: “I Hope I Don't Sound Like a Dick, But..."

When Richard Blais brought fellow Bravo's Top Chef alum Carla Hall on his podcast, Starving for Attention, the pair talked plenty of shop that covered a lot of common ground. For instance, they reminisced about insider quirks about their experiences on the show. And they are now on the same lifestyle challenge team after sharing stories about their weight.

But when it comes to signing autographs, the two chefs don't see entirely eye to eye. In a rapid-fire questioning session, Blais asked Hall if she prefers to sign aprons or books when fans ask for autographs. Hall and Blais agreed off the bat on their answer — books, any day — but not for the same reason. 

"It never looks good," when a chef tries to sign an apron, Hall said. "The marker never works. It's always the fattest marker, the oldest marker that they can find. It smears."

Blais agreed, calling the request to sign aprons, "a pet peeve of mine." But here's why it bugs him: "I’ll take it to the business level," he explained. "I hope I don’t sound like a total dick here. But we don’t get money on aprons, yo! Buy the book."

He continued, "You’re coming to a book signing, and we’re sitting there, like it would be nice...  And honestly, I sign all the aprons... I’m not going to say no to anyone. I take all of the selfies, I’ll do anything! But, it’s one of those things where you bought a $50 apron and my book is 29 bucks."

Hall replied, "Interestingly enough, I did not think about that. I did not think about that from that perspective."

Blais said that had a simple explanation: "That’s because you’re genuinely an awesome person."

But Hall demurred. "I just thought about that I want it to look good," she said. "I want to have the right marker for it."

Blais summed up their thoughts this way: "That really says a lot about both of us."