Bravo is bringing back its surprise hit Top Chef, a reality show featuring chefs competing for $100,000, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, an appearance at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colo., and the title of Top Chef.

It should come as a surprise to no one that the show is gay-friendly. The first season brought us the openly gay Dave Martin, who cried his way into our hearts as well as the final three. This season we have Carlos Fernandez, whose official Bravo bio describes him as a handsome and zealous Cuban with a flair for cooking and a passion for life. What they fail to mention is that he’s funny, too.

AfterElton.com: Congratulations on making it onto Top Chef!
Carlos Fernandez: Thanks. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s awesome.

AE: I was really excited to see it was coming back because I really enjoyed the first season.
CF: Yeah, no one really expected it to be so popular, but I knew it was going to be a hit. [Laughs.]

AE: Why did you want to be on the show?
CF: Not only did I enjoy the first season, but I’m not even a reality fan. I said, “This is a format I really like. This is something I could excel in.”

AE: Well, it’s a really high-quality show.
CF: Right. As opposed to the others that are just like Top Line Cook, this really is Top Chef.

AE: What do you hope to get out of the experience?
CF: I’m self taught, so what I was hoping to get out of the experience was some sort of vindication — some kind of Top Chef diploma or Bravo diploma. Being judged by my peers and saying, “Hey, you really did make it, kiddo.”

AE: What do you think of it so far?
CF: When I first came back home, I was a little dazed and confused. [Laughs.] It took me a few days to process my feelings. And then I realized, “Jeez! This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” It was just incredible. I came back with a new sense of confidence and 14 different viewpoints besides my own.

AE: Is there anything you can tell us about what to expect from the second season? No spoilers, of course.
CF: No, no spoilers. Everything’s fun until you get sued. [Laughs.] The show has 15 [contestants] instead of 12 like last year. I wasn’t intimately involved with the cast of the first season, but this season feels like we’re all much more accomplished. We really do have more chops than the first season, so everything is heightened. The challenges are heightened. The people’s experience are at a different level.

AE: Who was your favorite chef from Season 1?
CF: Lee Anne without a doubt. I really thought she had the complete package: the people skills, the talent, the experience.

AE: What was your favorite challenge from Season 1?
CF: I guess my favorite was the convenience store, when they had to go to the gas station to pick up the stuff. It really forced them to think outside the box.

AE: Which challenge fills you with dread to think they might do it again this season?
CF: Gee, I was pretty cool with all the challenges until the eighth or ninth, the Las Vegas poker room service challenge. It was two to three entrees, half an hour, in a kitchen you’ve never seen before with items you don’t even know existed. That’s the one that made me piddle. [Laughs.]

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