Stephanie Izard
News

As exciting as was for Stephanie Izard to be named the first female winner on Top Chef, the kitchen connoisseur wants to make one thing clear:

"I never think of myself as a woman chef.  I'm just a good chef.  I don't see why we have to be talked about as male or female."

Izard is nothing if not confident. Adding credence her claim of simply being the best this season was the fact that she was voted the fans' favorite contestant after filming was through.

"We were having the reunion show, and [show judge] Tom [Colicchio] was talking about how they came up with the decision, and I really believe that it was their decision.  They compared our meals. I  think [other Top Chef finalist] Richard and I are both good chefs, but he just didn't make as great of a meal that night.

So yeah, people can believe and say whatever they want; I just know in my heart that I worked really hard for that," she said.

Following her victory on Top Chef last night, Stephanie Izard sat down with People Magazine for an interview:

How does it feel to be the first female Top Chef winner?
It definitely makes me feel great to be the first female [winner]. Women are always struggling a little bit in this industry. I never look at myself as either a male or a female chef. I just think it's about who the best chef is. But at the end of the day, I know women have a tough time in the industry. There's just a lot of guys we have to push around. [Laughs.]

Stephanie Izard is a winner!

A lot of viewers were disgruntled that Lisa was in the final three. What was it like working with her in the finale?
Lisa came down to Puerto Rico as a new and improved Lisa. She didn't just get her hair cut. She came down ready to cook â€" and was being very positive. The nice thing about Lisa is [that] she does have a lot of confidence, and she was being really calm. I don't know if it's that Puerto Rican air that just made her super chill, but she definitely was the best version of Lisa that we've seen all season.

Stephanie Izard beat out Richard Blais and Lisa Fernandes on the fourth season finale of Top Chef last night, eartning the $100,000 grand prize and the unique honor of being named the first female winner of the highly-rated Bravo cooking competition.

In all three seasons prior to this, women placed in the final three, but have never taken the Top Chef title, a distinction not lost on the Chicago resident.

"This is the biggest thing that's happened in my life," Izard said. "This is what I'm meant to do in life."

Stephanie Izard is your Top Chef, America.