Last week, Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio shared some behind-the-scenes dish on Top Chef during a press conference call. While they can't give us any clues as to what we'll see this season on Top Chef 4, the two did discuss what they see as being some of the key elements to success on the show.

One thing that could help: please Padma. Of all the judges, she's the only one who tastes all the food the cheftestants create. She joked on the call that her “digestive tract” is the secret weapon of Top Chef. While her opinion isn't weighted any more heavily at the judges' table, she does taste all of their Quickfire challenge meals as well. It's usually the guest judge who picks the winner of those, but you can't imagine that her affection for a dish wouldn't occasionally influence her judging for the same chef's later offering at the judges' table.

Another thing that might help: mastering the classics. It's not necessarily a pre-requisite to making a tasty dish, but Tom did note that he is surprised at how few of the chefs really know the classic dishes and preparation techniques. Tom noted that many culinary schools no longer focus on this specific training, and he thought that's probably why so many of the chefs haven't mastered the classics as they might have in years past. Demonstrating – as did Hung Huynh – that you've had the respect and patience to learn the classics isn't going to win you anything without a delicious offering for the judges. That said, it seems like it might be a way to impress Tom, at least, which might buy you some points to put you over the top for a challenge win or at least avoid being eliminated.

Thinking fast on your feet is a trait that can also help a chef. Tom noted that a chef like Casey Thompson might need to revise and rework a dish several times before arriving at the perfect version. While it's a valid method, the structure of the show rewards the chef was can improvise and change direction on a dime.

In discussing this, Tom also gave us some background as to what might have held Casey back from a win in the last season of Top Chef. He noted that when she returned home in the period between the selection of the final four and the trip to Aspen, she went right back to work, and didn't spend as much time as maybe she needed on working and revising her dishes. On the other hand, the other chefs assessed their weaknesses, and went home to work on those areas specifically. Tom wondered if the fact that she didn't give that final competition preparation the way a chef with her working style might need to impacted her in the outcome.

Overall, the main thing an aspiring Top Chef contestant should keep in mind: however hard you think it is, it's harder. Tom noted that by the sixth episode, the chefs all comment how stunned they are at how difficult the process really is.

- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of Bravo)