I don't think it's any secret I was rather pleased to see Nicole go home last night on Around the World in 80 Plates. And it's not that she's not a great chef because, hell, she probably is. She just wasn't the most vibrant contestant. And as you'll read in our interview, she says she wasn't really herself on the show. John called her out for not having passion, but was it just a lack of competitiveness? I found out.

Check out our interview!

Ology: So how is it watching the show and your elimination? We’re you upset by any comments that were made throughout the course of the show?

Nicole: I haven’t seen the last episode where I got eliminated yet. I haven’t had a moment to check it out, but I’ve been getting calls from family and friends asking if I’m OK and [if I'm] traumatized. You know, it’s fine. It was fun. I’m just glad it’s over.

John called you out and said he didn’t think you had passion. Why do you think he said that?

I have no idea, except you have to have passion if you’re working in the kitchen because you hate money and love long hours. I don’t know where he was coming from. I’m kind of a very non-reactive person, so maybe that was something that had to do with that.

What was your reasoning for voting for him? Because he was voting for you or because you thought he was a big competitor?

I mean John’s dish wasn’t all that great either. He kind of missed the mark on his dish. So, I just chose people based on what the locals think. I don’t have a personal vendetta against anyone on the show by any means.

So, are you guys cool now? Do you still talk to people on the show?

Yeah, I do actually. I talk to a few people here and there. I keep in contact, and we kind of rally and root for one another as it progresses.

Avery was upset because she didn’t get a chance to actually compete, so who do you blame for that? Are you happy that you stepped in, or do you think she should have said something?

I think I felt like if she was more… if she could have stepped up then she could have done something. I mean we were just standing there, the clock was ticking. Because I just did the crabs, I didn’t really need the next challenge, but there was so many times where I felt someone needs to take the lead, so I just jumped in.

Why do you think Liz voted for you? I thought it would maybe come down to a tie.

Probably because the locals didn’t particularly like my dish. I’m not even sure. I don’t know if it was a retaliation thing, but she had her reasons. I never actually asked her about that.

If it did come down to a tie do you think Avery would have gotten rid of John over you?

I doubt that.

Really? Did you have an alliance with anybody?

No, there were people who I wanted to work with, but it’s not like I was going to team up with them just to take people down. I just wanted an opportunity to work with different chefs along the way, and that’s how I kind of saw things. In the very beginning, it obviously showed Jenna trying to start an alliance with me, but I kind of just said no.

Did you say no because it was Jenna, or you didn’t really want to team up with anybody?

I didn’t want to team up with anybody because in the end, it’s an individual challenge even though you’re all teamed up, but it can get really nasty, and I just didn’t want to be involved in that.

What was is like watching some of the negative things people said about you?

Some of the things that fly out of their mouths are a little bit surprising, but it’s made for TV. I’ve never heard my mother say that she wanted to punch so many people in the face [laughs]. She turned into a mama bear. She called me every minute that she’s watching it saying, "Well why would he say something like that?" She’s just crazy. For the most part it’s reality television, so all that’s to be expected I guess, so it didn’t really surprise me.

You seemed kind of laid back a little bit, and not so intense as everyone else. Do you think you were meant for reality television?

Probably not. I spent a lot of time running away from that camera because I’m not really myself when there’s 10 other people staring at me. A lot of my friends are calling me back saying, "Why are you so quiet, it’s almost like you had no personality?" I was like, "Yeah, I know." I think for the most part I kind of wanted to keep my head down and work because it took a lot of focus to do the challenges and the restaurant take-overs, and you can’t get wrapped up in the politics of it all.

How do you look back on the experience as a whole?

You got to travel pretty much around the world, and got to meet some really cool chefs from the United States. We got pushed into corners, and you just had to fight your way out and survive the competition part of it. Overall, it was a really good experience just to be able to travel with people of the same likeness, doing the same thing that they love. I thought it was great.

Now that you’re watching as a viewer, who are you rooting for?

I would like to see some ladies win some challenges. I’m always rooting for the ladies.

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Follow on Ology: Sharon Tharp |  TVOlogy

Follow on Twitter: @sharontharp  | @TVOlogy

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