You remember Kristen Kish from their beloved run on Top Chef, and now she’s back with an all-new food series Restaurants at the End of the World. Premiering Tuesday, March 21st on National Geographic, the series follows Kish as she travels the world in search of the world’s most remote restaurants. From Panama to Norway, Kish is on the hunt for the people, places, culture, and traditions that make these restaurants so special.
Kish joins GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos to talk about the series and so much more.
“It was an incredibly personal and professionally challenging journey. One that I think I always wanted from my life,” Kish says about her experience working on the show. “I am always up for an adventure and I’m always up for doing something very different,” which made this the perfect job for her.
Kish explains that getting to know the people in these remote communities was the most rewarding aspect of the project. That, and getting to travel with her wife!
“[My wife] is layer of comfort and calm,” shares Kish. She goes on to say that, “Sometimes I am not calm. She’d probably tell you that I’m never calm, but she brought this sense of ease and calm to me so that I could focus on actually what my job was instead of feeling like an anxious ball of nerves.”
Restaurants at the End of the World isn’t the only adventure Kish has going on in her life right now. In 2018, she opened her first restaurant, Arlo Grey, located in Austin, Texas. While the state of Texas has been at the forefront of the recent wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation, Kish says that “There’s always bright spots in the bright people in every scenario in every state. And what I’m most proud of is this one.” She describes Austin as a “celebration of individuality and wanting to celebrate anyone in everybody in a really beautiful way.”
She explains that her restaurant is “the gayest rainbow in Austin” and is incredibly proud to “have people coming to the restaurant and celebrating my people.”
On the anti-Drag politics sweeping the nation, Kish declares “Drag is a celebration. It is just pure joy and happiness.”
“I can’t think of anybody that’s gone to a drag show that has not had a permanent smile across their face. It is just the most kind and inviting place for everybody. And that does not just mean the queer community, it’s everyone. So, I think it’s, you know, keep on going to the drag shows, keep on supporting those drag queens and the amazing people.”
“Restaurants at the End of the World” premieres March 21st, 10/9c on National Geographic. Beginning March 22, all episodes will be available on Disney+.