'Top Chef: World All-Stars' Finalists Buddha Lo, Gabri Rodriguez, and Sara Bradley Talk Through Their Biggest Lessons from London

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Top Chef celebrated its twentieth season in a big way, bringing winners and finalists from versions around the world to compete in a true culinary Olympics. And now we're left with our podium finishers, who would all get something different out of a victory. Buddha Lo would become the first two-time winner in Top Chef history, even more impressive considering he's competed in complete back-to-back seasons. Gabri Rodriguez would be the first chef to win across multiple franchises, with the Top Chef México winner hoping to bring it home for the international contestants. For Sara Bradley, it's a way to finally earn a win after coming so close four seasons ago, making good on her second chance (third if you count her elimination and return via Last Chance Kitchen).

Read on to hear Buddha, Gabri, and Sara's thoughts on their time in the game. The Top Chef: World All-Stars finale airs Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Top Chef Season 20

What made you decide to return for Top Chef: World All-Stars?
Buddha Lo: So I am kind of obsessed with this show. I really, really enjoy the competition side of it. So the chance of doing it again is not going to happen. Season 20 is the first time winners were invited back. And that's one time in 20 seasons, so who knows if that will ever happen again. So I had to do it.

I wanted to see how I'll shape up against the rest of the world. And I heard that I was in London. And I used to work in London, and I really missed that place. So it was really cool to all those sorts of stars aligned. I didn't really have anything going on. They called me literally after the show's finale finished. And I was like, "Yeah, I'd love to do it." And what better time than to do it while I've got nothing going on.
Sara Bradley: When you're that close to winning, you just recollect those dishes over and over and over again in your head. They had asked me to do All-Stars this season after I competed. But I had a newborn baby, and I just wasn't ready to do it. So when they called me to do this one, I was thinking, "I'm finally gonna get to do it. I'm gonna get to fix everything that I messed up the first time." So I was pumped about it.
Gabri Rodriguez: I mean, for me care carrying the Mexican flag over my shoulder, it means the world. So the opportunity to do that? I mean, I couldn't reject that. To prove myself again against the best chefs in the world. I mean, it's an amazing, amazing experience. So I couldn't reject it at all.

Gabri, what would you say is the biggest difference you experienced between the American and Mexican versions of Top Chef?
Gabri: First of all, we don't need to purchase our own ingredients. Ingredients are always available in the pantry. Even if we were recording outside, everything was available in the pantry all the time. So that was a disadvantage if you can't find the ingredients that you want. But in this case, I pretty much love the way that they made us purchase our own ingredients. At the beginning, it was hard. You can see by that first mole, you know? (Laughs.)

On the other side of things, Sara and Buddha, what was it like to have so many of these alumni from non-American Top Chef series get to compete alongside you?
Sara: Well, I mean, it's an honor to be asked to compete at this level with these other people. And not only that, but it was just such a learning experience for myself. And I think that Buddha and Gabri and I have talked about it. Just to work with these other people who are using completely different products and looking at food in such a different way. I kind of was a little nervous because I have a specific style of cooking and I wanted to stay true to that. But the judges have seen a whole entire season of it for me before. So I really tried to take local ingredients and the local outlook on food and just do it again, but with little Southern touches everywhere. It was just such a blast and loved working with all these other guys.
Buddha: It feels great. The more that I keep thinking about it, the more that I think, "What is my identity? Where am I from?" As walls start to come down more and more, I think the word becomes more prominent. Hopefully, one day, it could be more of a world rather than a division. And this is where it's been brought. I see myself as just a person living on the planet rather than a person being put in certain countries.

It's like all these different multiverses of Top Chef winners and finalists. It's really crazy to see because it becomes almost like, "Oh, that is me if I was in the Middle East or won Top Chef: France." Because they're all winners. They've all done it. They've all grabbed all these different opportunities, different things from all the different respective countries. So it's really, really cool to be able to talk to them because they've gone through this very specific journey that we all shared. But it's all in a complete different sort of realm.

Speaking about those journeys, what would you say it your highest individual moment from the season going into the finale?
Sara: Gosh, I don't know if it's coming back from Last Chance Kitchen or winning the most recent challenge and being told I'm going on to the finale. Getting back into the competition was amazing. That was just a little more of that kind of validation and redemption for what I do and who I am. But winning this last challenge to go into the finale was just great. And to do it when it was something that appears simple like a mushroom soup. It had tons of components that were very technical. It was really nice. I loved it. And this Eiffel Tower was sparkling behind the three of us. And we were on the roof Alain Ducasse's boat cracking bottles of champagne and spraying them on each other. That was really cool.
Gabri: For me, it was last episode as well. I mean, hearing from all these amazing chefs that I admire, hearing all this positive feedback, it means the world to me. Being given all the validation that they gave me, hearing all those comments that it was unconventional and intense.
Buddha: So I would say my most memorable moment would have to be the Restaurant Wars challenge. I said in the car when I was with Sara, "I have more pressure on winning this challenge than the competition." And I felt like even just winning that challenge already made me feel like all that hard work, all that sacrifice saying yes to the season, was worth it. I was happy to go at that stage of the competition, just having that win.

On the other hand, what would you say was your lowest individual moment from the season?
Buddha: I'd say my low point was the Thali challenge. I did slip up on that one, and I fully own it. I [expletive] the rice, pardon my French. So yeah, it wasn't a really good time. And I don't think it's a good time for any type of contestant, knowing that they could possibly go home on something that they've done repetitively and executed. It's just a simple silly mistake. It's like tripping in a 100-meter dash or falling in a ski race. You want to lose because someone outcooked you, not because you tripped.
Gabri: I will definitely say that it was the Vrbo challenge. I made a mole I was used to making, so I pretty much know how to make it properly. But that day was just rough and tough. I mean, I was thinking about my dad, and that got me through. But I would say that it was my lowest emotional point.
Sara: I think it was getting eliminated, but I don't know that it was necessarily getting eliminated. Because Amar, and I, like Buddha just said, we got outcooked. But for me, the low point was I realized when I was getting eliminated that the journey was over. I had come here with a very specific idea: To show my daughters and to show other humans and people that they didn't have to choose between a career in this profession and having a family. A lot of time it's what we're forced to do. I thought, like, "[expletive] man, it's over, I'm not gonna get to finish it out. I'm not gonna get to make it to the finale. I'm not going to get to keep on showcasing." And I was the last woman, so I kind of felt like I was letting a lot of the women out there down. But I got to come back. So it was cool!

Which competitor do you wish most was alongside you three in the finale?
Gabri: Well, I will sound pretty cocky, because perhaps that person would take that spot in the finale too. But I would definitely say Begoña.
Buddha: Funny enough, it's the person that got eliminated first. I'm really interested to see how Samuel would have done. I don't think he was in a proper headspace. But Samuel actually used to work in Melbourne, where I used to work as well, in Australia. He's also worked in Japan and France. But I don't think he was fully in it. When he was in the competition, he just had a newborn. So I would have loved to see more of what he would have brought to the competition, exiting so early.
Sara: It's crazy, because the two people that they said are the two people that I was the most intimidated by in the very beginning. I thought, "For sure these guys are gonna make it," and they didn't. And I think that that speaks to what Top Chef is about: Your adaptability. But somebody who was super adaptive was Ali. I mean, he was able to take every challenge and flip it and still cook his own food. And I wish that he would have gotten a chance. He made it to the final four; he was right there. He's the one that made it to the longest. So I wish he got a chance to cook his meal. I've heard what it would have been; I've cooked with him now recently like in my own restaurant. Man, it would have been good.

Lastly, what's the biggest lesson you took away from each of your second stints on Top Chef?
Sara: Trust your gut, trust your instincts. It's hard sometimes. You're working with other chefs; you might get a little lost in trying something. But you just gotta trust your gut and go with what you know and push on through to the end.
Gabri: Definitely stay true to yourself. That's the most important thing. It's worked for me all my life. And I think it's gonna work in this round too. Always stay true to yourself, no matter how hard it is.
Buddha: After I completed my first season, I had a little thing in the front of my page. And I had these four golden rules to follow by. And I added one more: Have fun. And I think that's the most important thing. I have like this very rare chance to come back and compete again. But I felt like having fun is the most important part of it. You can see when Gabri and I were doing the Wellingtons, we were laughing and having fun and cooking all the time. And I think that's very important. Obviously, you have to take it seriously, but make sure that you enjoy the moment as well.

Next, check out our interview with Amar Santana, who was eliminated in Top Chef World All-Stars Episode 11.