Top Chef champion Buddha Lo.Photo:Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU
For chefBuddha Lo, working late hours under stressful conditions in restaurant kitchens has made the transition to fatherhood a little easier.
The two-timeTop Chefwinner, 32, andhis pastry-chef wife Rebekah Pedlerwelcomed twin daughters, Tatiana and Alina, on Oct. 2 — and he is “loving every moment” of their new life as a family of four.
“I’m actually surprised at how quickly ‘dad-mode’ came onto me,” Lo told PEOPLE atSaratoga Spring Water’s Supper Clubdinner in New York City on Nov. 7. “I’ve been trained for this. I think chefs have always worked on low sleep and unpredictable situations.”
Buddha Lo and wife Rebekah Pedler with their twin daughters.Buddha Lo/Instagram
Buddha Lo/Instagram
Being a new father “has been incredible,” said the Chinese-Australian chef,who announced the couple’s pregnancyin June.
“I’ll never forget being in the room when both of them were born,” he said. “I don’t know what can top it. Not even aTop Chefwin tops it.”
Lo was named thewinner of season 19 of Bravo’sTop Chefandthe firstTop ChefWorld All-Starsin June.
“I think that cooking has made me a lot more organized, a lot more prepared, and know how to work under pressure. I can have multiple things on the go and understand what is priority, especially with twins,” he said.
Pedler and Lo — whocelebrated their fifth wedding anniversaryand their first date night out since the birth of the twins at the Saratoga Spring event — have also transitioned some of their chefs' shorthand into their home life.
“My wife and I actually refer to our shifts with the girls as ‘the service,’ like we do at work,” said Lo. “When she comes in for her shift, I give her a crossover. I’ll be like, ‘Oh, last night was a rough service. The chefs were screaming at me all night. One didn’t like the milk that I was giving.'”
Lily Allen and Athena Calderone at Saratoga Spring Water’s Supper Club dinner at the designer’s home in New York City.madison McGraw/BFA.com
madison McGraw/BFA.com
Although Lo looks forward to time at home with his daughters, the chef also relishes opportunities to be creative in the kitchen and have diners experience his cooking.
The inaugural dinner, which was held at designer Athena Calderone’s downtown Manhattan apartment, included guests likesinger Lily Allenanddesigner couple Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent.
Athena Calderone and the ice block art installation at the Saratoga Spring Water’s Supper Club dinner.madison McGraw/BFA.com
“I designed an expansive installation that immersed guests in the art of water in all its forms, from fluid to ice,” said Calderone, who filled her home with ice candle holder centerpieces and knee-high ice blocks with Saratoga water bottles suspended inside.
Tickets for upcoming Saratoga Supper Club dinner series — at Jean-Georges in New York City on Nov. 15, Elcielo in Miami on Nov. 30, El Ideas in Chicago on Dec. 6, and Gwen in Los Angeles on Dec. 14 — areavailable on Resy.
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source: people.com
