Crime Scene Kitchen's First Champions Spill On How It Felt To Win - Exclusive
Those who have followed the first season of Fox's "Crime Scene Kitchen" know there isn't another baking competition out there like it. The contestants are presented with a few scant clues in a kitchen 'crime scene' and must must have a thorough mental catalog of desserts to be able to discern which recipe they need to tackle. They're baking all in the hopes of impressing judges Curtis Stone and Yolanda Gampp, along with comedian Joel McHale. What must have been a grueling yet fun experience could only be made sweeter with a win.
During an exclusive interview with Mashed, we caught up with the team that took home the $100,000 prize as well as a "Crime Scene Kitchen" cake stand: Natalie Collins-Fish and Luis Flores. When the duo found out they won, Collins-Fish said it was, "just surreal." Even after the finale aired, she said, "I feel like still haven't processed all of it yet. I was pretty convinced that we hadn't won."
The other half of the Las Vegas-based team, Luis Flores said, "I was at a loss for words. I've never won anything. We would gamble together and I'd always play Keno and she would win hundreds and I'm over here losing every single thing possible." For Flores, winning the entire competition was "a complete surprise" and caused him to "ugly cry," as Collins-Fish put it.
But it took a little while for the "Crime Scene Kitchen" win to sink in
Even though Natalie Collins-Fish and Luis Flores were overwhelmed and excited to have won, the shock of it all meant that the victory didn't exactly register at first. "I'm just sitting there like this. 'Are you sure? Are you sure that's our name? Did you spell that right? That's not us?' I mean, it's definitely a surreal moment where I feel like even still in a few months, we're going to be like, 'Did that really happen? I feel like it didn't actually happen,'" Collins-Fish explained. Flores also said the reality of winning hadn't "fully set in."
The shock and time needed for their success to sink in is understandable, though. "Crime Scene Kitchen" had no clear favorites and no one was safe from week to week. "We were on such a rollercoaster ride. I mean the whole time, we had our ups and downs and we had our personal issues and everything," Collins-Fish said. "Life happens, even if you're still on TV, you still have to deal with other things," she added. Even though it was a powerful emotional ride, the team ultimately pulled it off and feels accomplished for doing so. "I feel like just being able to know that at the end of the day it was worth it. Everything that we went through for it, just kind of makes it even more special," she said.
Follow along with the baking duo's latest creations and upcoming bakery through Cake Lyfe by Nattie J.