Alberto Chicote: “This could be the year when Antena 3 decides to change the servers of Campanadas”

– How would you describe the return of ‘Kitchen Nightmare’ in this new season?

– We’re back in style. It’s that easy. I think we have a season ahead of us. I know we have the best season of ‘Nightmare’ we’ve ever recorded. We have different programs at institutions we’ve never been to before. And we have great stories and moments.

-What is the worst situation you will experience this season?

-It’s a little bit of everything. Because this season comes with a lot of tension and a lot of tender moments. All ‘Nightmare’ lovers and non-lovers will love this season.

-So, will there be a restaurant in the new episodes that surprises you more than the others?

– Always. Every episode of ‘Nightmare’ is different. Some surprise you more, some less. This year, for example, we have a show that gives you chills in a biker bar, a crazy show with a gastro bar in a ball park. Ultimately, I think the most interesting thing about ‘Nightmare’ is the stories and the people in the restaurant that we get to work in. And I think we have great stories and great characters.

-So when you’re recording, how do you experience those violent situations during the recording? I mean, not physically, but violent in terms of what’s happening.

-I always try to keep the empathy and commitment to the restaurants we serve at the highest level from the very beginning. And this really takes a lot of work and it takes both my effort and the effort of the whole team to be able to differentiate you.

-Do you communicate with people who participate in the program after you have contacted them?

– In some cases yes, but in most cases no.

-I don’t know if you’ve seen the criticism from people who participated in the program and then criticized it. How do you value that?

-Yes, it saddens me very much, it saddens me very much because in the end, both I and the whole ‘Pesadilla’ team put in all our effort to give them valid tools to keep the business alive and make it possible. And I already said that it saddens me. More than anger.

– So when you went to the records, did you ever notice that the bar associations were asking for help just to reform the program?

-No, because that’s something that the restaurant selection team didn’t choose when they felt like something similar could happen.

-TVE has a full suite of cooking talents, Telecinco will soon premiere ‘Next Level Chef’. I don’t know if you want Antena 3 to bet on a cooking talent…

-We did Top Chef for four seasons and it worked great and I really enjoyed doing it. It was a program that breathed a lot of truth. And we have already seen many Top Chef contestants now achieve success in their businesses and become pioneers of Spanish gastronomy.

What if I want to do it again? Of course, it’s a lot. But since it’s not something I have to decide, I’m not really interested in that either. If one day Atresmedia decides to do another cooking skill and trusts me to do it, then I’ll be happy about that.

-Do you see yourself participating in any of the talents that Antena 3 currently has? ‘Challenge’, ‘Mask Singer’, ‘Your face looks familiar’…

– Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know either because it’s never been offered to me. And let me tell you, I’m not genetically designed to sing or dance, but there are other things I don’t know how to do that I’ve learned over time.

– Are you already preparing for the bells? Cristina Pedroche said in June that she had already bought the dress.

– I don’t know, I don’t know. I still haven’t gotten a notification or a call from the network saying if they’re going to trust me to ring the bells this year. If so, then yes, because I enjoy it so much and I love doing that iconic broadcast. But I don’t know, and I also say I have a lot of other things to worry about right now.

After the baggage that Cristina and I carry like a pair of bells, I sincerely believe that we have been doing it together for eight years, the audience is always growing, we have been leading for the last three or four years… My personal confidence is that yes, I believe that they will call me. But if the chain decides that it is time to change or put another person, that is also fine. I have been enjoying the bells of Puerta del Sol for ten years, I think it is great.

Besides, I don’t think there are many people like me who have hit more than ten times: Ramón, who I don’t know how many, Anne Igartiburu, who has done a lot herself. Usually chains decide to change their faces, and this could be the year that the chain decides to change. Well, we don’t know.

Remember that in my case, which is perfectly reasonable, it’s all about making a good tuxedo. In Cristina’s case, it’s different. Cristina spends a lot of time making her dress, which has already become a very special moment.