"Top Chef" Runner-Up Stefan: "I love all bloggers."

While answering the first question during his conference call with several TV bloggers, “Top Chef: New York” runner-up Stefan said, “I love all bloggers. You’re f---ing cool. I love it. I take it like it is, man. I have laughed so hard.”

After that, the entire call was just a laugh fest as we all scrambled to even speak after that admission…

“I know who I am,” he told us. “Stefan is Stefan. I’m never going to change. You can talk about me. You can blog about me. I got it.” Stefan mentioned one cartoon which showed him holding Fabio as a baby that he thought was hilarious.

By the way, Stefan said he didn’t feel like Fabio sold him out when he chose Hosea’s dishes. “I love honesty.”

When it was my turn, I, of course, asked him the same question I asked Carla about that moment at Judges’ Table and if he’s really a softie. “Carla is very sweet. I love her…I am a softie. Look at what I did all season. When I watched what was happening, I had tears in my eyes. I can’t stand to see women crying.”

Stefan said his affection for Carla is what made him pick Marcel as his sous chef, because he knew she couldn’t handle him. “He’s an a--, but I’m an a--.”

I asked Stefan that considering how it all played out with Casey, if that move backfired on him and he agreed that it probably did. He did say that Marcel was a good sous chef for him.

Here are some of the other great soundbites from the incredibly quotable Stefan:

“I’m always very confident. They call it cocky. I call it confident. Stuff like this doesn’t phase me.”

“Hosea won ‘Top Chef.’ He deserved it. I love the guy. We all like each other.”

“I won ‘Top Chef,’ buddy. Read the blogs. You win ‘Top Chef,’ you win a $100,000 egg. You finish second, you win the chicken that laid the egg.” [In an interview with BravoTV.com, Stefan admitted he got that line from Richard Blais. I knew it sounded familiar.

“How can you not be in love with Jamie? It wouldn’t be the first time I tried. I love the lesbians. That chick has the best laugh. Leah has a great laugh too. I love Jamie. If she’s ready for babies, I’m ready for it. We would make great babies.”

“Would I like to open a restaurant? Write a check, buddy.” Stefan also said that he’s looking for something that will work in today’s economy and not somewhere you would have to pay “13 bucks for a Bud Light.”

“The most important thing I’ve learned is the public does matter. The public can make you or break you. The bloggers are very important. You’ve got to be on the good side of the bloggers.

“Would I do TV again? I’m working on it. I’ve got a good shot at some things. Maybe a little spin-off like Gordon Ramsay. We’ll see what happens next month…Fabio and I would be hilarious. I think I should do the show with him.”

“Tom is a great chef and THE restauranteur. He’s mostly always right. How can I rat on Tom?”

“[Top Chef] is like “Big Brother” with cooking. You’ve got to deal with the s—t you are getting. I looked like a million bucks. We all do.”

“I’m a chicken. I’m going to lay the eggs—a lot of eggs, hopefully—and make a lot of money.”

“I have made wonderful friends on that show—even Lauren [who was eliminated first]. She’s a sweet chick.”

“I’ve argued in the kitchen for over 25 years. I’m too old for that s—t.”

“I’m not a villain…It is what it is. It’s over. It’s so six weeks ago.”

“The plates [on “Top Chef”] are too f---ing small.”

“Would I make another dessert? Yeah, probably.”

“Toby is a funny guy. There was a lot of funny stuff that never got aired. Padma is smoking hot. Gail is cute, I gotta tell you.”

Several times during the call, Stefan taunted us when we went quiet. “Come on, bloggers. I’ve never known you guys to be quiet.” But we were so stunned—and entertained—by his answers that we just couldn’t come up with anything else to say.

Before he hung up the phone, Stefan urged us to “pump up Hosea a little bit. He doesn’t deserve the crap people push on him.”

And people thought this guy was a jerk…

You can read more about Stefan, including his upcoming book and clothing line at www.cockychefclothing.com.

Unfortunately, because of other commitments, I missed Hosea’s conference call. You can read his BravoTV.com interview here.

Photo Credit: Virginia Sherwood/Bravo