Steve McDonagh & Dan Smith

Where are you living/working now?

People often assume we've moved to New York City, but we love it here in Chicago.

What have you been up to since NFNS?

Our son, Nate, was born 2 weeks after the live finale of NFNS, so we've really had our hands full. We've been filming, doing appearances, catering to the masses, working at our restaurant and finishing our book. Talk With Your Mouth Full will be out in September of this year and we're extremely proud of it. It's a collection of recipes and stories about our journey. We hope people will read it and laugh as much as they cook the food.

What did you enjoy most about being on NFNS?

Winning doesn't suck, but the whole experience will be really hard to top. People are often surprised when we tell them there was no backstabbing drama going on behind the scenes. The group of people assembled was honestly terrific and we truly enjoyed going through the experience with all of them.

Do you still keep in touch with other contestants?

We do still keep in touch with a few of the others. In fact, if you look closely at Party Line, you'll see both Hans and Harmony featured as party guests. Harmony has the hottest friends in New York City, so it's a no-brainer to ask her to come on the show and bring along a friend or two!

Any behind-the-scene happenings from NFNS you can tell us about?

Our season had the shortest run, so there were some great things that had to be cut. Our personal favorite was when Steve got a violent stomach flu. He was terribly ill during the taping with Harry Smith and things went downhill from there. During the elimination, he raised his hand, interrupting Gordon Elliott to say "I'm really sorry, but I think I'm about to pass out." He then sank to the steps before running off to the restroom to be sick. We're not sure what our favorite moment after that would be; whether it was hearing that Steve's microphone was still on while he was heaving in the restroom, or Marc Summers rushing to the cooler grabbing a bottle of water saying, "He doesn't look well." He then drank it himself.

How did being on NFNS affect your culinary career?

We really love connecting with our fans. We get a huge kick out of stopping in the airport to sign photos or just chatting with out-of-towners in our restaurant. And of course, being known nationally really drives you to step up your game at all times. It's a fun, exciting challenge.

What advice would you offer the next round of contestants?

No one wants to see a fake persona on TV. Don't try to figure out how to win or what FN "needs." Being yourself is the only way to go. It's that way with each of the FN personalities. When you meet Paula, Rachael, Tyler, they're the same people you see on the air.

What was the greatest lesson you learned from your time on NFNS?

That there's no food at FN! Everyone is so intent on cooking and preparing food for the shoots that anytime you want lunch, they actually send out for takeout. It's the greatest irony of cable television!