It’s safe to say Dawn Burrell knows a thing or two about competing. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Burrell represented the United States in the women’s long jump. She placed 10th that year and went on to receive the gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in Athletics in Lisbon the following year. A torn ACL ultimately forced her into early retirement, but the injury paved the way for another passion: cooking.

Since embracing life as a chef, Burrell has played an integral role in the Houston food scene, working alongside chef Chris Williams of Lucille’s, and nearly winning season 18 of Top Chef: Portland. She returned to the Top Chef kitchen this year for another chance at winning the title on Top Chef: World All-Stars. And while she was eliminated early on, Burrell’s future in the culinary world remains bright, with a long-awaited restaurant slated to open in late August. We caught up with chef Burrell to get her thoughts on Top Chef and the state of her upcoming restaurant opening.

How did nearly winning Top Chef in Portland impact your life and career? 

The experience and my success on the show have opened doors for me, without question. My life became busier. And it was an overall confidence boosting and allowed me to realize what I can actually accomplish, which was a great lesson for me.

What made you want to return for Top Chef: World All-Stars?

I really wanted to challenge myself to do better, to win—and not win in the sense of conquering some of the things that got in my way the first time. I wanted the opportunity to perform better and to prove that I've learned from my previous mistakes. And so that's why I embraced the opportunity to compete again.

What are some of the things you conquered?

Oh, time. Time management for sure. Editing myself. As the competition grew deeper and I developed, I began to cook with more confidence. But in the beginning, I lacked that confidence, and you can tell by how much stuff I was actually putting on the plate. I just realized that that's not the way to do this competition. It took a while for me to adjust and to just be confident in the first choices that I made.

Top Chef: World All-Stars had only past winners or runners-up from their season. What was it like facing such stiff competition?

It's the best of the best in the food-competition world. All of them have either tasted success by being in the finale, or they are on top in their respective countries. It's a lot like the Olympic Games.

Was it intimidating at all to be one of the few Americans on the show? 

No, not at all. Because I'm always in competition with myself, I’m doing everything I can to be successful. So I'm very proud. My focus is inward, not to the left or right, because that doesn't do me any good. Everyone has different cooking styles, so I can't compare myself to what they do.

Did you learn anything new from other chefs that you might incorporate into your own style? If so, can you tell us what and from whom?

I did learn a few tricks along the way. My stay in the competition wasn't that lengthy so I didn't get exposed to too much. But I learned how to make sweet crispy rice from May, for example, because the way that I do it is different. During the rice competition she made this rice that’s sweetened with watermelon juice. I had never seen that before so that one tidbit I took home with me.

As a former Olympic athlete, what’s something you take from your athletic career and apply to being a chef?

I think that as an athlete, you have to structure your life around what your goal is. It’s much like that as a chef. Day to day your goal is to do the best you possibly can. So in order for me to be ready, I just make sure I'm enriching myself and my staff. I'm fully invested in what I'm doing as a chef, always learning, always growing. And, in that way, I am training myself to be better every day.

What were some of your favorite moments from this season? Are you friends with any of the competitors?

Those that I had an opportunity to get to know, they're quite nice. But I don't think that I was there long enough to develop any strong friendships or kinship, but I'm always open. And I wish I'd learned more.

During Last Chance Kitchen you mentioned that you were overthinking a bit. How were you able to move past that and get your head in the game?

There's just no time. There's no time to think while you have this task. You just have to do it in a ridiculously short time period. My focus was on survival and getting back into the competition and cooking the best food I can possibly cook within that time period. So that's what I did.

What’s the status of your forthcoming restaurant?  

I'm very excited to let you know that we have some solid dates. We will be opening very softly in July. And I think we will have our grand opening in August. You can expect to see a lot of the dishes that [viewers] saw in season 18, global food with a focus on Pan-African countries, and just me cooking from my heart. Some delicious food that Houston hasn't seen yet. I'm really excited about that.