Carlos "Caramelo" Cruz may have been the first celebrity eliminated from Top Chef VIP 5, but leaving the competition has freed him to concentrate on the ambition that existed before he entered the Telemundo kitchen: acting.
The Dominican content creator and reality television personality is writing a movie, a romantic drama he envisions unfolding aboard an airplane. Although the project remains in its early stages, Caramelo already has a dream cast in mind that includes Carmen Villalobos, Rafael Amaya and Aylín Mujica.
"I'm writing a movie called El collar del amor," Caramelo told this reporter after his elimination. "It doesn't have a date yet, but when ideas come to me, I write them down because these are things I want to do."
Caramelo said he has completed several portions of the story and developed a clear idea of what he wants the movie to become. He plans to play the protagonist, although the remaining characters have not been cast and there is no announced production schedule.
"It's not a comedy, it's romantic, very romantic, and it also has drama," he said. "I already have many parts written. I have the ideas of what I want to do. I just need to give it some finishing touches so it can become a success."
When asked to imagine his ideal co-stars, Caramelo named Villalobos, the Colombian actress who also hosts Top Chef VIP and his well known crush, and Mujica. For a male co-star, he selected Amaya, best known for playing Aurelio Casillas in Telemundo's El señor de los cielos.
"I would like to have Carmen Villalobos. She would be one of them," he said. "I would also love to have Aylín Mujica."
Caramelo added that having Amaya involved would represent another milestone for the project. None of the performers has been confirmed, and Caramelo described the names as his personal wish list rather than an official casting announcement.
The movie would mark another step in a career that has taken him from social media to two of Telemundo's largest reality franchises. Caramelo won La Casa de los Famosos All-Stars before joining the 20-member cast of Top Chef VIP 5, where celebrities are competing for a $200,000 prize.
His second reality experience ended considerably sooner than his first. Caramelo became the season's first eliminated contestant on Aug. 17, completing an unusual transition from being the last celebrity to leave La Casa de los Famosos to becoming the first to depart the kitchen.
He does not appear to be treating the result as a defeat.
"I am a person who embraces my destiny," he said. "When you are in a competition, being eliminated, winning, not winning, or ending up in the middle are all possibilities."
Cooking, he acknowledged, proved more complicated than it appeared from outside the competition. The precision required to balance ingredients, technique, timing and presentation gave him a new appreciation for restaurant professionals.
"Now, when I go to a restaurant and they bring me a plate, I say, 'Wow,'" he said. "It makes me want to hug the person and recognize what they are really doing."
Caramelo left several planned dishes behind, each bearing a characteristically eccentric name: Gata encerrada, La vaca loca, Mono sale corriendo and El burro que se ríe. He joked that the recipes could eventually become part of a collection called Comiendo en el zoológico de Caramelo.
His larger plan, however, is focused on acting. While reality television expanded his audience, Caramelo said performing has remained the work that makes him happiest.
"It was something I always dreamed of and always wanted," he said. "For me, I think all those dreams are coming true."
He compared his career to moving through the air with a parachute. The wind can accelerate or slow the journey, but he continues steering toward a predetermined landing point.
"I am very extroverted and happy, but that does not mean I lose sight of what I want and what I want to achieve," he said.
For now, that destination is El collar del amor. The movie does not yet have Villalobos, Amaya or Mujica, but Caramelo has begun writing roles that could eventually bring his telenovela dream team aboard.
