Padma Lakshmi on the Future of 'Top Chef' and Exploring Immigrant Food Cultures (Exclusive)

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticAs TV’s flagship reality shows grow up and evolve — and, in many cases, face down the production changes imposed by COVID — their hosts do, too.

Padma Lakshmi has been a fixture in the food world for years, thanks in large part to her role as the host of Bravo’s Top Chef, and now stars are sharing what they love about the culinary queen by recalling some of their favorite memories with her.For Modern Family alum Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who has a passion for food and even runs his own food blog with pal Julie Tanous, 49-year-old Lakshmi’s ability to make people feel comfortable in the kitchen is part of what makes her so lovable.“Padma and

Padma Lakshmi has been part of the professional food industry for more than two decades but had yet to see anything highlighting immigrants. So, she created it with Taste the Nation.“I’m always interested in the kind of food and yet, in mainstream media, we have not really had this kind of coverage,” Lakshmi, 49, tells Us Weekly in the latest issue.

Padma Lakshmi is standing up for women and minorities who work in the food industry.

Padma Lakshmi is doing everything she can to change how American food is defined. She’d like to also see some changes in the culinary world — and she can’t do it alone.“The professional food industry is one of the most male-dominated sectors of our society.

James Beard award-winning Karen Akunowicz is one of the many fan favorites who hail from the land of Top Chef. The fiercely amazing culinarian won our hearts when she first competed on the show’s 13th season before she unpacked her knives once more for its second All-Stars version in 2020.

Audrey Cleo Yap Padma Lakshmi has played host to more than a few good meals as she fronts Bravo’s “Top Chef,” and executive produces and hosts Hulu’s “Taste the Nation.” But right now, she is mourning the loss of director Joel Schumacher.

Padma Lakshmi‘s unabashed love of food is clear in everything she eats in a day. While the Love, Loss, and What We Ate author does have a couple of staples in her diet, such as tea and apples with peanut butter, her eating regimen varies depending on whether or not she’s filming Top Chef.When she’s working on the Bravo show, for example, Lakshmi, 49, tries not to eat too much food.

Danielle Young is happy to see people around the country celebrating Juneteenth.She spoke with ET on Friday, just hours after Taylor Swift shared a video on Twitter about the significance of June 19 and why it should be celebrated as a national holiday. That video was a piece Young originally filmed for back when she was working for them in 2017.«I got a message from the editor-in-chief, Danielle Bilson, over at.

, drew to a close in classic fashion, with the final three contestants laying it all on the line as they tried to impress the judges, including host Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, by cooking the best meal of their lives.

Taste the Nation, couldn’t come at a better time.

Top Chef has crowned 16 winners since it debuted in March 2006, including Ilan Hall, Stephanie Izard, Joe Flamm and more. Now in its seventeenth cycle — an all-stars season set in Los Angeles — the Bravo hit shows no signs of slowing down.However, Top Chef has changed and evolved over the years.

What’s your family’s story of immigration?My mom was escaping an abusive marriage in India; she had a nursing degree, which was in high demand, so she came over on a professional visa and later became the head nurse of radiation therapy at Sloan Kettering. She came to the U.S.

Amid the civil unrest that has flared in the US cities after the death of George Floyd, Padma Lakshmi opened up about discussing the issue of racism with her 10-year-old daughter Krishna. Ever since Floyd died after police officer Derek Chauvin handcuffed him and kneeled on his neck rendering him unable to breathe, people have been openly protesting against racial injustice in large numbers.

Padma Lakshmi has watched in anger as some politicians denigrate immigrants. She’s been left seething as newcomers are discriminated against or targeted.

food knowledge is one of the most enriching ways I bonded with the women in my family,” said Lakshmi said in a statement.