Padma Lakshmi: “I Had To Work Twice As Hard” On ‘Top Chef’
Padma Lakshmi’s career path has spanned supermodel, actress, culinary celebrity, author and philanthropist, and she continues to fuel a wide range of projects—including a wine label.
Ahead of the launch of her fourth cookbook, her new cooking competition show with Paramount and a potential third season of Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi, Lakshmi sat down with Wine Spectator to discuss her post-Top Chef life, elevating immigrant cuisine, wine pairings, speaking her mind and more.
Interview quotes from the November issue, on stands October 22, include:
On her show, Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi: “It’s an immigrant cookbook and travelogue, featuring essays and recipes from going on the road with the show all over the U.S.–and some from my childhood in India. I wanted to explore the iterations of these dishes as they evolved across generations in American communities… I want to elevate what people think of immigrant cuisine. A lot of the Thai food we see here can be full of goopy, sugary sauces–that’s not fine dining; you wouldn’t want to drink wine with that. When I eat Thai food with Thai people, they are usually not eating sugary food, and they are not really ordering pad thai.”
On recipe development for her cookbooks: “I don’t want to whitewash these recipes, which is what people have been doing to immigrant food all along. I adapt them for the home cook, but want someone from that community to still recognize the essential elements.”
On her overnight success in the modeling world: “People have told me that my scar makes me seem more approachable, more vulnerable. Ironically the greatest gift fashion has given me is the courage to expose that most vulnerable part of myself.”
On joining Top Chef after modeling: “I had to work twice as hard as Tom [Colicchio] for the respect he got automatically. Sometimes it felt like Ginger Rogers doing everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in heels.”
On speaking her mind: “For so long in my life, I was worried what people would think of me, and I don’t really worry now. That has to do with age; women get more feisty and less concerned as we grow older, and I think that is a good thing.”
On trying improv for the first time: “The experience was exhilarating. I tell my daughter all the time: Beauty is skin deep, but dull and boring go to the bone. There will always be someone more beautiful than you, so develop the other muscles like humor and wit–and empathy.”
On her favorite (and least favorite) wines: “[Sancerre is] my go-to white because it pairs with almost anything… For everyday drinking, versatility is so important. If I can only have one red in my fridge, I want it to be Pinot Noir; it works beautifully with foods like Thai, Mexican and Moroccan and handles spice. Even richer, heartier fare, like lamb curry… I don’t like Riesling. People always tell me that Riesling is a go-to for spicy food, but I’m just not a fan.”
Also quoted in the piece are American chef and baker Nancy Silverton, French chef Eric Ripert, Top Chef co-hosts Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio, and Top Chef contestant Kwame Onwuachi.