As a host and judge on Bravo’s “Top Chef,” Padma Lakshmi often urges competitors to venture outside their comfort zones and try something new.
It’s not only sage advice. It’s also how Lakshmi lives her own life.
After achieving fame 28 years ago as the first Indian fashion model to make it big in Paris, Milan and New York – walking the runways for Versace, Armani and Ralph Lauren – Lakshmi has gone on to become a best-selling author, a television host, an activist and a wellness advocate.
She has hosted Bravo’s “Top Chef” since 2006 and recently launched her latest project, a 10-episode Hulu series, “Taste the Nation,” on which she explores immigrant communities throughout the United States, showcasing their foods and place in the national culture.
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“Padma breaks bread with Americans across the nation to uncover the roots and relationship between our food, our humanity and our history – ultimately revealing stories that challenge notions of identity, belonging and what it means to be American,” according to Hulu.
“This show is a labor of love,” says Lakshmi, 49, who also executive produced it. “I wanted to explore some of the new Americans making the foods we love and show that so many of these popular foods – poke, pad Thai, kebabs and burritos – were brought here by immigrants.”
She drew inspiration for the series from her work as an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) artist ambassador for immigrant rights and women’s reproductive health. For the past several years, Lakshmi has served as a keynote speaker for the ACLU, often recounting her own journey of immigrating to the U.S. from India.
“I first came to the U.S. at the age of 4 with my mother, who was a nurse,” Lakshmi says. “And, today, as the mother of a biracial child, I want my daughter, Krishna, to grow up in a country where policies are governed by compassion not fear.”
For the first “Taste the Nation” episode, Lakshmi traveled to El Paso, Texas, and its sister city, Juarez, Mexico, to explore the history of the burrito. She visited H & H Car Wash and Coffee Shop, a local legend known for serving up the best Mexican food in town.
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“For over 30 years, generations of women have crossed the border from Juarez on a daily basis to work at the H & H Car Wash and Coffee Shop,” she says. “It’s eye-opening to see how many people cross each day, a commute that now takes two and a half hours. Closing the borders, even temporarily, is detrimental to the economies on both sides.”
Lakshmi recalls a conversation she had with the owner of the restaurant – the son of a Syrian immigrant – who admitted he’s a conservative and plans to vote for President Trump again in the next election. But he worries how stricter border control might affect his business.
Rather than enter into a political debate on such issues, Lakshmi hopes viewers will draw their own conclusions about the contributions of immigrants.
“My wish is for the show to make viewers more curious about their neighbors and to not feel threatened by immigrants,” she says. “There’s so much that connects all of us and that we have in common with each other.”
Luckily, Lakshmi finished filming “Taste the Nation” before the pandemic hit, and, as COVID-19 devastated New York City, she sheltered in place with her 10-year-old daughter.
“We’ve been in quarantine, cooking together and recording some fun videos on TikTok and Instagram,” she says.
Dominic Valente/Hulu
Lakshmi learned to cook at a young age, and her daughter appears to be following in her footsteps. In addition to lending a hand when her mom makes favorites like chicken tagine, black-eyed peas over polenta, and sweet and sour shrimp with cherry tomatoes, Krishna has learned to create her own culinary masterpieces.
“She’s made some delicious sorbet shakes and likes to experiment in the kitchen without my help,” Lakshmi says. “We also enjoy roller skating together around New York City and giving each other facials and manicures.”
Krishna also likes to teach her mother and father, venture capitalist Adam Dell, trendy dance moves, Lakshmi says: “Krishna is very bright and opinionated and loves to dance. She’s been teaching both her dad and I TikTok dances.”
The mother-daughter duo is very close and enjoys traveling the world. Each spring, they take a trip to Europe, and, last year, Lakshmi invited Krishna to attend the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles as her plus one.
“She’s never been on the red carpet,” Lakshmi told “Access Hollywood.” “She gets to deal with her mom going away for work and working long hours and having to do her homework on set, so I feel like she should also get some of the glamour.”
The author of two cookbooks, a spice encyclopedia and a memoir, Lakshmi’s next title is set to be published next year. And it should come as no surprise that the children’s picture book, “Tomatoes for Neela,” has a culinary theme. The intergenerational story centers on a little girl who likes to cook and prepare her family’s savory tomato sauce.
Dominic Valente/Hulu
“Cooking and the passing down of food knowledge is one of the most enriching ways I bonded with the women in my family,” Lakshmi said in a statement announcing the book’s release. “And it’s how I bond today with Krishna, passing down skills and advice that I hope will give her a lifetime of healthy eating long after I’m gone.”
But, for now, she treasures every second of motherhood – especially because, as an endometriosis sufferer, she could have been among the 30 percent to 50 percent of women with the condition who experience infertility.
It took 23 years of pelvic pain, heavy periods, nausea, backaches and digestive issues before Lakshmi was finally diagnosed, at the age of 36, with endometriosis, a condition when the tissue that makes up the uterine lining grows outside the uterus.
“I was stuck in bed for one week every month when my period came,” she told Variety. “Over 23 years, that amounts to five years and nine months of my life that I was bedridden and missed school dances, math quizzes and family milestones.”
After her diagnosis, Lakshmi co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America (EFA) with Dr. Tamer Seckin, a world-renowned, advanced gynecological surgeon.
“Most women with endo don’t get properly diagnosed for a full decade,” Lakshmi says. “I wanted to raise awareness of the condition and empower other women to pay attention to their bodies, to push for answers and advocate for their own well-being.”
Dominic Valente/Hulu
Because intense cramping and pelvic pain are two of the most common symptoms of endo, she wants women to know that excruciating period pain isn’t normal.
“I was told that I had a low threshold for pain and there was nothing that could be done,” Lakshmi says. “I’ve since learned that I actually have a high threshold for pain and that pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong.”
She encourages women not to suffer in silence and to take steps to protect their fertility.
“Since many women are having children later in life, I think it’s smart to freeze your eggs so that you have more time and authority over your reproductive system,” Lakshmi says.
As part of its mission to raise awareness, the EFA runs an educational program for middle schoolers in the Tri-State Region (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) to educate both boys and girls about endometriosis, which affects an estimated 200 million women worldwide.
“It’s not just a women’s issue,” Lakshmi says. “We also want to teach men to be supportive allies and to work with women to be part of the solution in finding additional treatments.”
In the meantime, she’ll continue advocating for women’s health, immigrant rights and more – using her platform to uplift the voices of those who deserve to be heard. O