It’s National Chefs Day: Here’s the Best Advice From Culinary Personality Padma Lakshmi

The Emmy Award-winning ‘Taste the Nation’ star and longtime ‘Top Chef’ host shared her most valuable food knowledge with us.

Padma Lakshmi was photographed by Yu Tsai in Dominica.Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Padma Lakshmi gives great advice, but the best-selling author and 2023 SI Swimsuit model has an extra amount of expertise in one particular subject matter.

In honor of National Chefs Day, today, Oct. 20, we’re sharing the most valuable knowledge the Emmy Award-winning TV host has shared with us—and she dropped some real gems while on location with the magazine in Dominica earlier this year.

Lakshmi was the host of Bravo’s Top Chef for 17 years. She left the popular series earlier this year to focus on Taste the Nation, where she serves as creator, host and executive producer of the Hulu show, which is in production for Season 3 right now.

Dishes to master

The mom of one, who lives in New York City with her teenage daughter, Krishna, said if you can perfect a roast chicken, a solid breakfast and a hearty salad, you’re golden.

“The key to a salad is fresh, tender herbs and a very simple dressing,” Lakshmi added. “Just throw in a handful of fresh mint, basil and dill. It’s a game-changer.” 

The 53-year-old often gets questions about her favorite dishes to make for people, and while she doesn’t have a clear-cut answer, we appreciate the honesty. What she cooks always depends on who she is cooking for. 

“The art of cooking for someone else is such a nurturing, loving act,” she explained about the importance of knowing your audience—whether it’s millions of viewers or immediate family. “It is a very intimate thing you’re doing. That’s why I think I never wanted to work at a restaurant, because I don’t want to cook for people I don’t know and I don’t want to cook for people I don’t like. When I cook for people I don’t like, and I have done it, sometimes the food doesn’t come out as well.”

Kitchen must-haves

A microplane, mortar and pestle (she has “like seven” different versions) and a mezzaluna are key to being successful in the kitchen. They also make great gifts for any home chef, along with silicon pads, hot pots and pans, and butcher’s string.

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Blending food and advocacy

The Chennai, India-born model is so incredibly dedicated to Taste the Nation, not just because it’s a project that’s entirely her own, but because it allows her to mix her two biggest passions: food and advocacy.

Through the show, Lakshmi has had the opportunity to travel to different states and explore their food, but also dive deep into the history, culture and stories of the immigrant experience.

“Taste the Nation is designed for people in red states who don’t think like me. I’m hoping that through food and the show in general, I can make more approachable the communities that some people on the right fear—immigrants, people of color,” she told the magazine. “I’ve been working with the ACLU [as an ambassador for immigrants’ and women’s rights] since 2016, but I wanted to do something in my professional life that was more artistic and creative, that allowed me to get my point across without overtly jumping on my soapbox.”

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