Welcome To Padma's New York!

She started out as a model, tried her hand at acting, and is now a celebrated cookbook author. Emmy-award winning host and producer of top chef, Padma Lakshmi is a force to reckon with in the culinary world, especially in new york city, where she lives. She provides a definitive dining guide to nyc in a candid conversation.

- Aindrila Mitra

It’s a sunny morning in New York City.

The crew is waiting for the ‘food goddess’, Padma Lakshmi, at the Millennium Hilton New York Downtown, located opposite the Freedom Tower. When she breezes through the revolving doors on the dot of 8 am, guests present in the lobby can’t help but do a double take—it’s a mix of adulation, awe, and familiarity. After all, she reaches every home in America (and elsewhere) with her immensely popular TV series, Top Chef, which is now in its 16th season. Through the course of the day, she reveals herself as a passionate traveller and ardent foodie, even insisting on shooting alongside a food cart since that’s the sine qua non of NYC dining. Excerpts:

What strikes you about NYC?

Padma: I emigrated to New York when I was just four years old [Padma was from Chennai, but she was born in Delhi]. I grew up as a latchkey kid on the Upper East Side when my mother worked as a nurse at Sloan Kettering. I also lived in Elmhurst, Queens, and went to Catholic school for a few years. What strikes me most about New York, and one of the things that I love most about it, is that there are cultures from all over the world represented here, co-existing simultaneously. It is truly a melting pot and, I believe, representative of what the best of American ideals can be. You can come here with the dream of anything you desire, and forge your own path toward making that dream a reality.