Arguably the most credible competitive cooking show in television history, it certainly seems like Top Chef brings together some of the best young culinary artists in the world each season. On top of that, everyone involved in the production side of the show does an excellent job, including the show’s host and one of the judges, Padma Lakshmi.
Obviously passionate about food and poised whenever she is on camera, Top Chef fans are bound to know certain things about Padma Lakshmi. However, there also are several facts about Lakshmi that most people who consider Top Chef to be appointment television are unaware of. With that in mind, it is time to get to this list of 20 things we didn’t know about Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi.
20 Well Spoken
Considering that Padma Lakshmi is the host of Top Chef, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that she has a real gift for gab. However, in addition to her extreme eloquence, she also is fluent in five languages, English, Hindi, Tamil, Spanish, and Italian. If that doesn’t impress you, nothing will.
19 Awesome Exercise
When you combine the facts that Padma Lakshmi eats loads of food for her job and also is in amazing shape, there is no doubt that she works hard on her body. While she likely employs many workout methods, she told Us Weekly that she loves to box. In fact, she likes to take part in “regular old-school Muhammad Ali boxing” according to her.
18 Good Times
As one of Top Chef’s judges, Padma Lakshmi can be regularly seen taking everything about cooking and the dining experience quite seriously. However, according to what she told Us Weekly, when she goes out for food with friends she is most interested in having a good time which is why she “love(s) a drag queen gospel brunch”.
17 Fans’ Wasted Efforts
From all accounts, it definitely seems like Padma Lakshmi appreciates her fans. Despite that, she revealed to Us Weekly that there is one thing many of them do that ultimately serves no purpose, give Padma chutney. Even though it is no secret that she enjoys chutney, as Lakshmi has explained, she wishes she could try the food fans give her “but you never know. There could be that one crazy”.
16 Censor’s Nightmare
Of course, Padma Lakshmi is never going to be heard tossing out the most vulgar language during a telecast of Top Chef. However, during interviews she lets the curse words fly. Funnily enough, she claims to get this trait from her mother who calls Padma’s swearing in public “unladylike” even though both women swear a lot at home.
15 Computer Connection
In the year 2010, Padma Lakshmi gave birth to her only child, daughter Krishna Thea Lakshmi-Dell. Not involved with Krishna’s father at that time, the venture capitalist Adam Dell, Lakshmi was sued for custody before the pair agreed to co-parent. Remarkably enough, Adam Dell is the brother of the founder of Dell Computers and Adam and Padma began dating again in 2017.
14 Scholastic Achievement
As we all know, Padma Lakshmi is most famous for two things, her tenure hosting Top Chef and her highly successful modeling career. What many people may not realize, however, is that she has also acted in movies and TV shows a handful of times over the years. That makes all the sense in the world once you realize she has an Honors degree in Theatre Arts from Clark University.
13 Eating Adds Up
During each season of Top Chef, Padma Lakshmi is lucky enough to eat food prepared by a slew of the most promising young chefs around. While it seems clear that she rarely cleans her plate, all of that eating still adds up very quickly. As a result, she has revealed that during the filming process for each season she gains 10-15 pounds.
12 Wedding Accomplishment
In this day and age, virtually anyone can be ordained simply by going online and putting in a small amount of work. However, most people who go through that process wind up presiding over 1 or 2 weddings. On the other hand, Padma Lakshmi told Us Weekly that she is ordained in New York and California and she has married 31 couples.
11 Foundation Co-Founder
Ever since Padma Lakshmi was only 13-years-old, she has been feeling the effects of the inflammatory disease Endometriosis, which she was diagnosed with when she was 36-years-old. Given that it took her more than 2 decades to have her disease recognized, it seems clear that more people need to understand it better. That is why it is so great that Lakshmi co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America in order to make sure “the next generation of women” don’t have to “go through what (she) went through”.
