Padma Lakshmi introduced on Friday that she was leaving the Bravo reality-competition juggernaut “Top Chef,” which she has hosted for 19 of the present’s 20 seasons, calling it a “tough resolution” made “after a lot soul-searching.”
“I’m extraordinarily proud to have been a part of constructing such a profitable present and of the impression it has had within the worlds of tv and meals,” Lakshmi, who additionally serves as an government producer on the present, mentioned in a statement posted on her social media accounts.
“Many of the forged and crew are like household to me, and I’ll miss working alongside them dearly,” she continued. “I really feel it’s time to maneuver on and wish to create space for ‘Taste the Nation,’ my books and different artistic pursuits. I’m deeply grateful to all of you for therefore a few years of affection and help.”
Since 2006, the unique “Top Chef” — there have been quite a few worldwide diversifications and spinoffs since — has traveled throughout the United States, filming seasons in Boston, New Orleans, Kentucky and Colorado, amongst different locations. Each season brings collectively up-and-coming cooks who compete in opposition to each other within the hopes of successful money prizes (and acclaim within the meals world) and avoiding elimination — and the dreaded order to “please pack your knives and go.”
Next week, Bravo will air the finale of Season 20 of “Top Chef.” The season, titled “World All-Stars,” has been primarily based in London, and introduced collectively winners, finalists and memorable rivals from “Top Chef” diversifications from world wide.
In a press release to The New York Times, the meals author Gail Simmons, Lakshmi’s co-star and fellow choose on “Top Chef” (together with the restaurateur Tom Colicchio), mentioned she is “so grateful for all of the data she shared and for the friendship that noticed us by means of numerous milestones each on and off digital camera.”
“I couldn’t have requested for a greater host and associate within the job,” Simmons went on. “I’ll all the time admire her work ethic and the way she paved the best way for therefore many ladies and other people of colour throughout the numerous industries she touches. She is a crucial particular person not simply in my profession, however in my private life, and can stay so. There’s no denying her impression on our present and he or she shall be missed in our future ‘Top Chef’ adventures.”
Lakshmi, 52, an Indian-born mannequin, creator and activist, has been praised for imbuing the fact present with grace and humor, turning into the simple face of the franchise.
Neither Lakshmi nor Colicchio instantly responded to a request for touch upon Friday.
Last month, Lakshmi’s different tv present, “Taste the Nation,” aired its second season, on Hulu. On it, she travels the United States, exploring what it means to prepare dinner and eat in America.
Also final month, she was featured within the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, posing in a gold-coin bikini. “This is me,” she wrote alongside a video of the picture shoot that she’d posted on Instagram. “I wouldn’t return to my 20s should you paid me all the cash on the earth.”
Her first cookbook, “Easy Exotic,” was printed in 1999. Since then, she has launched a number of different books, together with “Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet”; a memoir, “Love, Loss and What We Ate”; a reference information known as “The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs”; and a kids’s ebook, “Tomatoes for Neela.”
Content Source: www.nytimes.com