Padma Lakshmi’s New Cookbook: A Family Affair With Daughter

India-West News Desk

NEW YORK, NY – Padma Lakshmi, the former host of Top Chef, will be releasing her new cookbook, Padma’s All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond, later this year. 

This isn’t just a collection of recipes; it’s a “scrapbook of our lives in food over the last six-seven years,” she said, a sentiment made even more special by the significant involvement of her 15-year-old daughter, Krishna, affectionately known as “Little Hands” and whom she co-parents with her ex, Adam Dell. 

Krishna played a hands-on role in the cookbook’s creation, helping her mom test and develop recipes. Lakshmi recently shared a video on Instagram featuring Krishna tasting a “rustic, beautiful soup” from Italy called ribollita, offering a peek into their collaborative process. “Krishna has her own recipe in there, and you can also see in the photos how she’s grown just in the years it took me to put this book together,” Lakshmi told People.

The cookbook draws inspiration from Lakshmi’s family recipes and her travels for her series, Taste the Nation. She emphasizes the rich diversity of American cuisine, telling People, “I’ve always thought the most exciting pockets of American food are in immigrant enclaves… American food is more regional than folks realize and what makes it so great are all these influences on our national cuisine.”

Lakshmi stepped down from Top Chef in 2023 after a remarkable 20-season run.