On a personal note

India-born supermodel, TV host, author and actor Padma Lakshmi served as a host for the show Top Chef from 2006 until 2023. Although she enjoyed the food, she said that it was still a ‘big, big, big issue’ for her. “I mean the food is great but when you have to eat that much of it, it’s really hard. So I’m happy not to have … that was a big, big, big issue, yeah,” Padma said when asked if she missed eating the food.

She also shared that she’ll miss her Top Chef colleagues. The model likened the show’s crew to a ‘family’. She said, “I miss my friends. I miss the whole crew — they’re like family to me.”

Last year, Padma outlined her reasons for quitting the show after 17 years. The runway star — who also hosts Taste the Nation, a travel and food show — told the Awards Circuit podcast, “I had been on location for eight months out of the year. And when I wasn’t on location, I was in pre-and-post-production for both my shows. And I was looking at edits of one show while on the set of another show. It was just exhausting and untenable for me to continue that way.”

Padma also said that her busy schedule was harming her personal life. She shared, “I haven’t had a relationship in a long time because I’m always working. I don’t know when I think I was going to meet anybody. I’m surrounded by people I either employ or those who employ me, and neither of those people are appropriate for a romantic relationship.”