Talks & Entertainment

When Padma Lakshmi arrived in New York City in the 1970s, she saw how the cuisines of the immigrant communities around her were uniquely their own and yet quintessentially American. For Lakshmi, food is a lens to see who we are and how we eat as a nation.  

Padma’s All American is the result of seven years of traveling, tasting, and observing for her award-winning show, “Taste the Nation.” In it, Lakshmi shares recipes from the immigrant and Indigenous communities she visited across the country, plus many from her own family. Recipes range from Indian coconut rice and Peruvian tamales to Afghani dumplings and Oaxacan tacos, and include stories from those who inspired the dishes. The cookbook is a love letter to the people who create and evolve American cuisine every day as well as a road map to the foods that give America its vibrant palate. 

Lakshmi is an Emmy-nominated food expert, television producer, and New York Times bestselling author who served as host and executive producer of Bravo’s “Top Chef.”   

Lakshmi will be in conversation with Kwame Onwuachi, a James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur, former contestant on “Top Chef,” and author of My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef.