#padma-lakshmi

#padma-lakshmi

Padma Lakshmi is unquestionably a woman of taste. As a host of the beloved food-competition series "Top Chef" and the star of the culinary docuseries "Taste the Nation," she's spent nearly two decades artfully conveying-and critiquing-flavors and aromas for an audience. Before that, she was a fashion writer and model, cultivating her own sense of what's worth wearing and seeing. And she isn't done evolving: she's recently begun performing standup comedy, an art form with a notoriously steep learning curve.

The world now celebrates her cooking principles as well as her role as a longtime food influencer. By any definition of the term, her word carries weight, which she uses on many levels - including participation in an "Ask me Anything" (AMA) session on her official Reddit account in August 2013. That's where the acclaimed food personality directly supported meal times inside the home rather than in restaurants.

'I still wanted to keep it nice and bright and airy,' she said. 'I needed something that would be a little cozier. It looked a little stark and very utilitarian.'