Photo: David Moir/Bravo
It’s been an eventful season ofTop Chefso far — with one contestant losing his taste and smell weeks before the competition and another making it through six rounds onLast Chance Kitchen— but one episode is especially close toPadma Lakshmi’s heart.
The longtime host of Bravo’s Emmy-winning series, who praised this season for having “one of the most diverse casts we’ve ever had,” tells PEOPLE that the episode commemorating “Texas Trailblaze-hers” is her personal favorite this run.
“Just extraordinary. I’m really proud of that episode,” says Lakshmi at the premiere ofJosé Andrés' Disney+ documentary,We Feed People, part of National Geographic Documentary Films.“I think it was a really moving episode, and I think we also had a good cross section of people.”
Lakshmi also reveals to PEOPLE what she knew about contestantJackson Kalb’sstruggles with long-term COVID-19 symptoms while in Houston. Kalb, who contracted COVID-19 just a couple of weeks before the show started filming, spoke with PEOPLE in April about how he competed without his sense of taste. He decided not to tell his fellow contestants about his new handicap, but he may have let it slip to the judges.
“I think at some point he did mention it in judges' table,” Lakshmi says. “But if you’re an experienced cook, you know what something is supposed to taste like. So, he didn’t make a big deal of it. And so, it didn’t factor much for us either.”
Kalb, who made it to episode 8 before getting eliminated, told PEOPLE that the setback was one of the “most stressful things” he’s ever gone through.
“It was mind-bending and weird, and I still don’t really know what anything tasted like that I put up, but I guess my instincts were better than I thought they were,” he said.
Bryan Bedder/Getty for National Geographic
At the premiere ofWe Feed People, Lakshmi shared an important takeaway from the documentary centered around Andrés' nonprofit, World Central Kitchen, and its evolution over 12 years.
“I think it gives you hope. I think it’s a really hopeful movie, and it reminds us that we’re all connected and that we need to have more empathy for each other and we need to also just help each other out,” she says. “And after we’ve all been through this pandemic for two years, whether you’re living in China or South America or wherever, it’s nice to see some good news.”
TheTop Chefhost, who also ran a Q&A with Andrés and directorRon Howardafter the screening, commended the Oscar-winning director and the humanitarian chef for the film’s heartfelt message.
We Feed Peoplestarts streaming on Disney+ on May 27.
source: people.com
