There’s something about arriving at work by helicopter that sets a certain tone.
That’s precisely what Padma Lakshmi did to open her new series, CBS’ America’s Culinary Cup, her return to hosting and judging a cooking competition.
As she explains to viewers the high stakes of the elite cook-off, she is soaring more than 1,000 feet over Manhattan, talking into a headset as she details the historic $1 million prize and the high-caliber assemblage of chef contestants. Skyscrapers and views of the Hudson River whizz by behind her. She continues her monologue as she exits the chopper and walks to an SUV, which transports her to the series’ pristine penthouse kitchen set.
It’s quite the entrance. It’s quite the first impression. And it was exactly what Lakshmi wanted.
“I wanted to give the feeling that this was not going to be some hokey little show, that this was going to be expansive and glamorous,” Lakshmi told me. “A lot of these chefs are doing tasting menus. They all have reservation books that are filled for weeks on end. They’re Michelin-star chefs. They’re James Beard winners. They’re Bocuse d’Or medalists. So wanted something that feels big and grand and in order.”
America’s Culinary Cup just wrapped its inaugural season, finishing, according to Lakshmi, as the number one food competition series on TV. It marks Lakshmi’s return as a host and judge in the genre, following 19 seasons in that role on Bravo’s stalwart, Top Chef. This time, she’s an executive producer, developing the show in line with her vision for the next era of food TV, based on her decades of experience.
“I wanted to create something new. I wanted to create something that was fresh and that felt modern and really invigorated the whole genre,” she said in an interview as the show vies for its first Emmy nominations. “And I think we did that.”
The series assembled 16 industry titans, all decorated with enough awards and medals to open a museum for their hardware. Each episode, they cooked according to one of the “Culinary Commandments,” which tested their mastery of handling meat, saucework, gastronomic techniques, and other basic principles of the field. Other than those loose parameters, there was a simple prompt: Cook your best food.
One of Lakshmi’s chief goals with the show was to avoid a predictable format, which is typically the guiding light for episodic reality TV competitions.
“I just thought, look, if I’m gonna add to this collection of shows that are on every network and streamer, it has to feel different, especially because I’ve done it already, right?” she said. “So it’s also a case of competing with myself in that way.”
As it happened, America’s Culinary Cup aired during what was a feast of cooking competition series. Her alma mater, Top Chef, debuted its new season days after the America’s Culinary Cup premiere. Food Network’s latest Tournament of Champions battle was also airing at the same time. So Lakshmi knew she needed to differentiate.
“I wanted to keep the audience guessing,” she said. “I wanted it to be just about the cooking without all the gimmicks and tricks of, you know, ‘cook with children’s cookware’ or ‘cook with only these gas station ingredients,’ or whatever.”
In her time not just as a TV personality and producer, but as a food writer and member of a social circle enviably populated with top-tier chefs, restaurant owners, and foodies, she’s heard the same feedback: We just want to cook the best food we know how. “So I tried to create a forum and an arena for them to do that.”
That arena, a kitchen staged amongst cornerless curved walls that Lakshmi compares to a colosseum, is one draw for chefs the show attracted, who ordinarily wouldn’t be interested in participating in a TV series. The other, obvious one: One million big ones for winning.
Lakshmi was coming from work on cable and streaming networks—her first series following Top Chef, Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi, aired on Hulu. This was going to be a series on a broadcast network, with a broadcast-network budget. CBS’ two other hit competition shows, Survivor and The Amazing Race, each award $1 million prizes.
“I didn’t want to be the little sister at the table. I wanted to make sure that we were announcing our arrival as top of the line,” she said. “I always said that my North Star when we created the show was to be the Wimbledon or the Olympics of cooking. So if you’re asking the best of the best to come out, you have to award them a prize commensurate with their stature.”
Interestingly, while Lakshmi understands the impulse, she balks at the classification of America’s Culinary Cup as a reality show. The reason is that, unlike so many other programs, the show doesn’t sequester the chefs or make them live in a house together.
There are no scenes where the contestants bond in the living room. They’re not rooming together on bunk beds. Their phones aren’t taken away. In fact, when they’re not filming, they can go out to dinner. Their families can even come visit.
“They can stay up all night and memorize cake formulas if they want to,” Lakshmi said. “We wanted to do everything we could to support the chefs, because that’s what would happen at a very high-level world forum, right? Whether it was the French Open or the NBA Finals. You’re not sequestering them.”
This is, of course, still a television show, with entertainment and production value as a mandate. That’s where the glamor that Lakshmi previously mentioned comes in.
One of the cheekiest parts of each episode—and, as such, highlights—is when Lakshmi and her two co-judges, Michael Cimarusti and Wylie Dufresne, arrive by elevator to the penthouse kitchen to greet the contestants. The doors open and Lakshmi, wearing drool-worthy designer fashion, struts onto the set in slow motion, wind, presumably created by a fan, blowing her hair back sensually.
Lakshmi laughed when I brought this up, and we started talking about how she feels about bringing high fashion and sex appeal into the culinary world.
“We’re a TV show,” she said. “And we’re not giving you any of the drama of people backbiting each other or arguing or any of that silliness.” She offered a winking sort of smile. “You know, I think it’s very hot in that kitchen. Also, I like a fan. I like a wind machine.”
Earlier this year, comedian Michelle Buteau called Lakshmi “the foodie Beyoncé” at a talk promoting Lakshmi’s book, Padma’s All American. Suffice it to say, in those moments—and many more—she lives up to that moniker.
She laughed again. “I’m not cooking, so I’m dressing as I would dress to go to a high-end meal. That’s not how I dress every day too. Like, when I’m walking my dog in New York City or just, you know, going out to see a friend, I’m not in stilettos and don’t have full glam.”
But when you’re riding a helicopter to hand out $1 million at the Olympics of culinary competitions, you dress the part.
