America’s Culinary Cup host Padma Lakshmi is enjoying her new show’s success, but not comparing it to other shows she’s worked on.
Ahead of the season 1 finale, Padma told PEOPLE about hard work that went into creating the CBS series. ICYMI, the former Top Chef host executive produces the show, in addition to serving as host and judge.
Padma feels proud of what she’s achieved. “It’s been wonderful to finally see the show after working on it so hard for so many months. I’m really proud of the show, and I’m really proud of our competitors,” she says.
Padma is at peace:
While the debut season of America’s Culinary Cup first started airing on March 4 and season 23 of Top Chef premiered days later on March 9, Padma doesn’t feel like they’re “airing against them.” In fact, Culinary Cup announced its “air date months and months before anybody else did.”
Not only that, but she goes on to say, “I’m not in competition with my prior work.”
“I’m proud of my prior work,” she clarified, before adding, “I’m in competition with all of the shows on television. So anything on any other network or streamer.” Padma thinks America’s Culinary Cup is unique in that it goes beyond the culinary space. “We sit somewhere between a sports and game show.”
Additionally, there’s no bad blood between Padma and Top Chef. “I love so many people like family on that show, who I made that show with, and I’m very proud of being a part of building that legacy.”
“I’m, of course, looking to grow as a producer, a writer, and a host, but I’m not looking back. I’m looking around and looking forward. I just wanted to do something on my own and wanted to do something new.”
Padma’s past:
After hosting Food Network’s Padma’s Passport in 2001, she became a producer on Top Chef. Then she created and executive produced the Hulu food and travel docuseries Taste the Nation. That’s when her collaboration with CBS allowed her to push things even further.
“To give you perspective, Taste the Nation, we were a crew of 15 because it was a documentary show and everything like that. We had a lot of researchers and historians,” she says of the series, which ran for two seasons and won three Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards.
“But this show, [Culinary Cup], I have a crew of 350. And so that puts a lot of pressure on you because you do feel like you have all these people to account for, not just you.”
The season 1 finale of America’s Culinary Cup airs Wednesday, May 13 at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS and is available to stream the next day on Paramount+.
