‘Top Chef’ Padma Lakshmi Tastes the Nation and Controversy With Her Critically Acclaimed New Book

Padma Lakshmi’s latest cookbook arrives at a moment when conversations about immigration and American identity have never been more contentious. Published November 4 by Knopf, “Padma’s All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond” is both a culinary compendium and a political statement—one that has already sparked controversy before most readers have even opened its pages.

The 352-page volume compiles more than 100 recipes from immigrant and Indigenous communities across the United States, drawing from five years of travel for Lakshmi’s Hulu series “Taste the Nation,” according to Penguin Random House. The book features dishes spanning more than 20 cuisines, from Afghani dumplings with leeks and scallions to Peruvian tamales with chicken, Oaxacan mushroom tacos, and a strawberry-cardamom cream cake.

A Love Letter With a Message

Lakshmi has been transparent about the book’s purpose. During an appearance on “The View” last week, she called it her “rebuttal to Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller and ICE and all the negativity” from the Trump administration, Fox News reported. She told Time magazine November 3 that she hopes “the book will be a positive way to counteract all the hate,” according to AOL News.

The former “Top Chef” host, who arrived in the United States from India at age five and is now a naturalized citizen, told The New York Times that during the Trump administration she began to feel like an outsider in the country where she grew up, multiple outlets reported. This experience led her to become more active in immigration advocacy, and in 2017 she began working with the American Civil Liberties Union on immigrant rights issues.

The Apple Pie Controversy

But it was another comment in that same New York Times interview, published Monday, that ignited social media backlash. When asked about the difference between immigrant food and American food while promoting her new CBS cooking show, Lakshmi stated: “Apple pie isn’t American: not the crust, not the filling, not the spices,” according to multiple news outlets including KABC-AM.

She elaborated: “If we just ate what was native to the United States, we’d be living on desert packrat and ramps,” referencing a desert-dwelling rodent and wild vegetable found in North America, the outlets reported.

During an appearance on “The View” last week, she called it her “rebuttal to Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller and ICE and all the negativity” from the Trump administration.”

This wasn’t the first time Lakshmi has made such remarks. In a 2020 interview with Variety, she said: “We throw around a lot of platitudes like, ‘nothing’s as American as apple pie.’ Well, apple pie is not American. Not one ingredient in apple pie is indigenous to North America. Not even the apple! So what are we talking about here?” according to KABC-AM.

In her recent Newsweek interview, Lakshmi reiterated the point: “Not even the apples are indigenous to North America, not the flour, not the lard, not the cinnamon, not the dairy and butter. All these things have been appropriated into the larger American culinary landscape.”

The remarks drew swift criticism on social media. One user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, “She seems to be an import as well,” while another commented, “Do we really have to listen to her? My lifetime it’s been apple pie,” according to The Daily Jagran. However, some defended Lakshmi, noting that food historians have long documented that apples originated in Central Asia and pie-making traditions were brought by European settlers.

Critical Reception

Despite the controversy, the cookbook has received widespread acclaim from critics and fellow culinary figures. The Wall Street Journal’s Andrew Coe wrote that the book presents “dishes from more than 20 different cuisines, from Afghani to American Indian, plus some family favorites passed down from her mother and grandmother,” calling it “a spicy blend” whose heart “lies in the recipes inspired by recent immigrants, perfect examples of their skill and resourcefulness in adapting their cuisines to their new homeland.”

Author Anne Lamott praised the work effusively: “I love this book so much—the wisdom, the welcome, the quality of Padma’s writing, the depth of her shared experiences, and, oh my God, the recipes. This book makes me feel as if she is gently and boldly cooking right beside me,” according to promotional materials from the publisher.

Library Journal gave the book a starred review, calling it “a love letter to the diversity of the United States, written through food.” Booklist, also awarding it a starred review, noted that Lakshmi “collects stories of immigrants—war brides, refugees, students—and honors their culinary contributions” with “beautiful photography and step-by-step instructions.”

Chef Yotam Ottolenghi called it “borderless, fearless, and extraordinarily delicious,” while food personality Sohla El-Waylly said the book’s “reassuring warmth and clear instructions give me the confidence to dive into dishes I’ve never attempted or tasted before, like Amazonian tamales (made with grated yuca!) and aash, a hearty Afghan noodle soup.”

Beyond the Recipes

What distinguishes “Padma’s All American” from a standard cookbook is its integration of personal essays and profiles. BookPage described it as “a sumptuous blend of cookbook, travelogue and memoir” that “explores what American food looks like through a modern lens, highlighting many cultures and traditions and lovingly focusing on the immigrants who brought them here.”

In her Newsweek interview, Lakshmi explained her approach: “I didn’t want to get on my soapbox and kind of harangue people—it’s sort of boring and inappropriate, anyway, in a cookbook—but if you look through the book, you’ll see it has essays that are long-form profiles about the different kinds of people I met along the way.”

She added: “I am hoping that the food will entice you, will almost be like a bait to get closer to your neighbors. Hopefully you’ll be curious enough to get to know the culture that the food came from and the people that are making this food.”

The Verdict

“Padma’s All American” is ambitious in scope and unapologetically political in its message. Whether readers embrace or resist its thesis about the immigrant foundations of American cuisine may depend largely on their views about immigration itself. But the cookbook’s culinary merit appears undeniable, offering home cooks accessible versions of dishes from communities across the nation, each accompanied by the stories of the people who make them.

The apple pie controversy underscores the book’s central argument: that American food, like America itself, is fundamentally a product of global migration and cultural exchange. Whether that fact inspires celebration or resentment remains, like so much else in contemporary American life, a matter of fierce debate.

For those willing to engage with both the recipes and the stories behind them, “Padma’s All American” offers a compelling vision of American cuisine as a constantly evolving tapestry—one woven from threads that stretch across oceans and generations.

This story, conceptualized and edited by American Kahani’s News Desk, was aggregated by AI from news reports.