28
That was the year my food career started, she tells Bustle.
ForTop Chefs Padma Lakshmi, it was the year her career in food started.
Twenty-eight was a pivotal age for Padma Lakshmi.
She hoped to find success stateside, but it didnt feel predestined.
The media landscape was so white at that time.
Soon after and in another unexpected career pivot Lakshmi found herself with a cookbook deal.
That was the year my food career started, she says of age 28.
None of it wouldve been possible without that first book.
Take me back to 1998, when you were 28.
I had just moved back to America after being in Europe formore than six years.
So I moved to L.A. How did the cookbook deal come about?
I had done a movie where I had to gain weight.
I took calories and fat out of the recipes I was making to make them healthier.
Everyone wants to know what a model eats.
No one actually thought the book would be any good.
There werent yet a lot of global, multi-cuisine cookbooks.
And that was the way I ate, the way all the people I was around ate.
I wanted to do a book that reflected that.
What was your go-to meal to cook for yourself at that time?
When I was home, it was a lot of beans.
I would make awhite bean stewwith a lot of vegetables, like bell peppers and tomatoes and onions.
I got an understanding of world cuisine and how recipes are related.
Every culture has rice dishes, every culture has dumpling dishes.
You start to see patterns.
Did you have a picture in your head of what making it professionally would look like?
It was a steady income, having enough money in the bank so I didn’t have to worry.
What advice do you have for 28-year-olds today?
Everything takes longer than you think its going to take.
Twenty-eight is still really young.
Take the time to be an expert at something.
I said yes to everything because I wanted to work.
I had no idea that I was embarking on a lifelong career.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
