The cancellation of the show, which premiered on Hulu in 2020 and returned for a second season in 2023, is a bit of a surprise. When Lakshmi left Top Chef in 2023, she noted her desire to focus on Taste the Nation as one of the motivating factors. “The biggest [reason] is Taste the Nation, which consumes me in the best way, intellectually, spiritually, creatively, and I just want to keep making it,” she told the Los Angeles Times.
Taste the Nation highlighted immigrant communities and food cultures around the country, including Peruvians in Paterson, New Jersey; the Gullah Geechee in South Carolina; and Greeks in Tarpon Springs, Florida; and was critically beloved. While it faced minor criticisms, the show earned Lakshmi awards and overwhelming acclaim: Today, it still holds the coveted 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. As Lakshmi wrote on Instagram, “Creating Taste the Nation has been the joy of my professional life. And all of that joy is in this book.”
Padma’s All American will include essays based on Lakshmi’s time working on Taste the Nation in addition to recipes from Lakshmi’s family and from the immigrant and Indigenous communities featured on the show. Arriving at a time when immigrant communities around the U.S. find themselves increasingly under scrutiny and threat, Padma’s All American describes itself as “a joyful book — a reflection of who we truly are as a nation, from one of our most essential culinarians.”
