Padma Lakshmi has spent nearly two decades shaping how America watches cooking competitions. But even she’ll admit: this season, the show she built surprised her.
Ahead of her exclusive Parade cover story and the America’s Culinary Cup season finale—both out May 6—the creator and host of the CBS hit reveals which Season 1 eliminations genuinely caught her off guard. “There are so many twists and turns as you go through the season that even though I was there tasting the food and part of the judging process, I certainly didn’t know how my two co-judges would score,” Lakshmi tells Parade in our cover story coming May 6.
In the upcoming season finale, one chef will walk away with a lot of dough. The grand prize is $1 million, the largest amount ever for a culinary competition show. Read on to discover more exclusive details from America’s Culinary Cup.
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The biggest twist of the season came at the show’s halfway point, when the eight remaining chefs were asked to vote on which of their fellow competitors was most likely to win the competition—and who was least likely. The results made for genuinely emotional television as Beverly Kim broke down in tears after being named most likely to win, while Chris Morgan was left visibly stunned by his “least likely” vote.
Jackie Brown/CBS
Both votes left Lakshmi stunned, too. “I had tasted Chris Morgan’s food, and I was surprised that he was voted the least likely to win by his fellow competitors,” she tells Parade.
Related: ‘America’s Culinary Cup’ Reveals Powerhouse Lineup of 14 Guest Judges for $1 Million Cooking Competition (Exclusive)
But the bigger shock came just one episode later, when Kim—the chef who had just been crowned by her peers as the most likely to take home the $1 million grand prize—was eliminated during the Culinary Science and Technology challenge.
“I was also very surprised that Beverly Kim went home when she did because she had been such a strong competitor and was so compelling the whole way through,” Lakshmi adds.
Photo: Jackie Brown/CBS
A James Beard Award winner and former Top ChefSeason 9 contestant, Kim had dominated earlier rounds—including winning the Sustainability commandment in Week 3. But the molecular gastronomy challenge—a category leaning into co-judge Wylie Dufresne’s expertise—proved to be her undoing. Meanwhile, Morgan has made it to the final four.
Related: ‘America’s Culinary Cup’ Season 1: Who Went Home Last Night? (Night 7 Elimination)
Part of what makes the show’s eliminations feel so unpredictable is the format itself, which Lakshmi—who baked up America’s Culinary Cup from scratch after 17 years onTop Chef—designed intentionally to focus purely on technique. “Each episode is different and structured, designed around one culinary commandment or principle of fine cooking,” she tells Parade. “I think the biggest difference between our show and other competition shows is that we don’t throw in obstacles. We give them all the weapons they need to succeed, provide them with an unparalleled kitchen with as many beautiful ingredients as they could want, and enough equipment to go around.”
That format has made every elimination feel earned—but also, occasionally, genuinely shocking. With the Season 1 finale set for May 13, viewers will soon find out whether Lakshmi has any final surprises in store.
America’s Culinary Cup airs Wednesday nights at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS and streams the next day on Paramount+. The Season 1 finale airs May 13.
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