Padma Lakshmi Memoir

Padma Lakshmi, the cookbook author and reality television star, has a signature repertoire as host of "Top Chef" on Bravo. It plays out at key moments in the competition, when anxious chefs stand opposite her as she tastes their dishes, their faces scrutinizing hers for some clue about what she is thinking.

Padma Lakshmi, who described Salman Rushdie as "lethally eloquent", mentioned his reaction after she featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine. "The only time Newsweek put me on their cover was when someone was trying to put a bullet in my head," he had said

Padma Lakshmi, the cookbook author and reality television star, has a signature repertoire as host of "Top Chef" on Bravo. It plays out at key moments in the competition, when anxious chefs stand opposite her as she tastes their dishes, their faces scrutinizing hers for some clue about what she is thinking.

Padma Lakshmi, who described Salman Rushdie as "lethally eloquent", mentioned his reaction after she featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine. "The only time Newsweek put me on their cover was when someone was trying to put a bullet in my head," he had said