Indian-American Padma Lakshmi is famous for being a lot of things: a highly-paid fashion model, the wife of British novelist and knight Salman Rushdie, and a judging host on the Bravo reality television culinary contest series Top Chef. Becoming a recognizable personality to millions of viewers for her stint on the show, her familiar face also graces her latest cookbook, which is set to be released this October. The gastronomic tome is titled Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet: A World of Recipes for Everyday, and it is said to detail the recipes for sophisticated and international fare which is likewise easy to prepare.
Some of the myriad tasty treats to be found within are Barbecue Korean Short Ribs, Roasted Citrus Chicken, and Honeycomb Ice Cream. More than 200 recipes are featured in the book, running the whole gamut of delicious dining and including appetizers, soups, main courses, and desserts. Lakshmi draws on her travels across the globe and her origins in ancestral India in order to devise her instructions for cooking, and she maintains that one must not only satisfy their guests with appetizing chow, but impress them as well by utilizing simple and easy cooking methods that anyone can learn.
The fashion model and television personality is no stranger to bringing the wonders of the kitchen to the written word, as proven with the release of her previous cookbook, Easy Exotic. That initial literary endeavor detailed recipes for helping maintain a healthy, low-fat diet, and was recognized with the Best First Book award during the 1999 World Cookbook Awards in Versailles, France. She has worked on other television series as a host and as an actress, appearing in shows such as The Ten Commandments, Melting Pot: Padma's Passport, and Star Trek: Enterprise. She also had a role in the film The Mistress of Spices.
Tom Colicchio is well known to television-loving gourmands as one of the judges appearing on the Bravo reality TV competition show Top Chef. His devotees can catch him live during the Naples Winter Wine Festival to be held next year. The festival is a fundraising shebang that was created by the Naples Children and Education Foundation, and is held every year. It will be the fourth time that Colicchio will be appearing and participating during the charity dinner with various vintners, connoisseurs and aficionados of fine alcoholic beverages. He will serve with the title of Chef de Cuisine, a term for honored chef.
In several statements, the Top Chef judge has been described as “an extraordinary person whose culinary greatness is equaled only by his philanthropic spirit." This praise was lavished upon him by festival trustee and committee chairwoman Shirlene Elkins, who also acknowledged the popularity and success of the Bravo reality show. She also added that the staff of the event were hoping that Colicchio could arrange for the inclusion and participation of one of the show’s winners from any season, who could help him prepare a high-quality vintner dinner. Elkins said that their guests would be thrilled if such a thing could happen.
In Top Chef, Colicchio’s position is that of the chief judge. The show is already into its third season, and it features a number of contestants who face a variety of tough cooking challenges every week. This is to test them and find out who among them is most deserving of the grand victory prize. The rewards include a tour of the French Alps for culinary learning, a $100,000 money purse, and an editorial feature in Food & Wine magazine. Aside from appearing on the show, Colicchio is well-known for being the owner of Craft Restaurants.