Top Chef: Last News

Padma Lakshmi announced Friday she was leaving after 17 years following the current season, surprising fans of the beloved Bravo cooking competition series.The 52-year-old food expert and author, whose name has become synonymous with the Emmy-winning program, shared in an emotional message on social media that she came to the «difficult decision» to exit after «much soul searching.» Lakshmi's surprise announcement comes just one week before the finale of season 20,, is set to air. «Having completed a glorious 20th season as host and executive producer,» she wrote, «I am extremely proud to have been part of building such a successful show and of the impact it has had in the worlds of television and food.»But what some fans may not know is Lakshmi, who hosts Hulu's food travel series , wasn't with the cooking competition show when it debuted in March 2006. The TV personality replaced cookbook author and food critic Katie Lee, who lasted only one season as host, in the sophomore cycle — and the rest is history. According to 's oral history of , which was published in May, Lakshmi had actually met with executives at NBCUniversal before the cooking competition show even premiered, pitching a dinner party series.

on Instagram. “The end of May, ulcers erupted in my mouth and my oral surgeon discovered a hidden tumor under my tongue.”“A few days later, I was diagnosed, stage 4 tongue cancer, as cancer cells also spread into my lymph nodes,” Chung, 47, added.The emotional post also featured a series of photos of Chung shaving her hair as her loved ones surrounded her.Chung, who also competed on season 11 of “Top Chef,” said that cooking has helped her to process the news calmly.“I was very calm when doctors delivered the news,” she wrote.

Instagram on Thursday.Lakshmi continued, “She was always a welcome presence at judges table and I was blessed to get to know this inspiring woman over the years.”Pomery, 49, died on July 13 in a freak drowning accident. She was tubing with her husband, Kyle Linden Webster, and another person on the Willamette River near Corvallis, Oregon, when the group got caught on an “exposed snag in the water,” the Benton County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement Tuesday.According to officials, the chef was pulled under the water and became trapped by a paddle board leash attached to her, causing her to drown. Webster and the third person were rescued on the shoreline, about 60 miles outside Portland.Pomeroy’s body was recovered on Wednesday, four days after she drowned.

statement Tuesday.The beloved chef was then pulled under the water and became trapped by a paddle board leash attached to her, causing her to drown, officials said. The trio had reportedly tied their inner tubes and paddle board together before the incident.The Corvallis Fire Department has yet to recover Pomeroy’s body while Webster and the third individual were rescued on the shoreline — around 60 miles outside Portland.“I am dedicated to locating Naomi to bring her home to her family and loved ones,” Sheriff Van Arsdall said.

Padma Lakshmi announced Friday she was leaving after 17 years following the current season, surprising fans of the beloved Bravo cooking competition series.The 52-year-old food expert and author, whose name has become synonymous with the Emmy-winning program, shared in an emotional message on social media that she came to the «difficult decision» to exit after «much soul searching.» Lakshmi's surprise announcement comes just one week before the finale of season 20,, is set to air. «Having completed a glorious 20th season as host and executive producer,» she wrote, «I am extremely proud to have been part of building such a successful show and of the impact it has had in the worlds of television and food.»But what some fans may not know is Lakshmi, who hosts Hulu's food travel series , wasn't with the cooking competition show when it debuted in March 2006. The TV personality replaced cookbook author and food critic Katie Lee, who lasted only one season as host, in the sophomore cycle — and the rest is history. According to 's oral history of , which was published in May, Lakshmi had actually met with executives at NBCUniversal before the cooking competition show even premiered, pitching a dinner party series.

shocker: Longtime host Padma Lakshmi is leaving after the 20th season.Lakshmi announced her departure on Friday with a heartfelt message on social media, acknowledging that the decision to leave the Bravo cooking competition franchise was a «difficult» one.«After much soul searching, I have made the difficult decision to leave,» the 52-year-old wrote. «Having completed a glorious 20th season as host and executive producer, I am extremely proud to have been part of building such a successful show and of the impact it has had in the worlds of television and food.»«After 17 years, many of the cast and crew are like family to me and I will miss working alongside them dearly.

Padma Lakshmi had quite the challenge when she got the call to appear in 's recent swimsuit issue. The 52-year-old TV personality and former model was coming off of filming the most recent season of, and admitted that she was «freaking out» when she received the call to appear in the iconic magazine's special issue.«I would have killed for it when I was in my 20s and a model because it is the holy grail and they never even called me for anything like this.

first debuted in 2006, the Bravo competition series has not only become a reality TV mainstay, but it has also become one of the most prestigious culinary showcases for rising chefs from all over America. Now in its 20th season, which sees both U.S.

Bravo's , has died. He was 46. The chef's mother, Susan, confirmed to the that he died of a heart attack on July 22.

in 2012, Kristen Kish has become a fixture in the culinary world as well as on TV thanks to her longtime success in the kitchen and, more recently, as one of three chefs featured on TruTV's cooking competition show, . Now, Kish is teaming up with Alton Brown to co-host Netflix’s revival of, the famed Japanese cooking competition series. Although “the original is iconic in its own way,” Kish tells ET that when “you put it on Netflix, it just becomes bigger.

the Los Angeles Times in an interview on Friday. The panicked cook tried a “wild list of things” in order to regain his sense of taste before filming the series.

, which returns for season 19 on Bravo, Padma Lakshimi has seen – and tasted – it all. “There have been a couple of doozies,” she tells ET’s Rachel Smith, explaining that “any chef, as great as he or she may be, can have an off day because you want to push the envelope.” And for every failed dish, there have been that many more savory successes that have led to 18 previous winners. And with the reality cooking competition set in Houston, Texas, this season, there’s bound to be many highs and lows as 15 new cheftestants are immersed in the diversity that represents the city’s culinary identity.

Top Chef Family Style’s lead judge Marcus Samuelsson, 49, has cooked for a ton of famous people, but Michelle Obama, 57, was extra special. “Working with the First Lady was one of my highest honors and privileges,” Marcus told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY on the set of Peacock’s new series. “She’s amazing.”

Padma Lakshmi’s docuseries,, debuted on Hulu in June of last year, it was renewed for a second season.

Add another sad death to those we’ve lost in 2020. Top Chef fans will remember Aaron Grissom as a contestant from 2014’s Boston season 12 of the Bravo cooking competition. He has been killed in a motorcycle accident in his native Washington State. Aaron died on Sept. 8  at the age of 34, after apparently losing control of his 2018 Suzuki GSX-R750 after striking a curb in a roundabout, TMZ reports. Witnesses said he approached the turn in the road at a high speed, according to the police report obtained by the Tacoma News Tribune.

, the 49-year-old chef and TV personality, who serves as the host and executive producer on the cooking competition series, reveals that she samples and judges more than 30 dishes per episode, eating around 7,000 to 8,000 calories a day. “Those chefs are cooking to win, so they’re putting in as much lard and butter and salt as they can," she says of the contestants on. Lakshmi balances the excessive calories from the show with a regular exercise routine, telling the magazine that she works out five times a week for 90 minutes.

James Beard award-winning Karen Akunowicz is one of the many fan favorites who hail from the land of Top Chef. The fiercely amazing culinarian won our hearts when she first competed on the show’s 13th season before she unpacked her knives once more for its second All-Stars version in 2020. Both times she did an incredible job at showing off her amazing chops in the kitchen all while being unapologetically herself in every way possible. She is also one of the many members of the LGBTQ community who have competed on the Emmy-winning series with two of its badasses winning in the end.

Padma Lakshmi didn’t leave her home for days after writing an op-ed revealing how she was raped at the age of 16.In the editorial for The New York Times, written in 2018 in response to the sexual assault allegations against then-Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Lakshmi revealed that she was a virgin when she was raped by her then 23-year-old boyfriend.The Top Chef host also shared she was molested by her stepfather’s relative when she was seven.And in a cover interview for Artful Living, the 49-year-old admitted “it was scary” initially to have people approach with their own stories of sexual assault after the article was published.“I didn’t go out for three days after I wrote the article,” she told the publication.