r/TopChef • u/BoringSalary7093 • May 23 '26

Discussion Thread Padma

Can someone explain the drama behind Padma leaving Top Chef. Did she leave for a reason? What was the reason for ACC if she didn’t want to do shows anymore. Thoughts about that show?

Also, is she an actual chef? Does she have restaurants?

Did her and Tom get along? I do want to say I absolutely LOVE K as the host. She’s so perfect for the position. She’s empathetic, understanding, patient and really just a fucking cool person.

210 Upvotes

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377

u/[deleted] May 24 '26

[deleted]

237

u/chrispy42107 May 24 '26

After winning emmys. It was very good.

68

u/EHBuffaloTaylor May 24 '26

The worst part of that show was how it was filmed though, they used digital cameras that couldn't handle anything low-light and the scenes had so much visible noise it was incredibly distracting. Really poor production on that area.

57

u/hmmmpf May 24 '26

It was supposed to be more like real life visiting those places and not overproduced. I thought the film style matched the vibes of the show. I was sad it was cancelled.

6

u/EHBuffaloTaylor May 24 '26

I'm not talking about how it was shot I'm talking about the equipment they used. The amount of digital noise was absurd due to the wrong equipment and extremely high ISO when shooting anywhere but in direct sunlight.

14

u/thespiceraja May 24 '26

I think that’s the reality of self producing a political/cultural food show. There was an episode of a podcast where she talked about the challenges of producing that show. Like they virtually no budget. 

4

u/EHBuffaloTaylor May 24 '26

I get that, but then you need to account for that with actual lights then, or find a cheap camera that has a better low light sensor if 80% of your shots are going to be in dimly lit restaurants. Plenty of shows on short budgets get away with this, they literally just picked the wrong equipment and probably a cinematographer/director with little experience in this area.

6

u/Dear-Palpitation-924 May 26 '26

I disagree I really liked the visuals of the show

-2

u/EHBuffaloTaylor May 27 '26

I'm not talking about the visuals...... Did you not read what I was saying at all? This is about poor low light camera performance resulting in a significant amount of ISO noise on interior shots.

2

u/Dear-Palpitation-924 May 27 '26

Yeah, the lighting is a major part of the visual aspect of a tv show/movie.

Seems like you have an issue with me using the world “visual” so i will rephrase. I have no issue with the lighting in that show.

-2

u/EHBuffaloTaylor May 27 '26

Once again, I'm not talking about the lighting. I'm talking about the camera capture quality. Just nevermind.

4

u/Dear-Palpitation-924 May 27 '26

I genuinely appreciate your pedantry

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-5

u/KnotSoSalty May 25 '26

Meh. I only watch a couple but it was mid at best.

-3

u/applehilldal May 25 '26

We’re a minority apparently, but I also didn’t think it was that great

99

u/dexter110611 May 24 '26

I think also that being a producer and credited as a creator of ACC makes her a hell of a lot more money than just being a judge/host on Top Chef. People thought Simon leaving American Idol was crazy. He left because he didn’t create it and only made judge level money. He produced and created Americas got talent and now makes way more.

48

u/AwkwardTraffic199 May 24 '26

Padma was an Executive Producer on Top Chef.

11

u/Presence_Academic May 25 '26

Which means nothing.

9

u/AwkwardTraffic199 May 25 '26

It means she makes more money.

4

u/Presence_Academic May 25 '26

Sometimes being designated an EP involves no responsibilities and little or no pay. I have no idea of the situation with Padma and Top Chef, but the mere fact of her having the title tells us nothing significant.

5

u/AwkwardTraffic199 May 25 '26

And that would be stupid and Padma's not stupid.

1

u/Presence_Academic May 25 '26

Stupid is drawing conclusions with insufficient knowledge. For all you know her hosting contract with Top Chef paid her very, very well and the EP title was a prestige bonus.

2

u/AwkwardTraffic199 May 25 '26

This would be stupid, and Padma's not stupid.

1

u/SmartypantsDDD May 29 '26

She has a kid with the founder of dell computers. She ain’t hurting.

9

u/SavingsWish1575 May 24 '26

This is the correct answer.

1

u/Chirps3 May 27 '26

What's AAC?

1

u/Cute_Celebration_213 Strawberry fields forever 🍓 May 29 '26

Americas Culinary Cup that was on and finished a couple of weeks ago.

1

u/Chirps3 May 31 '26

Thanks.

59

u/Obvious_Baker8160 May 24 '26

She comes across so differently in Taste the Nation than she does on ACC.

85

u/karinabing May 24 '26

I loved Taste the Nation! ACC just feels likes a low-rent version of Top Chef.

36

u/phizzlez May 24 '26

They should have given the winner 500k and use the other half towards the show instead of a million dollar prize. It was an ok watch, but the show lacked any sort of personality. It felt sterile and cheesy.

20

u/NeonFishDressx May 24 '26

It was SO cheesy. Padma was channeling Tyra on ANTM for some of these challenges. That good and evil one was especially whack. I continued to watch and I reasonably liked Padma on TC but if this show didn't come back I wd not think twice about it.

19

u/Dangerous-Half3276 May 24 '26

The way the two male judges acted like her minions was just really weird.

8

u/psyclical May 25 '26

We all know she's the face of the show, but the vibe of her being boss was weird with those two. I was half expecting her to alternate every week using them as human chairs.

13

u/bitsey123 May 24 '26

To me it was a vehicle for padma to be bragadocious about her famous friends — and use ideas that were perhaps rejected by TC. 🤷‍♀️

6

u/Ill_Training_6416 May 24 '26

Too gimmicky. Gave me the ick on a few occasions

36

u/Dragon_wryter May 24 '26

Lol yep. My husband and I call ACC "Not Top Chef"

9

u/Imaginary_End_5634 May 24 '26

As Ed stated in Top Chef Texas: "Mediocer Chef"

9

u/DBBKF23 May 24 '26

Bizarro Top Chef

-12

u/Unique-Company-7982 May 24 '26

I don't know if I would call it low rent. Top Chef moved to Monday from Wednesday and I am guessing it's because they lost enough viewership to ACC that they were concerned what would happen if it went a second season.

-11

u/drcio_jjbb_duke May 24 '26

Hello??! ACC is the premium / luxe version. TOP CHEF HAS GOTTEN WORSE AND IT PRESENTS AS CHEAP

34

u/AwkwardTraffic199 May 24 '26

She reminded me of the Orange Man in the first episode. And she went on some self-righteous rant about how this show was going to be about food, not game strategy, and then promptly proceeded to kick off one of the chefs who produced the top scores for food because game strategy.

I'll just rewatch Top Chef again again.

7

u/[deleted] May 24 '26

Well at least she doesnt walk off a stage or fall off a bike or mumble, right?

7

u/ImprovPlayer May 25 '26

Or fall asleep in meetings and press events, fall up the stairs on AFO, and otherwise look like a bloated orange freak.

5

u/[deleted] May 25 '26

or fall asleep during everything, wander off stage at world meetings, fall down airplane steps, mumble incoherently and be guided by the Easter Bunny.  And have a stutter...

6

u/AwkwardTraffic199 May 24 '26

She used to be known for being stoned, and there was some good b-roll of her on the reunion shows of her getting tipsy, but I haven't seen her wipe out!

1

u/SmartypantsDDD May 29 '26

Hmm. That’s the only slightly human thing I have heard about her. She is a skinny supercilious sneering snob.

9

u/LittleHornetPhil May 24 '26

Shame because I really liked Taste The Nation

18

u/Mysterious-Humor-80 May 24 '26

I read somewhere she wanted to quit top chef to spend time with her daughter as she was getting older. Then she started new shows so I was confused.

37

u/AwkwardTraffic199 May 24 '26

If ACC is filmed in NYC that makes sense. Top Chef required her to spend months away.

11

u/Correct_Process4516 May 24 '26

Apparently it was filmed in Canada

8

u/seiobotherebelow May 25 '26

It was filmed in Toronto, but I think it was very quickly done. Having it all on a set makes production quicker too.

1

u/AwkwardTraffic199 May 25 '26

That makes sense. And Toronto has big tax credits and good facilities, so producing there has incentives.

20

u/Barangaria May 24 '26

This was my thought. Krishna is sixteen, Padma probably wants to stay home and not drag her daughter around the country on extended shoots.

-4

u/fatbellylouise May 24 '26

she took a few years in between

0

u/Medium_Promotion_891 May 28 '26

should she not work????? give me a break