The Life In Pieces Episode You Might Have Forgotten Padma Lakshmi Starred In

You may not know that before Padma Lakshmi was a star in the food world and the host of "Top Chef," she was a successful model and actress. In fact, she once shared the screen with Mariah Carey as a supporting character in the pop star's infamous biopic-slash-epic flop titled "Glitter." And, according to Bravo, Lakshmi has even been honored with the title of "India's first supermodel."

Understandably, Lakshmi has had less time for pursuing acting since she began pursuing food writing and television hosting, which really took off when she booked "Top Chef" in 2006. Considering the fact that the Emmy-winning series is soon to enter its 20th season, and Lakshmi keeps her breaks between filming busy by writing cookbooks like her 2016 New York Times bestselling memoir "Love, Loss, and What We Ate," it's been a while since Lakshmi has had a chance to dive back into acting. However, the food expert did take a step away from her busy culinary schedule in 2017 to make a surprise appearance on the sitcom, "Life in Pieces."

Lakshmi as 'the world's most earnest waitress'

Five years ago, Lakshmi appeared in an episode of CBS' "Life in Pieces" titled, "Meal Potty Cart Middle." The show, which ran for four seasons from 2015 to 2019, tells a family's story through different snippets of their lives, rather than through a linear format.

The snippet in which Lakshmi appears is when middle-aged married couple Tim and Heather go to an eye-poppingly expensive restaurant to celebrate their anniversary.  There to serve them Boccone's seemingly endless tiny portions of strange foams and questionable-sounding concoctions, including "eye of newt," is Bravo's own Lakshmi, looking as radiant as ever (via Hulu).

The couple fights to get down course after course as Lakshmi, calm and solicitous, keeps the dishes and wine pours coming. She posted on Facebook at the time, "Don't miss my guest starring role as the world's most earnest waitress," and, boy, she was not wrong. Her character doesn't bat an eyelash as the couple burps each other and hides the food they can't finish under the table.

Lakshmi hasn't done much more acting since her appearance on "Life in Pieces," per her IMDb page. Instead, she's turned her attention to producing, such as when she produced her own program, "Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi." She's also amped up her "Top Chef" responsibilities by becoming an executive producer on the show.