Padma Lakshmi Reveals Details On Taste The Nation Season 3
When Padma Lakshmi's "Taste the Nation" dropped on Hulu in June of 2020, the restaurants that hadn't fallen permanently victim to the first wave of the pandemic were scrambling to transform their kitchens into takeout-only rigs. Suddenly, food — especially the dishes that made us feel connected to our past — was on the collective brain even more than it had been a few months before. As we sat confined in our living rooms, watching the activist and "Top Chef" host travel across the country and tuck into burritos on the border in El Paso; ceviche in the Peruvian enclave of Paterson, New Jersey; Persian tahdig in Los Angeles; and succotash on indigenous land in Arizona, we viewers were served a reminder of the cultural significance and diversity of American cuisine.
Lakshmi's show returned for the four-episode "Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition" last November, which saw its host noshing on Hanukkah fare on New York City's Lower East Side, deconstructing the colonial roots of Thanksgiving with the Wampanoag people of Cape Cod, spending Christmas with a Cuban community in Miami, and making dumplings in LA's Koreatown for the Lunar New Year. This week, Lakshmi took to Twitter to drop some hints about the upcoming season of "Taste the Nation," and fans can hardly contain their excitement.
Lakshmi is heading to Puerto Rico, Houston, and Appalachia
In response to a Twitter inquiry, Padma Lakshmi indulged "Taste the Nation" fans this week with a hint about the locations she's hitting in the upcoming season. "Puerto Rico, Houston, Appalachia for starts!" she wrote. "I'm very excited for you all to see what we are filming." Some fans used the thread to express their appreciation for the show. "The episode which focused on the Gullah Geechee cuisine was my favorite," said one user, recalling the show's first season. "Grew up with so many of those dishes in southeastern coastal Georgia and SC. The entire series is so educational and wonderfully produced." There's also quite a bit of excitement surrounding Lakshmi's stop in Houston (or "H-Town," as Twitter commenters are calling it).
Now's the time to start placing bets with your friends about the dishes Lakshmi will try on her travels. Perhaps her tastings of Puerto Rican foods will be met with plates of arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas) or slow-cooked pernil, while her stop in Houston may feature a healthy dose of barbecue. Whatever the case, the next season of "Taste the Nation" seems likely to be a hit among fans of food and travel content.