Padma Made Her Dream Competition Show

We’ll be watching "America's Culinary Cup" this Wednesday! Find out more on today's Radio Cherry Bombe.

Mar 02, 2026

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The prize is $1 million.

That was a detail Padma Lakshmi wouldn’t back down from. If she was going to produce her dream version of a cooking competition show, the stakes needed to be that high.

After 19 (!) seasons of hosting Top Chef, she didn’t want anything to do with another competition show, she tells Kerry Diamond this week on Radio Cherry Bombe. “I don’t even watch that kind of programming!” But the idea kept nagging at her: What if, what if, what if… it was everything you wanted it to be?

So she made it happen. America’s Culinary Cup, her new show, airs this Wednesday, March 4th, on CBS after Survivor (which is celebrating its 50th season—insane!). A show on CBS means a big budget, big ambition, and big viewership. The competitors are major chefs from across the country, with only the best at their disposal, from restaurant-level combi ovens to a pantry that’s stocked with multiple varieties of peak-bloom edible flowers. Padma wanted to set up her chefs for success. No gimmicks, no humiliation-by-design.

We’re into it. One million is the kind of life-changing prize money that means a chef can build a real restaurant, or another dream project. We’re especially excited to see some of our faves, including Beverly Kim, Katie Button, Cara Stadler, and Emily Yuen, among the fantastic chef lineup on the show.

What else has Padma been up to?

Hanging out with us on Galentine’s Day with her chihuahua Divina
Improv! (If you pop into Caveat or Union Hall you might see her…)
Have you checked out her newest cookbook, Padma’s All American? Get her Tagine-Inspired Chicken recipe here.
Watching a Thomas Jefferson documentary under the covers on Saturday night