Q&A: Padma Lakshmi of 'Top Chef'

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UNTIL LAST FALL, Padma Lakshmi was best known as a model, actress and the wife of celebrated novelist Salman Rushdie. But the Indian-born babe also knows her way around the kitchen, as evidenced by her cookbook, "Easy Exotic," and her gig as host of Bravo's pan slinger-versus-whisk wielder reality smackdown, "Top Chef." Lakshmi and the show return to Bravo next week (Wednesday at 10 p.m.) with the final episodes of Season Two.

» EXPRESS: What's surprised you the most about working on "Top Chef"?
» LAKSHMI: I had no idea the level of animosity that was brewing between the contestants. I didn't get to see it until the episodes came out, and it really surprised me.

» EXPRESS: Which of the challenges the "chef-testants" endured made you want to get cooking?
» LAKSHMI: When they made ice cream, I would have loved to do that. I make lychee and clover sorbet and honeycomb and prune ice cream.

» EXPRESS: How do you work on "Top Chef" and stay so slim?
» LAKSHMI: It's a combination of what I cook at home and how many hours I clock at the gym. It's no secret formula. But you'll see as the season progresses that I gain a little weight.

» EXPRESS: You've written one cookbook, and you're working on another due out this year. How would you describe your culinary style?
» LAKSHMI: At home, I try to do healthy things — leaner meats, brown rice and great salads. I like to make them interesting by going to the Union Square farmers market [in New York City] and getting local greens. I also add things like mint leaves and pumpkin seeds to them. I like to layer tastes.

» EXPRESS: What about when company is coming? What do you whip up then?
» LAKSHMI: When I'm having a dinner party, I'm a little more luxurious. I'll use butter, and I love to cook slow braised meat, maybe something with Barolo wine. I'll soak a brisket in the fridge for two days with a bottle of red wine.

» EXPRESS: Are there any dishes your husband asks for?
» LAKSHMI: He's an omnivore and eats anything and everything. I still don't know his favorite dish after seven years together, but he does like it when I make him fried okra. It's very hard to make Indian okra the right way.

» EXPRESS: What's your kitchen like at home?
» LAKSHMI: Since I live in New York, it's probably not as big as people think. It's stuffed to the gills with gadgets. I like strange ones from other countries, like wire tools for frying I get in Chinatown. But I'm not a fan of big, space-consuming electronics like Kitchen-Aid mixers. I like to do things the old-fashioned way.

» EXPRESS: How is your apartment decorated?
» LAKSHMI: We don't really have room for decoration, because we have a very big library. We have thousands and thousands of books and a lot of Indian art. That's it — books, art and shoes.

» EXPRESS: What are your favorite restaurants in New York?
» LAKSHMI: Like most urban people, we eat anything. We love Balthazar and Pastis. And I'd also pick Nobu.

» EXPRESS: You dress so stylishly on "Top Chef." Are you concerned about wearing nonstick shoes or non-staining fabrics?
» LAKSHMI: That's the genius of this gig. I have the number-one food-related show, and I get to wear my own clothes and not cook a darn thing!

» EXPRESS: Which designers and styles do you wear?
» LAKSHMI: I'll wear everything from Old Navy to Chanel, often in the same outfit. I have shoes of my mother's from the 1970s and things from the flea market. I'm an equal-opportunity fashionista: I don't care if it cost $2 or $2,000.

Photo courtesy Bravo