‘Top Chef’ Fans Blame Padma Lakshmi For Change After Exit

Padma Lakshmi was the host and a judge on Bravo’s Top Chef for nearly two decades. She left the show a few years ago. Season 23 of the popular reality competition debuts this month, with one huge change. Fans of the long-running cooking competition blame the former host for the shakeup. Keep reading for more details.

Top Chef Makes Major Change For Season

Padma Lakshmi joined Top Chef in Season 2. She served as the host, as well as a judge alongside Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons. However, she left the show in 2023 after 19 seasons. At the time, she said she wanted to focus on her family and other ventures. Season 10 Top Chef winner Kristen Kish replaced her as the host.

Season 23 of the popular reality competition returns this month with a spotlight on the Carolinas. The cooking show has spotlighted other cities across America over the years. The new season heavily features the culinary hub of Charlotte, North Carolina. Several episodes were filmed in Greenville, South Carolina.

Top Chef premieres on Monday, March 9, at 9 PM Eastern. According to The U.S. Sun, the show changes to its regular timeslot on Mondays at 9:30 PM Eastern the following week, March 16. All of the episodes of Season 23 are 75 minutes.

Viewers Blame Padma Lakshmi

After 19 seasons with Padma Lakshmi, change for viewers is difficult. They’ve grudgingly accepted the new host. However, fans couldn’t get over the new change for Season 23. The show has aired on Thursdays for years, but is making a huge move to Thursdays. Viewers took to Reddit to blast the former host for the schedule change.

• “Mondays??? It’s been Thursday’s from season 1 I think.”
• “I wonder if they moved it to Mondays because Padma’s new cooking competition show is airing on Wednesdays.”
• “for the first time i’m not excited. top chef is one of my all time favorite shows and the last few seasons have been so un-memorable.”
• “I see she has a show with the same concept coming out this month too????”

All About Padma Lakshmi’s New Reality Competition

As Top Chef fans mentioned, Padma Lakshmi has a new reality cooking competition. She serves as host and judge on America’s Culinary Cup. The new series, which will air on CBS, features 16 chefs seeking to prove themselves. The contestants include James Beard Award winners and Michelin-star chefs, and other elite talent.

They all compete for a $1 million cash prize. In contrast, Top Chef winners get $250,000 plus a feature in Food & Wine magazine. Padma Lakshmi recently revealed on The Daily Show that it was difficult for CBS to put together a trailer for her new show because it doesn’t follow a format.

America’s Culinary Cup premieres on CBS on Wednesday, March 4, at 9:30 PM Eastern. Let us know in the comments if you plan to watch. Come back to TV Shows Ace for more news on your favorite shows.

Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger

Latest posts by Jennifer Havener (see all)