Padma Lakshmi joinedTop Chefas host in Season 2 . After 17 years , she ’s leaving for new projects .
Sadly, it is time for Padma Lakshmi to pack up herownknives and go.
The longtime host ofTop Chefannounced on Thursday that she’ll be leaving the hit Bravo cooking show after 17 years.
“After much soul searching, I have made the difficult decision to leaveTop Chef,” Padma wrote in a statement on Twitter.
Since 2006, Padma has anchored 19 seasons of the Emmy-winning cooking competition series that spawned numerous spinoffs and made stars out of Padma and her longtime cohosts Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons.
“Having completed a glorious 20th season as host and executive producer, I am extremely proud to have been part of building such a successful show and of the impact it has had in the worlds of television and food,” she continued in her statement.
Don’t worry, Padma stans. She’s not leaving our TV screens. In addition to herTop Chefduties, Padma has also hosted a travel cooking docuseries,Taste the Nation, on Hulu. Padma said in her goodbye statement she plans to continue with the show, as well as her books and “other creative pursuits.”
“I am deeply thankful to all of you for so many years of love and support. Sincerely, Padma,” she ended her statement.
Thankfully,Top Chefisn’t ending alongside Padma’s departure. Last month,Bravo announcedthe series will return for Season 21.
That’s about all the information we have at the moment. It’s unclear if Tom and Gail will continue or even take on main hosting duties themselves.
Suddenly, binging all 20 seasons ofTop Chefmay have just skyrocketed to the top of my to-do list.
Thanks for all the great seasons, Padma.
You can watch all 20 seasons ofTop Chefon Peacock!
