Padma Lakshmi Returns to TV as Host of “America’s Culinary Cup”: Get a First Look (Exclusive)
- - Padma Lakshmi Returns to TV as Host of “America’s Culinary Cup”: Get a First Look (Exclusive)
Erin ClementsFebruary 12, 2026 at 11:00 PM
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Padma Lakshmi is the creator, host and executive producer of a new series, America’s Culinary Cup
In a trailer for the show, she says 16 chefs will be invited to "the ultimate culinary battleground”
America’s Culinary Cup premieres on CBS Wednesday, March 4
Padma Lakshmi is turning up the competition in a new culinary showdown.
America’s Culinary Cup premieres on CBS next month, and PEOPLE has a first look at the dramatic trailer for the new series.
The Top Chef alum teases that the show will feature “16 of the most elite chefs in America, the most decorated group to ever compete against each other, invited to the ultimate culinary battleground.”
“One of you will be walking away with one million dollars,” she tells the contestants. “Just like a sporting event, there's strategy, suspense. This is unlike any competition you have ever seen before.”
After a montage of clips showing contestants facing off in high stakes challenges, she adds, “Make no mistake. This is only the beginning.”
Lakshmi is the creator, host and executive producer of the invitation-only series, while chefs Michael Cimarusti and Wylie Dufresne will serve as judges.
According to the show’s official description, 16 elite chefs will be tested on 10 “culinary commandments” during the season.
Padma Lakshmi
Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty
Those categories include meat, vegetables, sauces, dessert, innovation, flavors, sustainability, world cuisine, consistency, culinary science and technology, which represent “the very principles that define greatness in the kitchen.”
“Cimarusti and Dufresne bring their unique perspectives to evaluate taste, creativity, presentation and technique, determining who advances, who is eliminated and who ultimately masters the commandments to win America’s Culinary Cup and claim the biggest cash prize in culinary history – $1 million dollars,” it adds.
Lakshmi, who hosted Bravo’s Top Chef from 2006 to 2023, went on to host Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi.
According to TV Insider, Lakshmi recently opened up about returning for the new show while talking to press at CBS’s presentation at the Television Critics Association Winter Tour in January.
“I’ve obviously had almost two decades of experience in the genre, and I thought the genre was ready for a shake-up, for a refresh, and for something new and different. And I wanted to be the one who did it,” she said.
America’s Culinary Cup premieres on CBS Wednesday, March 4, at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. It will stream on Paramount+ (live and on-demand) for Paramount+ Premium plan subscribers. Paramount+ Essential subscribers can access the episode on-demand the next day.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
