Love, Loss, and What We Ate

A Memoir

By: Padma Lakshmi

Narrated by: Padma Lakshmi

A vivid memoir of food and family, survival and triumph, Love, Loss, and What We Ate traces the arc of Padma Lakshmi's unlikely path from an immigrant childhood to a complicated life in front of the camera - a tantalizing blend of Ruth Reichl's Tender at the Bone and Nora Ephron's Heartburn.

Long before Padma Lakshmi ever stepped onto a television set, she learned that how we eat is an extension of how we love, how we comfort, how we forge a sense of home - and how we taste the world as we navigate our way through it. Shuttling between continents as a child, she lived a life of dislocation that would become habit as an adult, never quite at home in the world. And yet, through all her travels, her favorite food remained the simple rice she first ate sitting on the cool floor of her grandmother's kitchen in South India.

Poignant and surprising, Love, Loss, and What We Ate is Lakshmi's extraordinary account of her journey from that humble kitchen, ruled by ferocious and unforgettable women, to the judges' table of Top Chef and beyond. It chronicles the fierce devotion of the remarkable people who shaped her along the way, from her headstrong mother, who flouted conservative Indian convention to make a life in New York, to her Brahmin grandfather - a brilliant engineer with an irrepressible sweet tooth - to the man seemingly wrong for her in every way who proved to be her truest ally. A memoir rich with sensual prose and punctuated with evocative recipes, it is alive with the scents, tastes, and textures of a life that spans complex geographies both internal and external.

Love, Loss, and What We Ate is an intimate and unexpected story of food and family - both the ones we are born to and the ones we create - and their enduring legacies.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 Padma Lakshmi (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"The host of 'Top Chef' narrates her memoir as if she's telling her story to a trusted friend. She sounds expressive and vulnerable--revealing mistakes with a tone of regret, letting her love shine through the voices she creates for beloved family members, and enthusing about her passion for food, fashion, and travel." ( AudioFile)

An Unexpected Treasure!

This was such a lovely and unexpectedly warm, and grace - filled book. I'd always sensed there was more to Padma Lakshmi than a beautiful face, and a knack for food.

Beautiful Voice & Story

Love the recipes described by the Author at the end of the book! A wonderfully described cultural narrative.

Top Chef of a story

I'm glad the author narrtorated the book. I'm also glad she decided to share her story. Especially wanting to just date. And her daughter is such a miracle.

Great food memoir

Padma is surprisingly open about some of her most vulnerable moments, including divorce, her endometriosis, and ugly custody battle. But her discretions of food, especially her favorite Indian foods, are really what make this book great. Beautifully written, a great book for anyone who loves Top Chef or food.

Not what I expected

I was immediately surprised at the exceptional narration. Expressive and believable. Padma’s impressions of her mother, other family members, and of her partner Teddy made me smile. She really could have yet another career in narration. I've watched all the episodes of Top Chef--some several times--and knew that she had much knowledge about cooking. She has several nice cookbooks and this book confirms her expertise. I'm not a great fan of Indian food, but Padma’s descriptions of her family’s kitchen and the loving way they prepared the complex dishes compels me to make a list and go to our top-rated Indian restaurant and see if they have them.

Padma’s descriptions of her agonizing endometriosis is wrenching and now I want to re-watch the seasons of Top Chef to try and figure out what was going on in her life at the time certain episodes were filmed. She sure soldiered through them. My only concern with this story is her insecurities. Rushdie seems to be an arrogant misogynist and no matter his intellect, talent, and fame, I cannot fathom her attraction to him. He berated her for claiming to be in pain and he never was happy for her successes. Teddy came across as a lovely, honest, and very older man. Dell is portrayed as a petulant child. Her dalliance with more than one man at a time was unfortunate, yet understandable considering her life events. It’s too bad she got criticized for that. Some call her selfish and calculating. I did not see that in her. Men get away with that every day. (Maybe this is why she wrote the book?) On the other hand, she does admit in the book that she has Daddy Issues, so there you go. It seems weird to me that she does not seem to know what she actually looks like. Who even notices the scar?

A few reviewers were bored with her tales of baby Krishna but I liked hearing what she was fed and why. Her love for her family shines through this entire book. What is lacking: I wanted more information about Top Chef. Still, this is an entertaining and educational listen and is great inspiration to make pickles.

Much more than you imagine it will be!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I might even insist my friends read it! This story is not even similar to any story that has been told before.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The author has the most generous heart,in making all of the other characters come to life and seem magical, without ever drawing your attention on her, after the first two chapters. In an odd way, the entire story at the end, seems not be about her at all, but about all of the others that crossed her path. The fact that she was able to take in so much about the people, the environments, the particles of humanity, inhumanity, systems, traditions, rituals symbols and cultures makes is remarkable. It is as if she was constantly doing the math and coming to the sum total and putting it all neatly in a column for review. To pass on, to you. Difficult not to think of them all as favorite characters.

What about Padma Lakshmi’s performance did you like?

There is a sincerity in her voice that is so full of truth, and an even sanity in her telling, without her own attitudes entwined in the telling, you forget you are reading (in this case, listening). She does not stand in between you and story with her own emotion. It is a very clear narration wherein you forget she is there because she is not imposing on you. If that makes any sense at all. She leaves you to have your experience with the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, became very disturbed when I had to recharge my ipod.

Any additional comments?

The book got off very slow for me right in the beginning. Sounded perhaps like a magazine article for the first few minutes. Once it went beyond her describing her physical illness, this book just took off like a Rudyard Kipling novel! As if she found her voice, that fast, boom! The stories of her youth in India, the way she brings you into the space of the people she describes, you can see them, smell them and yes, even feel them. By chapter five I was well, kind of shocked! As a constant cooking student, I watched many episodes of top chef while peeling potatoes and preparing meals. Her book, her story and her life are so much bigger than that show. I have never so wrongly underestimated someone in my life.

Honest, Brave, and Inspiring Story

What did you like best about this story?

Her honesty about her struggles was very refreshing. It didn't feel like it was run through seven PR agents trying to put the best spin on her life story.

She can paint quite the picture with words. I could almost smell the cooking and was transported along with her in her travels.

Any additional comments?

As much as I would have loved an insider's view into the inner workings of Top Chef, I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this book with minimal references to the show. It's there, but it's almost a background character.

I could feel myself relating to her and when the book was done I missed our time together.

Not in my wheelhouse but I liked it

What did you love best about Love, Loss, and What We Ate?

Parts yes, parts...could have skipped

Would you be willing to try another book from Padma Lakshmi? Why or why not?

Yes. I like her, I find her authentic - which is the only reason I got the book. It is not the type of book I typically like, but I appreciate her authenticity and story telling

What does Padma Lakshmi bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her inflections were effective. Some authors over emphasize their own work - she was real good

Any additional comments?

To be fair, this is not a book I typically get, but I respect her and figure I’d give it a try. She does a great job. The only thing I would change is the order - not sure why she started with her marriage to Salman.

Raw Honesty

I’ve always admired Padma peripherally. Then I listened to her book. She can’t make up these stories. You get the sense you’re in the room with her. You feel her physical pain and her intense emotional hurts. Her ability to describe Indian spices left me hungering for more. Now I follow her and can’t get enough of her continued experiences.

She Knows Herself!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. And I will.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Love, Loss, and What We Ate?

The birth of her daughter.

Have you listened to any of Padma Lakshmi’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. Never actually heard of her before Top Chef but knowing who she was married to made me want to know more about her.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Baring my soul.

Any additional comments?

This 'book' was like listening to the confessions of a close friend. It was amazingly interesting and honest. She is also an exceptional reader!