Madeline
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Before we get into Taste The Nation, first thing is first, I loooooove Padma Lakshmi. I just love her. She is beautiful and so smart but feels so real. I feel like if I met her in person, we would be friends. When I grow up, I want to be Padma. I first fell in love with her on Top Chef. So when her face showed up on Hulu for her new show, Taste of the Nation. I said, yes, please!
Premise of Taste The Nation
The idea of this series is to express and show how the United States does not really have a culinary dish or dishes and instead, like the population, it is a melting pot for culinary treats. It shows immigrants and immigrant communities who have shaped the food of America. And as an immigrant herself, Padma talks to various communities about their food, the people who brought it there, and how it has formed into what it is being in the United States. And she gets a taste of the nation by visiting various pockets of the United States and the migrant people who live there who shape the culinary scene.
The San Francisco Episode
The episode in this series I felt the closest to was Chinese food, specifically chop suey, in San Francisco. I’m a Jewish girl from Northern California, not a Chinese immigrant, so why do I relate to this? Well, besides Americanized Chinese food being one of my favorite things on earth, I live in the San Francisco bay area and I study the Chinese language. In learning the language, I’ve started picking up the culture as well. I also seek out great Chinese restaurants in the bay area and there are a lot of them.
A lot of this episode was about how versatile Chinese food in China is. And it is not really anything close to what Americans think of as Chinese food. The title of the episode is “What is Chop Suey anyways?” where much of the discussion is about how Chinese food from China turned into the American Chinese food we think of today. Having been to China, I can vouch that the food in that country is nothing like what us Americans think of Chinese food.
Final Thoughts
Love Padma. Love Food. Love this show. I need more amazing food shows, preferably with Padma, in my life! I am waiting for this show to renew for a second season and give me more of that Padma talking about food love. I just love everything this show provides.
