Padma and Gail Hold (Food) Court

Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi and Gail Simmons stepped onstage Tuesday night to serve up stories of "food adventures of epic proportions" to a sold out crowd at New York's Cooper Union.

Padma flaunted her host skills at the event, which was curated by The Moth, "an organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling." Padma and Gail told their gastronomic tales alongside star chef David Chang of the Momofuku empire, New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik, and beloved comic Lisa Lampanelli, soon to star in her own Broadway solo show "Bring Back the Fat Chick."

According to HuffPo, Gail "eloquently divulged that she used to have food OCD," and recounted an obsession with planning a specific meal while traveling in Vietnam.

Serving as the event's host, Padma introduced speakers and helped drum donations for The Moth -- so long, apparently, that one audience member offered The Moth $1,000 if she would leave the stage – and she took him up on it! Maybe the organizers will use some of that cash to pick up a few copies of Gail's upcoming memoir, "Talking with My Mouth Full," to be published by Hyperion in early 2012.

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