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The Daily Dish Top Chef

Padma Lakshmi Just Revealed Her "Arch-Nemesis of the Food World"

TheBravo's Top Chef judge came clean with her followers while in Macau.

By Jenny Berg
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The cutthroat food world is a hotbed for rivalries. And sometimes, those feuds don't even have to do with the Keto diet. In fact, even Padma Lakshmi has an "arch-nemesis in the food world," and now she's coming clean about her great adversary.

How to Watch

Watch the Top Chef Season 21 premiere on Wednesday, March 20 at 9/8c on Bravo and next day on Peacock.

The Bravo's Top Chef judge spilled the tea in an Instagram Story that she filmed on location in Macau. "We're about to have a quick-fire with my arch-nemesis of the food world, which is called durian," Padma shared.

By the way, we'll save you the Google search: Durian is a Southeast Asian fruit that's been called "the world's smelliest." In fact, The New York Times reports that the fruit has such a pungent odor, it's been banned from public transport in some areas.  So let's just say Padma is not alone in her aversion. 

The judge continued, "When I was growing up, I hated durian. I didn't even get to hate the taste because I was so repelled by the smell. And in South India where the heat is just ... boiling ... and the humidity's even worse, we'd always have these little fruit carts and they cut the durian in half and there are like flies and it's just so pungent. It smells like vanilla and stinky feet."

Honestly, it doesn't sound tempting. For more scoop about what went down in Macau, be sure to tune into new episodes of Top Chef on Thursdays at 8/7 c. And in the meantime, you can also catch a glimpse of the city — and its egg tarts — in the clip below. 

The Top Three Chefs Enjoy Their Last Night in Macau
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