Padma Lakshmi Reveals the Problem With Eating in Restaurants as Host of Top Chef

When Padma Lakshmi appeared as a guest on The Daily Show, she revealed some juicy behind-the-scenes bits about life when you're — you know, no big deal — the actual host of Bravo's Top Chef. For instance, she finds her tummy feeling rather "murky" after consuming so very many tasty foods during filming. And for another thing, going to a restaurant comes with its particular challenges.

Trevor Noah speculated that everyone in a restaurant must freak out as soon as they see Padma walk through the door — snapping to panicked attention as if it's some sort of test. "Do you feel that?" he asked.

While she said she doesn't feel it, she admitted that, of course, "I get treated very well as you would expect in restaurants. Usually they know I'm coming. I'm not judging them — I’m in their restaurant," she said.

"What is hard — and I know it’s a high-class problem — is that they send a lot of things from the kitchen that I didn’t order... which is really nice except that now I feel I have to eat it because I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings and I really did want to eat light especially if I did just come off of Top Chef."

Noah joked that Padma should go into host mode, just to throw everyone into a tizzy for her own amusement. 

While Padma wouldn't actually do that, she was pleased to go along with the joke just for fun, teasing that she might say snidely, "The plating doesn’t warrant a taste."

Watch Padma Lakshmi on The Daily Show. And catch the finale of Bravo's Top Chef Thursday 9/8c!