Photo by Tiffany Walling McGarity & John McGarity

The ‘Top Chef’ TV goddess dishes on single motherhood, the rumor mill and her never-fail diet

By Nandini D’Souza Wolfe

Padma Lakshmi has had quite a year. The model, mother and Top Chef host has been traveling non-stop, and only just returned to her East Village apartment from the Emmys in Los Angeles, where her hit show was nominated for three awards. Lakshmi won raves for her strapless tangerine fit-and-flare Monique Lhuillier gown. She looked like a 
goddess, and playful pics emerged of Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson peeking out from underneath her voluminous hem in the 
green room.
Anyone looking at her understated makeup and hair (to balance the gown’s vibrant hue), would think it was red-carpet business as usual for this model-turned-author/actress/reality star. But in reality, Lakshmi was sweating it a little bit. She had just wrapped filming for Top Chef ’s 10th season in Seattle and was carrying an extra 10 pounds. She hadn’t had time to start her traditional post-season diet yet.

Such weight gain is almost de rigueur now, nine seasons into her Top Chef hosting duties. Not that she’s complaining. The Bravo hit, which started its new season Nov. 7, has been a natural way to bridge her 
modeling and acting background with her love of food. Born in Madras, India, and then raised 
between New York and India when her parents divorced, Lakshmi was discovered as a model when she was 18. She soon became one of Helmut Newton’s favorite subjects—he often trained his lens on the long scar on her arm, the result of a car accident when she was younger. She starred in a few movies and television shows before penning two cookbooks, Easy Exotic and Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet. But it was when she brought together her beauty, brains and tastebuds on Top Chef that she really became a favorite outside the fashion set.

She quickly reeled in viewers who loved the idea of watching a bona fide model chowing down on fried bits and pieces—on camera, no less. She nabbed contestants, celebs and normally crotchety chefs because, as Andy Cohen put it, “She’s great to look at, fun to listen to and natural on camera.” 
Cohen, Bravo’s executive vice president of development and talent, Top Chef producer and host of Watch What Happens: Live, has a playful rapport with Lakshmi. During his post-season wrap-up with the entire season’s cast, he inevitably pulls out chef contestants swooning over Lakshmi. “There was a breakfast-in-bed challenge, and a lot of guys were going nuts,” he recalls. “The male chefs sometimes have dreams about her. Who can blame them?”

And women love her just as much. Regular Top Chef judge and author Gail Simmons remembers noticing Lakshmi before they had even met, when she was working for Jeffrey Steingarten at Vogue and someone had sent them a copy of Lakshmi’s Easy Exotic. “I remember thinking how great it was to see a beautiful woman who loved to cook,” says Simmons. When Simmons began hosting her own show, Just Desserts, she looked to Lakshmi for advice. “She was the first person I went to with questions and insecurities about how I would do.”

Lest anyone question her culinary chops, Eric Ripert, the Michelin star-winning chef behind Le Bernadin, is quick to note that she has a very refined palate and deep knowledge of food.
The show has also been a constant in her life of late. At 42, Lakshmi seems to finally be settling peacefully into her role as mother, entrepreneur, author and TV goddess. But it’s been a bit of rough ride getting here, one that has played out painfully in the gossip columns, starting with her 2004 marriage to, and 2007 divorce from, author Salman Rushdie. Next came news of her pregnancy with daughter Krishna, now 2 and a half, a custody battle with Krishna’s biological father, Adam Dell, and a relationship with Teddy Forstmann, the billionaire philanthropist and CEO of IMG who was 30 years Lakshmi’s senior and who passed away in November 2011.

Lakshmi is open and honest about her four-year on-off relationship with Forstmann and the impact he had on her life. “I don’t really feel like I’m single right now. I feel like the person I’m with is dead. 
I miss him every day,” she says.

“The most valuable part of Teddy was his enormous heart. The more people gossiped 
publicly about me, the tighter he held my hand,” Lakshmi explains. “Not only privately, but publicly. He understood me in all my flaws and subtleties. His presence in my life was resolute, consistent, 
unwavering and loving. And that’s what a real man is. I have no problem saying, with great humility, 
that Teddy was the man in my life who possessed the greatest emotional wisdom. He had more manhood in his pinky fingernail than most men.”

Forstmann, who already had two grown sons he had adopted, treated and loved Krishna as his own, says Lakshmi, which counts for more than anything else.

It is motherhood that has brought her the greatest joy. Her daughter is remarkably eloquent for a toddler. But then again, she can already understand a second language, Tamil, Lakshmi’s mother tongue. Krishna has a near-perfect golden tan and dark blond hair. It’s a pixie cut that has grown out from when Lakshmi shaved her daughter’s hair as part of a traditional Hindu ceremony where one symbolically cuts off unwanted traits from past lives and starts fresh in this life.

“Krishna was very proud of her shaved head. I prepared her for it,” recalls Lakshmi. “Her grandfather and uncle shaved their heads in solidarity, and at the time, whenever she watched her favorite video of Alicia Keys and Jay-Z [singing “Empire State of Mind”], she’d say, ‘Mom, look! Jay-Z shaved his head in solidarity.’”

Lakshmi admits that the best part about motherhood has been what great company her daughter is. “It’s a pleasure being with her rather than out doing all the things I was doing before, not because I should or because it’s my duty but because Krishna’s the funnest game in town.”

She’d have more children if she could, but given her single status and the problems she has had 
with endometriosis, it’s unlikely. Medically, she wasn’t supposed to have Krishna. “I found out I couldn’t have kids when I went to freeze my eggs at 30,” she says. “I’d already had five surgeries [for endometriosis] and the doctor said, ‘Miss Lakshmi, I have some bad news—your ovaries are 
actually older than you are.” But against the odds, Krishna was conceived and born. To wit, Lakshmi says, “I’m not going to tempt fate. I have a healthy, vibrant daughter, and I’m thankful.”

With a toddler around, holidays are big in the Lakshmi household. “We take the staunch position that every holiday is worth celebrating to the fullest of our capabilities, and we are not prejudiced about that at all.” And there’s a lot to cover, starting with daily prayers and celebrating Hindu holidays like Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights in early November. Then there are the Jewish holidays with Krishna’s father’s side of the family. “And finally Christmas. We started getting a tree with Poppy,” Krishna’s name for Forstmann. It’s Krishna’s job to put the bronze angel on the top of the tree.

Today, Lakshmi is waiting for her daughter to return from preschool for lunch. Lakshmi’s own favorites are comfort foods she ate as a child, like a tamarind soup and certain curries that are tied 
to her roots in Madras. But New York City is home, too, where her mother worked as a nurse at 
Sloan-Kettering. She spent much of her childhood on the Upper East Side and attended P.S. 158. 
“I grew up in Carl Schurz Park. I had my first kiss behind Gracie Mansion.” She has distinct culinary touchpoints that only a true New Yorker could have: sugarcane and tamarind from the shops in 
Spanish Harlem; exotic vegetables from Chinatown; lasagna night on Sundays at Elio’s.

At home, there’s no bacon ice cream or corn foam in sight. Just hot tea with milk. “I’m not doing carb-free,” she says. “And it’s just for one month. It’s a poem so I remember it: No meat, no wheat. No fried food or cheese. No alcohol, no sweets.” She freely admits that the hardest part will be skipping fried food. “I love salty, crispy things.”

This story first appeared in the November issue of AVENUE Magazine with photos by Tiffany Walling McGarity and John McGarity.

Seared Tuna with Pickled Watermelon and Spring Onion

16 Hors D’oeuvres 

INGREDIENTS

For the Pickled Watermelon, Mustard Seeds, and Peppers

Pickling Liquid, divided:

-2 cups water

-1 cup apple cider vinegar

-1/3 cup mirin

-1/3 cup sugar

-4  teaspoons salt

1 baby seedless watermelon, cut into 1 inch cubes

½ cup mustard seeds

2 serrano peppers, very thinly sliced

For the Spring Onion Puree

1 bunch of spring onions

Olive oil

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons butter

For the Tuna

6 oz bigeye tuna steak

½ teaspoon fennel pollen

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Grapeseed oil

To Finish

Coarse sea salt

Cilantro leaves

For the Pickles:

1. Heat the pickling liquid in a stockpot until it comes to a boil. Cool pickling liquid until

room temperature.

2. Combine ½ cup of mustard seeds and 1 cup of the pickling liquid in a small stockpot.

Simmer over low heat until the mustard seeds are tender and the liquid is mostly

absorbed. Set aside to cool and refrigerate.

3. In a small ramekin, place the sliced Serrano peppers and add pickling liquid to just cover.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

4. Take cubed watermelon and place in a shallow dish. Pour the remainder of the pickling

liquid over the watermelon. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.

For the Spring Onions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, trim the roots from your onions and rinse thoroughly. Separate the greens

from the white bulbs. Chop the green portion into ½ inch pieces. Blanch the greens in

boiling water for approximately 1 minute and shock in an ice bath. Remove greens once

cooled and dry off with a kitchen towel. Process in the blender with olive oil until

smooth, strain through a fine mesh strainer, discarding what does not pass through.

Season to taste with salt and set aside.

3. Thinly slice the white portion of the spring onions. In a medium pan over medium heat,

melt the butter. Add the onions and sauté until very tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Process in the blender until smooth, season with salt, and set aside. If the mixture is dry,

slowly drizzle in olive oil until smooth.

For the Tuna:

1. Slice the tuna steak into 1-inch wide strips. Mix together the fennel pollen, ginger, salt &

pepper. Coat all four sides of the tuna steak with mixture and set aside.

2. Heat a large pan on high heat. When hot, coat the bottom of the pan with grapeseed oil.

Sear all four sides of your tuna strips fairly quickly, for about 10 seconds per side.

Immediately remove from the heat and refrigerate.

3. When cool, slice crosswise into at least 16 pieces. The width of the tuna and

watermelon should be approximately the same size. Set aside.

To Finish & Assemble:

1. On your serving dish, place 16 cubes of pickled watermelon. Place a small dollop of the

white spring onion puree on top of the watermelon. Gently place one slice of tuna.

Spoon on some of green spring onion puree. Top with a bit of the pickled mustard

seeds, one slice of Serrano pepper, and one cilantro leaf. Repeat with remaining

watermelon and tuna. Finish with coarse sea salt and serve immediately.

January Jones

Jones has been passionate about sea life and sharks ever since she was a little girl. Now, with her career skyrocketing, she has reached out to give back. “I contacted Oceana and found they didn’t have a shark spokesperson, and it seemed like a great fit. We’ve been able to, in a few short years, accomplish a lot of great things,” she explained.

To read the full piece at AVENUE Insider click here.

BOMB’s editor Betsy Sussler gave her opening remarks before welcoming Patti Smith to the stage in a suit and tie to hand out the evenings first award, a pink bomb, to MoMa’s Chief Curator at Large, Klaus Biesenbach.   “If you are applauding my glasses, they are from Germany,” she began with a nod to his heritage, before kidding “I actually thought Chief Curator at Large was a private joke but it seems that it actually is something. Not sure what ‘at large’ means but knowing Klaus, it must be somewhat mysterious.”

Biesenbach took the stage keeping Smith near him. “I am superstitious you should never write down a speech,” he said clutching her arm and giving thanks around the room.

To read the full article at AVENUE Insider click here.

It was just the first of many such extravagant gowns meant to catch the eye of the night’s honoree, New York Times lensman Bill Cunningham who was being honored by Carnegie Hall with the Medal of Excellence. “First off, I’m not fond of photographing parties where women borrow dresses,” he would later state when accepting his award. “I’ve been to parties where women spend their own money and wear their own dresses. The other doesn’t tell me anything. “

Looking around the room it was clear that ensembles had been carefully chosen and purchased. AnnaWintour turned out wearing a white fur stole, Linda Fargo was perfection in a red column dress, Chiu-Ti Jansen wowed in a gingham number, Mercedes Bass looked heavenly in white feathers and Alexandra Lebethal was decked in a blue Douglas Hannant, throwing the long chiffon tail cheerily over her shoulder when walking.

“With Bill you can wear something twice. I wore it last year but he loved it so I thought it was the perfect thing when they said come dressed for Bill,” Alexandra confided to AVENUE, her sister Claudia joining her to add how much of a friend and family member Bill has become over the years. “Behind this legend there’s actually an amazing person.”

Gayle King, who was wearing Oscar de la Renta and seated at the designer’s table, also had kind words for Bill, calling him a legend and marveling at the way he continued to photograph the crowd even when being photographed himself. “There he is,” she pointed, but it was just a life-sized cardboard cutout of the fashion chronicler.  For any others, and there were surely many who made the same mistake from far across the room, the real Bill had replaced his signature blue jacket with a tux and bow tie for the evening.

His outfit wasn’t the only thing different. Taking the stage to accept his award following an introduction by Annette de la Renta, the normally quiet photographer spoke for almost 20 minutes, visibly tearing up three times.  He thanked those in the room for their charity work, lauded the kindness of Brooke Astor who gave “not only her money but also her time” to philanthropy, regaled in stories like the time Citigroup’s former CEO Sandy Weill had gravy spilled on him by a waiter and noted how while he used to photograph women going to lunch, he now runs outside early to catch them heading to work.

“A lot of people think [New York] was much better years ago. Well, I was around then, and it’s much better now. You go down Broadway, and it’s turned into a garden. You go to Union Square, and you see Wisteria trees. I mean, c’mon: The city in its golden period.”

To read the full piece at AVENUE Insider click here.

Last year the handsome Matthew Modine graced our runway and he was back again this year, ready to model the very latest in Velo couture. Strutting alongside him will be former Critical Shopper Mike Albo, showing off glamorous bicycles, bags, jeans and coats perfect for the New Yorker who wants to ride in style. Perennial fashion-plate Hamish Bowles has even donated a custom made vest and knickers set designed by B Spoke Tailor.

Former Critical Shopper, Mike Albo will be showing off the latest in Velo couture as a guest model and everyone’s favorite fashion purveyor Hamish Bowles has donated a custom made vest and knickers made by B. Spoke Tailors. Other exciting items that will be making their way down the catwalk include The Brooks of England Criterion Jacket, which retails for $1,500 and items from the ultra-chic Beta Brand, perfect for biking to work while still looking fresh and stylish.

The show was co-produced by Hudson Urban Bicycles and Momentum Magazine. While the festivities might have ended you can always learn more about the 2012 New Amsterdam Bicycle Show by visiting their website newambikeshow.com.

At What Address Would You Like to Live?
Maybe right on Gramercy Park, with a key to the park so I could stand inside and look at passersby through the fence and say “Mwah ha haaa! You can’t come in here!”

When Did You First Feel Like a New Yorker? What Happened?
I guess when I figured out the subway system—so after about eight years.

What Is Your Favorite Watering Hole for Lunch? For Dinner?
I like Good in the West Village for brunch. (Does this mean I get free lemon ricotta pancakes next time I go in there?)
For dinner, I always love going to Supper in the East Village. Love the vibe in that place, as well as the food.

What Part of the New York Lifestyle Can’t You Live Without?
That it’s open all night and that you know if you wanted to order food at two in the morning, you could.

What Is Your Most Memorable New York Moment?
Walking out of my apartment door and seeing a completely naked homeless man getting ready for his day in the driveway next door. Oh, is this is supposed to be a good memorable moment? Umm—my debut on SNL?

What Is Your Favorite New York Sound?
When the Jets and the Sharks get into a street fight and they sing it out.

What Was Your Worst-Dressed New York Moment?
Recently, I wore a red T-shirt and red hooded sweatshirt into the Duane Reade, and a woman in the aisle immediately asked if I worked there. That was probably a fashion low.

What Is Your Favorite Way to Get Around New York, and Why?
Walking, because you don’t have to deal with traffic jams and subway delays and you can strut down the street and sing “Stayin’ Alive” to yourself in your head as your own soundtrack. “Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk I’m a woman’s man, no time to talk….”

What’s Your Favorite Transportation Moment in the City?
That time I got to that place in a cab without having an anxiety attack.

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
Honestly, I’d want to be a therapist, and I think New York City is probably the therapy capital of the world…

This article originally appeared in the April 2012 edition of Avenue, avenueinsider.com.

By Mara Siegler, for AVENUE Magazine

Actress Greta Gerwig got her start in the mid aughts as the sweetheart of the awkwardly dubbed ‘Mumblecore’ movement, a low-budget film genre marked by stripped-down realism, trailing sentences, and a do-it-yourself ethos. Slowly evolving into more mainstream fare, the 28-year-old has impressed even the toughest critics with The New York Times speculating she “may well be the definitive screen actress of her generation.” It’s a grand statement, but with upcoming roles in films by upper crust chronicler Whit Stillman and New York’s hometown auteur Woody Allen, she seems poised to prove it true.

Working with such quintessential New York directors seems a perfect match for Gerwig. The sandy blond Sacramento, California transplant came east to study English and philosophy at Barnard, graduated in 2006 and decided to call the city her home. “New York gave me my direction and purpose,” she gushes. “This city lit me on fire! My dad spent some time working in New York when I was a child and on one of my trips to visit him I saw 42nd Street on Broadway. That was it for me. Nothing else would compare. Acting and New York were tops.”

Being the type of woman that can say “tops” with no trace of irony is part of what makes Gerwig so endearing. Whether she is sitting in a bathtub with a friend wearing goofy goggles in the relatively obscure cult film Hannah Takes the Stairs, receiving the most uncomfortable oral sex ever filmed from Ben Stiller in Greenberg, or playing across Russell Brand as the quirky girl with an unabashed love for Grand Central in the big studio remake of Arthur, she exudes a sort of nuanced innocence and authenticity. She has brushed off the ‘It Girl’ label confessing, “I don’t even really know what that means,” and remains nonplussed about the recent attention she’s getting for her upcoming roles and new leading lady status. “I feel pretty good in general,” she says.

This month, Gerwig takes the lead and shows off her comedic and tap dancing skills in director Whit Stillman’s  Damsels in a Distress, his first film in 13 years. Known for focusing on the “urban haute bourgeoisie” with Metropolitan (1990), Barcelona (1994), and The Last Days of Disco (1998), his new movie focuses on a group of preppie women promoting hygiene and dancing at a suicide prevention center as they desperately try and cope with the male population at their cloistered college.

Later in the year she will follow in the footsteps of Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow and Scarlett Johansson and many other beauties in the role as Woody Allen’s muse in Nero Fiddled, playing alongside Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Alec Baldwin and Penelope Cruz. Fresh off Allen’s Oscar-winning and box office success, Midnight in Paris, the film was shot in Rome and is set for theaters this June.

The roles are a perfect fit for Gerwig. “In a way, New York City is the reason I wanted to be an actress. I was in love with the city through films —Woody Allen especially,” she exclaims. “I adore them both [Allen and Stillman]. I want more. If I could, I’d spent a few years making films only with them—perhaps alternating.”

It is sure to be a whirlwind year for the rising star who is already signed on for the 2013 HBO adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, but we are convinced she won’t let fame get to her head. When asked what she loves in the city, she told us unaffectedly, the subway. “Especially where all the subways converge at Times Square. There is an area where everyone is running from the NRQ to the 123 to the Shuttle – it is my favorite. It makes me feel alive and calm and part of something just by living here.”

Reynolds is a long-time ambassador for BOSS. In his witty conversation with Barney’s Simon Doonan, he discussed his workout regime, which is typically three hours per day. He also confided to AVENUEinsider that, growing up, he used to borrow colognes from his older brothers, but he was never sure how successfully the scents fared with the girls. Well, he need not worry about that anymore. Among the friends and editors who toasted Reynolds and the final fragrance in the BOSS BOTTLED. trilogy were Whitney Spaner, Peter Davis, Flo Fulton, Joseph DeAcetis, Korin DeAcetis, Aja Silvas, Jim Shi, and Wael Davis.

– Melissa Berkelhammer

Photo by Aram Bedrossian

Leandra Medine, the 23-year-old behind the fashion world’s most influential blog, gives the scoop on her engagement, wedding dress, upcoming book and all things fashion

By Carson Griffith

For maybe the first time in her career,
Leandra Medine is showing signs of opening up. The 23-year-old blogger, known to readers of her site as “The Man Repeller,” has followed a strict mantra of being “personable over
personal” that has made her irresistible, if not entirely accessible, to her fans.
But with a recent engagement and an upcoming wedding at the St. Regis, she’s slowly coming out of her Thakoon cocoon.
Over a latté at The Smile in Noho on the Friday before Fashion Week, Medine almost looks like she’s wearing a disguise. Having made her living for over the past two years on the promotion of fashion-forward, often wacky attire, it’s slightly disappointing to find the native New Yorker in an oversized sweater and scarf. But a large, sparkly engagement ring and an “arm party” of bracelets—a term Medine herself has coined—make up for the lack of a tufted skirt with multiple layers or high-waisted shorts.
The Upper East Sider has made time for me in her morning between a flurry of meetings that include styling a Lila Horn show for Fashion Week and working on her popular blog, which garners 2 million hits a month and helped her top Adweek’s “Fashion’s Power 25 list” last September, beating out Lady Gaga, Anna Wintour, Michelle Obama and Kate Middleton.
“I’ve RSVPed to, like, 50 shows,” she admitted, when I asked her for her Fashion Week schedule. Among them are Calvin Klein and Derek Lam, both coveted first-year invites for the blogger, but she did not attend the show of one of her favorite young designers, Alexander Wang. Strangely enough for Medine, she missed the hot ticket taking place Saturday, Feb. 11 to attend her own engagement party.
Donning a short white Marchesa dress at 583 Park, Medine’s friends and family came to celebrate her engagement to her long-term, on-and-off boyfriend, whom she keeps anonymous on her blog and won’t name here. When I asked what he does for a living, she said, “We’re fulfilling all the New York stereotypes, which means . . .” she trailed off. “Finance,” I said.
But getting back to fashion, the open-faced, long-legged brunette will not be slipping into a dress designed by Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig for her nuptials. While her millions of readers and 60,000 Twitter followers have waited with bated breath to hear who will be designing her wedding dress, it sounds as if she’s narrowed it down to one hot designer, one she also considers a friend: Prabal Gurung.

This story first appeared in the March issue of AVENUE. For the rest of the story, visit avenueinsider.com.