'Top Chef' host Padma Lakshmi working on picture book

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2019 file photo, Padma Lakshmi arrives at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. The Top Chef host and best-selling author is working on her first picture book, Tomatoes for Neela. Viking Childrens Books announced Tuesday that the book is scheduled for fall 2021. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) (Jordan Strauss)

NEW YORK ā€“ Padma Lakshmi's next book is designed for the children's table.

The ā€œTop Chefā€ host and best-selling author is working on her first picture book, ā€œTomatoes for Neela.ā€ Viking Children's Books announced Tuesday that the book is scheduled for fall 2021. According to the publisher, ā€œTomatoes for Neelaā€ is an intergenerational story about a little girl who likes to cook and helps prepare her family's savory tomato sauce.

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ā€œCooking and the passing down of food knowledge is one of the most enriching ways I bonded with the women in my family,ā€ said Lakshmi said in a statement. "And itā€™s how I bond today with my daughter, passing down skills and advice that I hope will give her a lifetime of healthy eating long after I am gone.ā€

The book is a collaboration with prize-winning illustrator Juana Martinez-Neal, and will include a recipe by Lakshmi, whose previous works include ā€œEasy Exoticā€ and ā€œLove, Loss and What We Ate.ā€


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