taste the nation

 

i'd been a fan of taste the nation from the first season, so pleasantly surprised a second season dropped as season 20 of top chef concluded AND padma announced it'd be her last season as host. i love that the bay is featured again in episode 5 for daly city's filipino community. i can't help but feel that padma has filled an empty space that anthony bourdain left that tugs at the deep humanity of the people and places behind food traditions. the lens of immigrants in our complex nation is personal to padma.  it comes through.  she's deeply empathic with the folks she meets. she's mentioned that she'd like to go outside of the states to explore other communities internationally, but i'm hoping it stays stateside for a while.