Sharing her journey from celebrity chef to first children’s book author, Padma Lakshmi sat down with Viking Children’s Books Editorial Director Tamar Brazis to discuss the upcoming release of her first picture book, Tomatoes for Neela (August 31). Their conversation took place Thursday, May 27 from 12:30 p.m. – 1 p.m. ET during the US Book Show, presented by Publishers Weekly.
The idea for Lakshmi’s book came to fruition when, much to her regret, Lakshmi’s young daughter asked for fresh pomegranates in July. “I was horrified; it’s high summer and we don’t eat them until it’s cold,” she says, laughing. Realizing that many children don’t understand the origin of what they eat, she decided to put pen to paper.
“I wanted to create a story that teaches my daughter about respecting the seasons, knowing when different things grow and also where our food comes from,” she told Brazis. Growing up in the United States and India (where she spent her childhood summers), Lakshmi saw this book as an opportunity to take her weekly jaunts to the local farmers’ market and create a story that celebrates her Indian heritage, her family and their sharing. love of food.
Plant the seeds
For as long as Lakshmi can remember, she kept a personal library of fabric-covered notebooks containing recipes she created with her mother and grandmother in their respective kitchens. “There was a big difference in their cooking styles and I wanted to make sure I recorded them,” she said. “I added recipes every time we cooked, so we wouldn’t forget the nuances of what we created and why we loved it.” When her daughter decided to turn the journal she was given into her own cookbook, Lakshmi realized she could start a tradition that would bridge the generation gap. “For our loved ones who couldn’t be there, it brought a pantheon into the kitchen,” she added.
In Tomatoes for Neela, the story revolves around the relationship between mother and daughter going to the market and their emotional connection with the girl’s grandmother who lives in India. Lakshmi’s own grandparents played an influential role in her writing: her grandfather for instilling in her a love of books and her grandmother as a no-nonsense cook who created memorable meals for a large family over a two-burner stove. Tomatoes also play a prominent role in this book, not only as a ubiquitous ingredient in Indian cuisine, but also because of their place in Lakshmi’s cultural (and culinary) assimilation; she loves adding a slice of glazed steak tomato to her BLT. In her book, Lakshmi shares easy-to-prepare meals with young readers, including recipes for tomato sauce and tomato chutney.
Also included are fun facts about tomatoes and a tribute to the farmers who harvest this beloved vegetable, an idea suggested by the book’s illustrator, Juana Martinez-Neal. Lakshmi recognizes the gap between the tomato on the table and the hands that picked it. “This book is an attempt to shorten that distance. These people deserve to be well paid and have safe conditions,” she said.
Although Lakshmi has already established a presence in the cookbook space, she is excited to enter the children’s book market. A lifelong reader, she remembers NM Bodecker’s book of absurd poetry, Let’s get married, said the cherry, whose title poem she knows by heart. “The books I have the most connection with are children’s books. If you can influence the growth of a child in this way, your work will really mean something,” she enthuses.
After enjoying the entire process of viewing her first book for young readers, Lakshmi hopes that Tomatoes for Neela will not be his last. Her fervent hope is that this book not only helps children become more interested in their food and where it comes from, but that they eventually develop healthy minds and bodies. “If a child grows up to be a person interested in what they eat, you will give them an appreciation for their own food that will replace your presence in their life,” she said.
