RUN ALL WEEKEND LONG, TULIP TIME RUNS FROM TOMORROW THROUGH MAY 14TH. SHE’S AN AWARD WINNING
COOKBOOK AUTHOR AND BE NOMINATED
PRODUCER WHO IS READY TO ONCE
AGAIN. TAKE US ALL ON A CULINARY
JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA,
EXPLORING DIVERSE COMMUNITIES
AND HOW THEY HAVE SHAPED WHAT
AMERICAN FOOD IS. TODAY HERE’S A
LOOK. IT TASTES THE NATION WITH
PARA MAHALAKSHMI. LOOK AT THAT
GOODNESS. IT’S ALL ABOUT
TEXTURE. JOINING US NOW IS PART
MAHALAKSHMI. GOOD MORNING AND
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.
GOOD MORNING. I’M EXCITED TO BE
WITH YOU GUYS ARE EXCITED TO
HEAR ALL ABOUT SEASON TWO OF
TASTE THE NATION TELL US WHAT
WE’RE GOING TO SEE THIS SEASON.
OH MY GOSH. I’M SO EXCITED FOR
YOU GUYS TO SEE IT, ESPECIALLY
IN DETROIT BECAUSE WE’RE IN
DEARBORN AND WERE THERE FOR
RAMADAN. SO THIS IS AN EPISODE
THAT I’VE BEEN WANTING TO DO
SINCE BEFORE WE EVEN GOT THE
SHOW SOLD BECAUSE I WAS SO
CURIOUS ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY AND
, UM, I’VE NEVER REALLY SPENT
ANY TIME IN DETROIT, SO I WAS
SUPER EXCITED TO BE THERE. I GOT
TO DO DONUTS WITH A LOT OF
BEAUTIFUL CARS. THAT’S SOMETHING
NEW FOR ME. AND I HAD NEVER BEEN
TO A MOSQUE AND I WENT TO A
MOSQUE THERE IN DEARBORN. WE HAD
A GREAT TIME. YOU KNOW, WE
STAYED UP ALL NIGHT. OF COURSE.
WHAT WE GO TO OTHER PLACES LIKE
PUERTO RICO. WE GO TO HOUSTON
WITH NIGERIANS. WE ARE IN NEW
YORK, WERE ALSO IN DALY CITY FOR
FILIPINOS. SO THERE’S REALLY A
LOT OF COMMUNITIES WE COVER THIS
SEASON AND I’M REALLY EXCITED
FOR EVERYONE TO SEE IT. WELL,
WE’RE SO EXCITED TO HAVE YOU
HERE IN OUR OWN BACKYARD IN
DEARBORN. WHAT WAS THE MOST
SURPRISING THING THAT YOU SAW IN
THE COMMUNITY IN DEARBORN? I
EXCUSE ME IN DEARBORN. I WAS
JUST REALLY EXCITED THAT THERE
WERE SO MANY DIFFERENT ARAB
COUNTRIES THAT MAKE UP THAT
POPULATION. I MEAN, YOU KNOW,
UNTIL NOW WE’VE PRETTY MUCH DONE
ONE COUNTRY OR ONE COMMUNITY
THAT IS FROM ONE COUNTRY IN
EVERY CITY IN AMERICA. WE HAVE
GONE TO AND THIS WAS THE FIRST
TIME WE WERE ABLE TO MEET IRAQI
IMMIGRANTS. LEBANESE IMMIGRANTS
, YEMENI IMMIGRANTS. I GOT TO
HAVE THIS BEAUTIFUL, UH, DRINK
THAT I’VE NEVER HAD, WHICH IS
COFFEE AND TEA MIXED TOGETHER.
UM I’VE NEVER DRANK SUCH A
THING, AND I WAS LIKE, THAT’S
NOT GOING TO BE GOOD AND IT WAS
DELICIOUS. IT WAS GREAT. ALSO
ALL THE PASTRIES I TRIED, NEVER
MIND BAKLAVA, BUT LIKE ALL OF
THE DIFFERENT ONES, AND I’VE GOT
TO GO TO PEOPLE’S HOMES AND COOK
WITH THEIR FAMILIES, AND THAT’S
REALLY WHAT I LOVE ABOUT. ABOUT
THE SHOW THE MOST. YOU KNOW,
WHEN YOU TRAVEL BY ROAD AND YOU
REALLY SPENDING TIME WE USUALLY
IN BED. UM I EMBED MYSELF IN A
IN A COMMUNITY FOR A WEEK. YOU
REALLY GET TO KNOW THEM IN A WAY
THAT YOU DON’T AS A TOURIST, AND
THAT HAS BEEN THE REAL PRIVILEGE
AND JOY OF THIS SHOW. INDEED NOW
WE HAVE SO MANY CULINARY
INFLUENCES AND SO MANY CULTURES
REPRESENTED THROUGHOUT THE
ENTIRE UNITED STATES. NOW YOU’RE
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER IN ONE
SPACE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN IN PER
SEASON. HOW DO YOU HOPE THAT THE
SHOW INFLUENCES WHAT PEOPLE
THINK ABOUT FOOD IN AMERICA AND
HOW THEY THINK ABOUT FOOD IN
AMERICA. YOU KNOW, AMERICAN FOOD
IS A CONSTANTLY EVER EVOLVING
THINGS. IT’S NOT JUST ONE THING
AND A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE
THINK ARE QUOTE UNQUOTE ALL
AMERICAN, WHATEVER THAT MEANS,
LIKE AMERICAN PIE, FOR EXAMPLE,
LIKE, EXCUSE ME LIKE APPLE PIE.
UM NONE OF THOSE INGREDIENTS
THAT GO INTO AN APPLE PIE OR
ACTUALLY INDIGENOUS TO NORTH
AMERICA. NOT THE FLOWER, NOT THE
BUTTER OR LARD, NOT THE APPLES,
NOT THE CINNAMON, NOT EVEN THE
SUGAR. AND YET WE THINK OF IT AS
AMERICAN. BUT IT WAS, YOU KNOW,
BASED ON GERMAN DESSERTS THAT
WERE BROUGHT OVER BY GERMAN
IMMIGRANTS. SAME THING WITH THE
HOT DOG AND THE HAMBURGER, AND
SO UNLESS YOU’RE FROM A NATIVE
AMERICAN COMMUNITY OR AN
INDIGENOUS TRIBE, YOU TWO ARE
EITHER AN IMMIGRANT OR OR THE
DESCENDANT OF AN IMMIGRANT AND
I’M JUST TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO
UNDERSTAND THAT AMERICA. SECONDS
COME IN. MANY SHADES AND NAMES
AND CULTURES AND THAT’S WHAT
MAKES OUR COUNTRY REALLY STRONG
AND GREAT. IT’S HOW THIS COUNTRY
WAS BUILT. IT’S HOW IT EVOLVED,
BUILT AND THAT’S HOW IT WAS.
SORRY IT’S HOW THIS COUNTRY WAS
BUILT AND HOW IT’S EVOLVED. AND
I MUST SAY, YOU KNOW, WHEN I
CREATED THE SHOW, I DIDN’T
CREATE IT FOR PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT
LIKE ME. I CREATED IT FOR PEOPLE
WHO MAYBE ARE AFRAID OF
IMMIGRION. AND I WORRY THAT,
YOU KNOW THEY’RE GOING TO TAKE
JOBS AWAY. WORDS THAT THEY’RE
GOING TO, YOU KNOW, DRAINING
ECONOMY AND MY ANSWER TO THAT.
IS THE CAMBODIAN EPISODE IN
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS. YOU KNOW
THIS WAS A CITY THAT WAS A TINY
NEW ENGLAND TOWN THAT REALLY
FELL ON SOME HARD TIMES AND THE
CAMBODIAN REFUGEES CAME OVER AND
THEY COMPLETELY REVITALIZED THE
COMMUNITY. THEY OPENED UP
BUSINESSES. THEY CLEANED UP THE
RIVER. IT WAS REALLY POLLUTED.
AND SO THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO SEE
. I HOPE THAT THE SHOW MAKES
PEOPLE MORE CURIOUS ABOUT THEIR
NEIGHBORS. INDEED ITS TASTE THE
NATION’S SEASON TWO ON HULU
STARTING TODAY, PANAMA THANK YOU
SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. WE
APPRECIATE YOU. THANK YOU FOR
HAVING ME AND I WANT TO THANK