Celebrity News

Chatty Padma dishes her “Top Chef” co stars

Maybe Padma Lakshmi hasn’t had enough people to talk to while on bed rest during her pregnancy. She divulged perhaps too many secrets from Bravo’s “Top Chef” during a New York Times panel Saturday afternoon with fellow show judges Gail Simmons and Eric Ripert. Lakshmi spilled that judge Tom Colicchio drinks gin and tonics during the program’s “judges’ table,” where the judges debate the best and worst meals from each contestant. Lakshmi also declared second-season contestant Michael Midgley “repulsive” because of his off-color language, and called Simmons the “Cruella de Vil” of eggs because of her discerning standards for their preparation. At a Times panel talk later the same day at Time Warner Center, Natalie Portman noticed a man in the front row who has been stalking her and left the stage until security guards removed him. She then calmly returned to finish her discussion.