Padma Lakshmi hopes her new cookbook encourages people from diverse communities to reach out and connect with each other

Because in the end, we all want the same things. We all want our children to flourish and be safe and healthy. We all want a roof over our family’s head where we can all thrive. Those aren’t Chinese values or Colombian values — they’re just human values

Lakshmi's new cookbook is called Padma’s All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond