Padma Lakshmi’s Tips for the Best Summer Party Involve Quick Meals and Plenty of Cheese

If there’s one person who knows what it takes to make a good food pairing, it’s Padma Lakshmi. And anyone who’s tuned into any season two and beyond of the ongoing famed cooking competition Top Chef will agree.

While Padma has had her share of seeing, tasting, and rating some of the best (and absolute worst) pairings that could have ever been created, the famed host and cookbook author is now working on of her best pairings to date: A new collaboration with gourmet cheese brand, Boursin.

The collaboration, which is aptly titled Maison Boursin, sees Padma — who has been busy filming a new season of Taste the Nation — encouraging everyone to get back to comfortably entertaining and doing it with ease. Now while the thought of cheese being the main star of an entertaining sesh at your home may not be the way you planned to get back into hosting this summer, she assures that you can’t go wrong with adding it in. From a delicious charcuterie board to a pasta that your guests will talk about for weeks, cheese is the head honcho of this summer’s gatherings.

Never hosted anything and worried about things going downhill? Don’t be. Padma has some tips for that, too. And lucky for you, she shared them with us during an interview with Kitchn’s News & Culture Editor Ni’Kesia Pannell (um, hello — that’s me!).

Check out the clips below!