Opinion | Padma Lakshmi: Why Kamala Harriss Love of Cooking Could Help Make Her a Great President

I see what everyone else sees on Kamala Harris’s résumé: a history of public service that qualifies her for the presidency.But I would argue that the qualities she shows as a cook might say even more about her success as a leader.What qualities make for a good cook? Which make for a good president? In a lot of cases, they overlap.

Cooking well requires organization, attention to detail, patience — and the impulse to bring people together.In a divided country, these qualities can help Ms.

Harris be a good, even a great, president.Talking about food is a way to relate to more Americans, even those uninterested in her politics.We’ve all been eating since we were babies, and we’re experts on our own tastes.

Talking about food paves the way to harder conversations.Food removes barriers and unites us.Ms.

Harris evinces clear delight in cooking and in talking about almost any type of food — a passion that is core to who she is, like basketball for Barack Obama or golf for Donald Trump.She is omnivorous and a versatile cook.We got a glimpse of who Ms.

Harris is in the kitchen in the YouTube series “Cooking With Kamala,” filmed during the 2020 campaign.In the videos and elsewhere, she talks about turkey stock and tacos, Moroccan tagines and gumbo, frying bacon with apples (she says that “bacon is a spice, as far as I’m concerned”).As a host and a judge on “Top Chef,” I could see contestants’ characteristics and potential by watching them in the kitchen.

One chef, for instance, always splattered food and left jars knocked over — he was frazzled and out of his depth, displaying a lack of leadership potential.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? L...