The New York Times published a guest essay by Padma Lakshmi: “As a Cook, Here’s What I see in Kamala Harris.” Lakshmi writes: “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…In cooking, Ms. Harris displays the very qualities this country sorely needs — her care and her ability to tell a new kind of story about what it means to be American.” Mariner Books published THE BEST AMERICAN FOOD AND TRAVEL WRITING 2024 on October 22, 2024.