Mixing the savory taste of a Cheeto with coconut and chocolate’s sweet notes may hit the mark for the flavor profile of a canapé, but it apparently doesn’t make for a very delicious combination.
It’s impressive that the experience was so bad that it stuck with Lakshmi for over a decade, per her interview with Uproxx.
Midgley’s bizarre hors d’œuvre didn’t win over Padma Lakshmi then or now, and she made a point to stress that his idea was a dumb one all around.