Padma Lakshmi is back with the second season of her Hulu travel show, Taste the Nation. The series creator, who also hosts Top Chef, is taking viewers on the road to visit the Nigerian diaspora in Houston, Filipino Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Massachusetts’ Cambodian immigrant communities.

Before she dashes across the United States, however, she’s bringing viewers to meet the D.C. region’s Afghan community for the season’s second episode – which drops alongside the rest of the season on Friday.

“On the heels of America’s longest war coming to an end, Padma joins the Afghan American community here in DC as they welcome new arrivals over feasts that remind them of the Afghanistan they left behind, and what can be built anew,” reads the episode description on Hulu.

Among the Afghan community members that Lakshmi met for the episode was Shamim Popal, the executive chef of Lapis and matriarch of the Popal Group (which also operates Lutece). The management company, which includes Popal’s husband, Zubair, and their two children, Omar and Fatima, was recently nominated ‘Restaurateur of the Year’ for the 2023 Rammy’s.

Popal, who fled Afghanistan with her family during the Soviet invasion, says her appearance on the show was an honor for her family and all Afghans around the world.

“I was so proud that she reached out to recognize Afghan culture and Afghan food,” Popal told DCist/WAMU.

After the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August of 2021, thousands of people were forced to flee their home country out of fear for their lives. It resulted in thousands of Afghans resettling across the D.C. region. For months, many were stuck in hotels or struggled to find work in their new country.

At the time, Popal and her family felt compelled to assist those who were trying to rebuild their lives. To that end, the family worked alongside resettlement agencies to raise funds for clothing, blankets, personal hygiene products, and other basic necessities. Popal, whose food has been recognized as a Michelin Bib Gourmand, even prepared and delivered Thanksgiving meals to recently arrived Afghans around the region.

For Taste the Nation, Popal says she and Lakshmi were able to shed more light on what life has been like for the Afghan community in the time since many of them resettled. She also says they were able to prepare more traditional Afghan food like kabuli pulao and dumplings – which are among the dishes she shares with refugees.

“It’s food that, when you have a guest, it should be on your table,” says Popal.

Despite not being able to share many details ahead of the season premier, Popal says the experience was fun and that she’s excited to see the episode herself.

“I hope I can be in the show again,” she jokes. “She made me feel comfortable. She was [a] friendly, amazing woman. And I felt like I had known her forever.”

You can watch Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi on the streaming service Hulu starting Friday.