Padma Lakshmi and Daughter Krishna, 14, Pose in Rare Photo with Dad Adam Dell at Middle School Graduation

Lakshmi and Dell reunited to celebrate their daughter's momentous occasion

Padma Lakshmi's daughter is growing up!

The former Top Chef host and cookbook author, 53, shared several pictures on Instagram on Thursday, June 20, in celebration of her daughter Krishna's middle school graduation.

The mother-daughter duo can be seen posing together as Krishna holds up her fresh diploma. The 14-year-old's dad also joined in on the celebration, smiling next to his daughter and ex in a rare selfie from the ceremony.

"I can’t believe my baby girl is off to high school after the Summer," Lakshmi wrote in the caption. "I want to thank all of the teachers, educators, counselors, security and staff at the United Nations School for taking care of Krishna all these years."

"I’m so proud of Krishna and all she has achieved in her young, happy life. Special thanks to the theater department at UNIS and all the wonderful members of the parents association," the proud mom continued. "I’ll miss you guys at the snack bar! As Littlehands would say... gurl, bye!"

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Related: Padma Lakshmi on Being a Mom to Teen Daughter Krishna: 'I'm Strict About Some Things!' (Exclusive)

Lakshmi recently opened up to PEOPLE about how she finds the balance between having her teen daughter in the public eye and being a protective mom, noting that she often relies on social media to bridge that connection.

The mother-daughter duo film their conversations — which can range from decoding teenage slang to the viral generation challenge — and put them up on TikTok and Instagram. "I think any parent will be able to identify with what we're doing," Lakshmi told PEOPLE exclusively.

"It wasn't some conscious thing. We were just sitting on the couch talking like, 'Oh that's funny. This is funny,'" she explained. "And so I just said, 'Let's tape it,' and we just chopped it up. It's just an experiment. It's fun to watch your children grow and become who they're going to be."

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Lakshmi admitted she is sometimes surprised by Krishna's candid answers. "She has so many opinions," she said. "I don't think she's unlike most teenagers; she may be a little more precocious, perhaps."

The proud mom added that while Krishna makes appearances on her social media account, her daughter doesn't have one of her own. "She's not on social media, at least that I know of, otherwise she'll be in trouble," she said.

"I'm strict about some things and I'm not that strict about other things that I probably should be stricter about like bedtime [as] she's 14," explained Lakshmi.

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