Netflix has a done a wonderful jobs when it comes to documentaries about food. Whether it be about chefs and their restaurants, what exactly makes us eat the foods we eat, or about traveling to places we may have never thought about before for new food experiences. In this blog post I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite Netflix binges when I am in the mood to watch something about food.
Chef’s Table
When it comes to food documentaries Chef’s Table really set the standard for the level of cinematography that has now become the norm for others to follow. Originally launched in April of 2015 Chef’s Table introduced us to the whimsical creative mind of ‘King of Parmesan’ Mossimo Bottura and one of the leaders of the Farm to Table movement Dan Barber. From the first time the extremely recognizable introduction music to the beautiful dishes that flash across the screen quicker than you’d like I was hooked.
One of the complaints that I have often heard about Chef’s Table is about the lack of racial diversity in the chef’s that have been showcased, and it’s a feeling that I have had as well. Season 6 seem to be a move in the direction of changing this, featuring Chef’s Mashama Bailey and Asma Khan.
Some of my favorite episodes are:
- Chef’s Table: Volume 1 – Dan Barber
- Chef’s Table: Volume 1 – Francis Mallmann
- Chef’s Table: Volume 2 – Alex Atala
- Chef’s Table: Volume 6 – Mashama Bailey
Cooked
Adopted from award winning author Michal Pollen’s book by the same title Cooked looks at why we eat what eat, and how the four elements shape the food that we eat. The docuseries is broken up into four parts: each representing one of the four elements; fire, water, air, and earth.
Why is fire and heat so important to us? How did the discovery of how to create and control fire allow for the human population to began to rapidly explode? Why in the world would air even be considered to be an element that affects our dietary consumption? How is that fungus has such a negative connotation when it is the fundamental building block of some of the foods that we crave the most?
For those who want to expand their mind into the food beyond cooking and really think about why we eat what we eat I highly recommend Cooked.
Somebody Feed Phil
Ever wanna watch your cooky fun uncle travel the world and explore new cultures and cuisine? Yes, of course you would! I really don’t know how I would describe Somebody Feed Phil other than the alternate personality of Anthony Bourdain, but just as charming and friendly.
The series follows James Beard Award winning producer Phil Rosenthal as he travels around the world to cities where there is a story to be told about their food culture. Some of these cities are staples that we would all expect like New Orleans, LA and Venice, Italy; but then you are brought into cities with Phil where you may have never thought to explore to find amazing and remarkable food like Copenhagen.
At this time there are two seasons of Somebody Feed Phil each six episode at right around an hour each. So just like me you can knock out the entire series in a weekend. Season 3 is expected to release early 2020.
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (Honorable Mention)
Do I even need to say anything?! I would shocked if there is anyone reading my blog who doesn’t know who Anthony Bourdain is.
As always thank you for taking a few moments out of your day to read my blog. I hope that you my thoughts on Netflix’s food documentaries has intrigued you, and I hope that enjoy them as much as I do.
God bless,
Ben
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