Staying Fit
A signature dish from Season 4 of "Chef's Table."
Sofie Delauw/Netflix
Since the Pleistocene era, Neanderthals have banked up a fire, stuck animal flesh on a stick and called it dinner — or kebab — or whatever they said in Neanderthal. But did they do so in teams working against the clock of the sun? No. Did they sample cuisines from other continents? Unlikely. Did they shame their fellow whose meat fell off the twig into the fire? Well, probably. And, so, we see the dawn of the cooking era but never in the history of man have we seen the variety and diversity of cooking shows, docuseries and contests available at the touch of a remote on Netflix. Here are the best.
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Chef’s Table (2015 to present)
A deep dive into the kitchens and psyches of famous chefs around the world, the Emmy-nominated show has six seasons of insight into the lives, kitchens and signature dishes of well-known international chefs from Georgia’s Mashama Bailey to Bangkok’s Bo Songvisava. Expect a seventh and eighth season on the horizon, and graze on spin-offs Chef’s Table: France and Chef’s Table: BBQ.
Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Watch it: Chef's Table
The Chef Show (2019)
The 2014 film Chef brought Hollywood foodie Jon Favreau, 55, and Los Angeles-based chef Roy Choi, 51, together. Now, in this culinary travelogue, the amiable pair mix it up while exploring delicacies with celebrity pals (including Robert Downey Jr., 56; Tom Holland; and Wolfgang Puck, 72) and cuisine pros. Flavorful without being fussy.
Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Watch it: The Chef Show
Ugly Delicious (2018-present)
For some, fine dining is all about the presentation. Not for host and Momofuku restaurateur David Chang! Each documentary-style episode of this Emmy-nominated show focuses on a specific dish — pizza, tacos or fried chicken, for example — and then takes a deep dive into its history, culture and regional differences. Oscar winner Morgan Neville (Twenty Feet From Stardom), 54, executive produced.
Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Watch it: Ugly Delicious
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (2018)
James Beard Award-winning author Samit Nosrat got her start in the world of cooking at Chez Panisse and writing at adjacent UC Berkeley. The Californian has a best-selling cookbook of the same name with the subheading: “Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking,” the fab four elements of the title. The unpretentious writer, chef, teacher and podcaster, famed for her buttermilk chicken among other down-to-earth dishes, moves her inside hacks to the small screen for a four-part miniseries. Mixing up how-to with travelogue, she shares her secrets and insights, including this essential: Fat is a magical element that needs to be harnessed for its flavor. Yes!
Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Watch it: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
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