9 Shows to channel your inner Chef with

With full lock down about to kick in very soon, for many our pace of life will slow down and there will be time to stop and binge that show or watch a movie which has been on our hit list for so long.  We may be going into self-isolation, but I am very grateful that with today’s modern technology we can tap into many resources to help us pass the time.  And better still we could come out the other side with a whole lot of new knowledge.

So how can you channel your inner chef and get inspired to up your game in the kitchen?  We tasked our Foodservice Manager, Lisa Moloney, with putting together a list that food lovers should watch to expand their repertoire and prepare some self-isolation yummies for their fellow isolatees.

1. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (Netflix)

If you want to learn about flavour then Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat will give you an insight into the four basic ingredients of cooking and what makes food delicious. This Netflix original series is based on Samin Nosrat’s best-selling book of the same name.  Samin is a chef and food columnist for the New York Times.  In Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat she takes you across the globe and highlights the elements of food she claims are essential to a delicious dish.  She says if you can master these four elements then you can master the kitchen,

2. Chef’s Table (Netflix)

With restaurants around the world going into lock down, you may not be able to dine out at the moment but you can take a virtual tour of some of the world’s top chefs by watching Chef’s Table.  This Netflix series will introduce you to some of the world’s most ambitious chefs and offers you a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the world’s most sought-after dining experiences.  Each episode of the series follows a chef’s journey to how they got to where they are and profiles the places where the chefs cook and call home.

3. Ugly Delicious (Netflix)

Ugly Delicious is another Netflix Series and a great way of being a virtual arm chair traveller offering much inspiration for food lovers. This is a travelogue that sends award-winning chef and American restaurateur, David Chang around the world to find culinary hot spots and meets a wide variety of people who are using food as a vehicle to break down culture barriers. 

4. Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN)

You can't mention cooking shows without talking about Anthony Bourdain. The late culinary legend goes off the beaten path to discover unusual, unforgettable meals all over the world. Parts Unknown works on many levels - as a fascinating travel show, as a cheerleader for eating local, and yes, as a cooking show. What makes this show different is Bourdain and his undeniable love for food. A must-watch.

5. Eat. Race. Win. (Amazon)

A sports documentary for foodies that aren’t sports fans. Eat. Race. Win. is a behind-the-scenes, on and off-the-bike adventure into the biggest annual sporting event on the planet: The Tour de France. Known as the Queen of Performance Cooking, Chef Hannah Grant takes you on her race within the race, sourcing local, fuel-packed food for Australia's pro cycling team, Orica-Scott, as Sports Director Matthew White encourages his nine riders to victory

6. Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)

Philip Rosenthal is the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, and more unofficially, a serious foodie. In this series, he visits Tel Aviv, Mexico, Bangkok, and other destinations to find tasty treats across the globe. He has a unique, and hilarious, way of looking at the world, and his show is just as likely to make you laugh as it is to make you hungry.

7. Street Food (Netflix)

Street Food is a new project from the filmmakers behind Chef’s Table. Lovers of Chef’s Table get a bit of a different view in this series. Instead of the finest of fine dining establishments around the world (and the chefs that command them), Street Food looks at, well, street food. From roadside stands to markets brimming with locals-only cuisine, each episode explores the experiences in culinary greatness that are feasted upon by countless people every day. Each of the nine episodes in the first season takes place in a different Asian country, ensuring that you realize what you thought you knew about street food is actually quite little compared to what’s out there in the world.

8. The Chef Show (Netflix)

Remember the movie Chef with Jon Favreau? Well, this is basically that movie in the form of a reality cooking show. Apparently the film inspired Favreau to take a real interest in the world of cooking, and he decided to learn under the guidance of renowned chef Roy Choi. With celebrity guests like Gwyneth Paltrow and Seth Rogan, Favreau and Choi cook a variety of dishes, including some you may remember from the 2014 film.

9. Restaurants on the Edge (Netflix)

This show sees chef Dennis Prescott, designer Karin Bohn and restaurateur Nick Liberato go to locations all over the world to renovate the restaurants’ menus, business models and decor in order to keep them in business. Restaurants On The Edge has a double meaning. The restaurants the show goes to — Malta, Hong Kong, Tobermory, St. Lucia, Austria and Costa Rica — are on the edge of a fantastic locale, leading to fantastic views. But they’re also on the edge of failure, having leaned on its locale more than developing a vibe and a good menu. In a lot of ways, this is a more scenic version of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, but with three more friendly people gently helping the restaurateur instead of one screaming chef and a staff of no-name designers.

So that’s my favourites for the moment.  What are you watching? We’d love you to share your favourites with us.