Anyone else watching? DH and I have enjoyed every episode of this documentary series. If you have not seen it, each episode focuses on one Chef. But, the story telling goes way beyond food and touches on how each Chef came to find their passion and examines various the events of their lives/world and the impact on their food/restaurant/cooking. The story telling is so well done and the cinematography is breathtaking.
One of my favorite episodes was Alex Atala, D. O. M. in São Paulo, Brazil. His passion about his life, world, and country was seductive.
Here is a list of episodes available so far.
Season 1 consists of six episodes:
Massimo Bottura (Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy)
Dan Barber (Blue Hill Restaurant at Stone Barns and in New York City, USA)
Francis Mallmann (El Restaurante Patagonia Sur in Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Niki Nakayama (N/Naka Restaurant in Los Angeles, USA)
Ben Shewry (Attica in Melbourne, Australia)
Magnus Nilsson (Fäviken in Järpen, Sweden)
Season 2 consists of six episodes:
Grant Achatz (Alinea, Next, and The Aviary in Chicago, United States)
Alex Atala (D. O. M. in São Paulo, Brazil)
Ana Ros (Hiša Franko in Kobarid, Slovenia)
Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, United States)
Enrique Olvera (Pujol in Mexico City, Mexico)
Gaggan Anand (Gaggan in Bangkok, Thailand)
Yes , I have seen all of them . My favorite is Francis Mallmann with his private island in Patagonia . Myself a avid fly fisherman and love cooking with fire and those magnums of wine . That would be my dream .
Massimo and his rescuing the of the entire Parmigiano Reggiano industry had to be my favorite episode…hilarious
This is IMO the most visually stunning series…each chef is just brilliant
Francis Mallman inspired me to want to pack my bags…
Thanks for posting this. Saw all of Season 01. The Niki Nakayama episode really made an impression on me. Didn’t realize Season 02 was out, so I have some catching up to do.
The first episode is Jeong Kwan, a Buddhist nun who, first and foremost, feeds those at her temple. I recall seeing an episode of Avec Eric, where Eric Ripert went to the temple and spent time with Kwan. I’m not often moved to tears by “food” shows, but found this to be one of the most beautiful stories about so much more than food.
Thanks for bringing that up. I am trying out Netflix on the trial month on my new TV now, I saw the title of this series, but didn’t check it out yet. Browsing your list of S1 and 2, looks interesting.
Here in France, they have Chef’s Table with 3 seasons (total 3 seasons, 18 episodes), and another separate Chef’s Table France with 6 episodes. Strange that they didn’t have the French chefs integrate in the original CT series.
Chef’s Table Season 3 (6 episodes)
Jeong Kwan (Chunjinam Hermitage at the Baekyangsa Temple, South Korea)
Vladimir Mukhin (White Rabbit in Moscow, Russia)
Nancy Silverton (Mozza in Los Angeles, United States)
Ivan Orkin (Ivan Ramen in New York City, United States, and Tokyo, Japan)
Tim Raue (Restaurant Tim Raue in Berlin, Germany)
Virgilio Martinez (Central in Lima, Peru)
Chef’s Table: France (4 episodes)
Alain Passard (L’Arpège in Paris, France)
Alexandre Couillon (La Marine in Noirmoutier-en-l’Île, France)
Adeline Grattard (Yam’Tcha in Paris, France)
Michel Troisgros (La Maison Troisgros in Roanne, France)
I finished watching the 3 seasons, I like especially Francis Mallmann’s philosophy in life, his cooking with fire (so much so that I bought his book!)
The fact that he reached the climax of his career and letting things go to the simple back to the basic. My other favourite in Season 1 is Magnus Nilsson’s cooking merging with the wild difficult nature in Sweden. I like his “root cellar” I think I will be starting a shelf with marinating conserves this summer. Fermentation is an area I would like to explore further.
Season 3, I enjoyed the Korean monk’s zen cooking from her garden, Ivan Orkin searching for the best ramen (I found his grilled ramen recipe which I will definitely try to make the noodle) and I’m totally amazed by Virgilio Martinez’s bringing an eco system on the table in his restaurant in Lima with each plate, this is a restaurant I really would like to try.
I think the series are generally interesting, but I think it’s more a life story of a chef than a food programme. It gives a brief introduction of food of each country. I will now continue with Mind of a Chef…
