Television series
The Chef Show
- Light-hearted
- Dip in and out
Jon Favreau and Roy Choi cook with and talk to brilliant people—chefs, directors, musicians, actors—about food, craft, and how you actually live. It's loose, generous, and genuinely curious. You watch people you admire relax into their own expertise. The show trusts that watching someone make something well is inherently entertaining.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love watching two friends goof around a kitchen, with the cooking itself a loose excuse for banter, celebrity guests, and genuine curiosity about how food gets made.
Skip it if you want a tight, instructional cooking show with clear recipes, since this one wanders into jokes, tangents and long chats that can feel loosely structured.
What it asks of you: Half-hour episodes, twenty-five across two seasons, so it's easy to dip in; the pace is relaxed and chatty, more hangout than plot.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Salt Fat Acid Heat2018
Samin Nosrat teaches the four principles that unlock all cooking. Warm, methodical, visibly joyful about sharing knowledge. Each episode builds your actual confidence in the kitchen.
But It's educational, which can feel like homework. The pacing is deliberate, not fast.
Ugly Delicious2018
David Chang explores a single food (pizza, tacos, fried chicken) across cultures and contexts. Playful, curious, genuinely surprised by what he finds. Smart without being showy.
But Chang can be prickly and self-involved. Some episodes are more interesting in premise than execution.
The Diplomat2023
Bourdain's final completed project: him talking to people in kitchens and markets, asking real questions, listening hard. Food as a way into lives and places. Every episode justifies its existence.
But It's his goodbye, which makes it bittersweet. Heavy at times.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Chef Show
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Somebody Feed Phil2018
Like The Chef Show, it's about watching someone you already like spend time with other interesting people over food. The conversation matters more than the cooking.
Phil Rosenthal travels to eat, and talks to everyone—strangers on buses, families in homes, other chefs. Genuinely interested in how people live. Food is the excuse; curiosity is the point. Warm without being sappy.
But Could read as a wealthy American being charmed by local life. Earnestness sometimes tips toward sentiment.
More like this (6)
Nailed It!2018
Contestants attempt difficult bakes with three hours of skills they don't have. Chaotic, funny, genuinely sweet. Nicole Byer's warmth makes the chaos feel like play instead of mockery.
But The humour relies on people failing. If you find that uncomfortable, it won't work for you.
Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories2016
Late-night Tokyo diner, one dish per episode, regulars with quiet stories. Meditative and genuinely moving. Perfect length, perfect mood. You'll want to eat something when it ends.
But It moves slowly. Subtitled. Very understated; nothing dramatic happens.
The Bear2022
Charlie Cranston at Noma in Copenhagen, the three-Michelin-star restaurant at its peak, right before it closed. Intense, beautiful, sometimes brutal. Raw look at ambition and obsession in the kitchen.
But It's punishing. Kitchen stress is relentless. Some found it cold rather than moving.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi2011
An eighty-five-year-old sushi master in Tokyo. Obsession, precision, the accumulation of a life into a few perfect bites. Gorgeously filmed meditation on craft and meaning.
But It's deeply serious. Some find it cold. The philosophy is Eastern in a way that doesn't always translate.
Street Food: Latin America2020
Global street vendors, one per episode. Each person's whole life is in their cart. Simple, dignified portraits of people doing their thing brilliantly. Street food as genuine cooking.
But Episodes are uneven. Some vendors' stories are more interesting than others.
Dumplings2004
The most rigorous treatment of craft and technique in the world of food storytelling, but turned inside out—precision and care become monstrous. Where The Chef Show says 'watch what these people make,' this asks why we hunger so badly.
Fruit Chan's dark, grotesque film where food becomes obsession becomes horror. Technically precise cooking shown as a kind of sorcery. The inverse of food as connection: food as violation and hunger.
But Genuinely disturbing. Body horror and implied cannibalism. Not pleasant to watch. Hong Kong film, subtitled.
