As one of the world’s favourite four-letter F words, FOOD make up a large portion of most people’s day (with other F-words presumably filling up the rest of your day by which, of course, we mean films). The best thing about the meal you’re having at the moment, after all, is planning the meal that will follow it. No wonder then that Netflix is betting big on bytes of bites.
The streaming service has been massively expanding its portfolio of original content over the last couple of years, and if 2018 has shown us anything so far, it’s that they’re still only building up momentum. With a slew of movies, comedy specials, original series, documentaries, docu-series, being produced by Netflix, comprising country-specific content from the various regions that it’s present in, there is a surfeit of stuff to watch, whatever your inclination.
And with a substantial portion of their latest offerings concentrating on all things food, Netflix clearly isn’t counting the calories. While 2018 marked the return of several of its already established series, there were also a lot of new offerings on the table, er, screen. Here are our top picks for your viewing pleasure, and salivation salvation.
Somebody Feed Phil
Imagine an American citizen of Jewish descent tucking into a serving of hummus at a Muslim eatery in the middle of Jerusalem. Given that that very statement might come off as dangerously loaded to anyone the slightest bit geo-politically aware, it takes a rarified breed of man to actually do it. Netflix found just such a man in Phil Rosenthal, creator of beloved sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, whom they send off on a food trail around the world. Rosenthal’s unfeigned, nigh childlike, enthusiasm for food and silliness and his complete willingness to make a fool for himself for the benefit of his hosts in cities as far flung as Bangkok (where he runs into Indian chef Gaggan Anand) and Lisbon, among others, make this show a delicious, hilarious food experience.
Ugly Delicious
Chef David Chang is one of the most exciting and nuanced voices in America’s culinary scene today, so no wonder then that his Netflix series, Ugly Delicious, is a free-wheeling examination of all the things that go into making a particular food or dish popular around the world. In each of the eight episodes, Chang explores a particular dish, from pizza to fried rice, traveling to the most unusual destinations to see the strangest regional iterations of these most common foods, with a litany of guests including actors Aziz Ansari, Steve Yuen and fellow chefs Rene Redzepi and Sean Brock, as well as other celebrities.
Rotten
This docu-series shows the unpalatable side of the commercial food industry, with each of the six-hour long episodes delving into the unpleasant minutiae of making a profit out of necessity. With stunning visuals - courtesy its high-definition cinematography - and a compelling people-driven narrative, each chapter examines a specific food industry, from the milk in your fridges to the honey in your larders that sweetens it. And of course, the poultry cartel (so spectacularly exposed by John Oliver in Last Week Tonight) has an episode all to itself. While the series doesn’t provide as in-depth a picture as other celebrated documentaries, it does provide an explicit glimpse into how your sausage is made, metaphorically.
Nailed It
Our interpretation of Nailed It is that it’s Netflix's less-than-subtle dig at the commercially sordid bastardization of reality TV and cooking competition shows, complete with semi-obnoxious host, haughty judge (French, instead of British, in this iteration), and imbecilic contestants. The basic premise is simple (presumably so that those competing can comprehend it): competitors have to recreate carefully-wrought baked confections, as well as complete some asinine challenges, in order to take home a prize of 10,000 dollars. Given the (lack of) skills of the contestants, these challenges usually end in disaster, and even those who end up winning would probably end up being drawn and quartered – sans marinade - by Gordon Ramsay and his ilk.
Chef’s Table
With its latest season, the series’ fourth, concentrating on pastry chefs, Chef’s Table continues its behind-the-scenes look into the highly competitive world of the planet’s best restaurants. The Emmy-nominated series made waves since its very first season, thanks to its incredible cinematography of the art of cooking and the dishes and the ingredients themselves, as well as its in-depth, exquisitely detailed examination of the food and philosophy of the world’s best chefs. The fourth season comprises four episodes, each focused on one patisserie in a different part of the world.
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