“There is a lot to learn!” The best cooking TV shows in the world. Cooking shows The best programs about eating on the street
Many of us love to watch TV. And those who love to cook and eat delicious food are rarely left indifferent by various culinary television programs, which are broadcast in large numbers on central and specialized channels, as well as on the Internet.
Gastronomy has long been included in the list of entertainment topics and is truly thriving on domestic television. The list of good culinary TV shows produced in Russia could go on for a long time. These are “Eating at Home”, “Culinary Duel”, “Smak”, “Master Chef”, “Hell’s Kitchen”, “Food, I Love You” and many, many other programs.
Some of the listed programs are local, they were invented by domestic scriptwriters. Others are remakes of famous foreign TV shows. Realizing this, viewers in Russia (after the end of our seasons) switched to the “original” versions of the programs. Fortunately, many of them have been successfully translated into Russian.
When these shows are watched to the end, fans of culinary programs begin to look for something else - new, which was not at all on domestic TV.
And such searches are always successful. Over the past 20-30 years, there have been many high quality and amazing television programs about food and cooking around the world.
We have collected for you five of the best and most famous cooking TV shows in the world. Some things can be seen in Russian translation, but some are worth “seeing” in the original version. It's usually worth it!
1. “Best Chef in America” (USA)
This is perhaps the most famous cooking show ever to appear on television. And it became so thanks to the gastronomic and production genius of Gordon Ramsay - chef, restaurateur, writer and TV presenter. The original program has been translated into 50 languages, and remakes have been filmed around the world. Including in Russia, where everyone knows her under the name “Master Chef”.
In many ways, “Top Chef America” is a reimagining of another Gordon Ramsay program, “Hell's Kitchen,” which started 6 years earlier. In "Top Chef..." the level of training of the participants is incredibly high, towards the end of the season the finalists acquire the skills of real experienced chefs.
This is a program about haute cuisine. The main “menu” consists of complex restaurant-quality dishes, and the entire drama of the show is based on competition between the participants. By the way, this is done to the detriment of the culinary component - details of the recipes never appear on air.
However, fans of "Top Chef America" are not confused. They recommend watching this program (like Hell's Kitchen) in the original language in order to catch all the barbs and jokes of the famous host.
2. “In a Little Parisian Kitchen” (UK)
According to the plot of the program, its presenter flies from England to Paris to learn all the secrets of French cuisine. In each episode, she not only prepares several interesting dishes, but also visits markets, shops, and talks with chefs, farmers, and fishermen.
The show is very intimate and cozy. The recipes are explained in great detail; The only problem is that many ingredients are not so easy to find in Russia.
This show is often called an educational series about food: during the cooking process, the host talks about sauces, products, their combinations and processing nuances.
The positive thing is that “In a Little Parisian Kitchen” can be watched without a Russian translation. Basic knowledge of the language will be enough.
By the way, you can refresh your vocabulary or see the translation of the name of a product or culinary term in English on the website langformula.ru/top-english-words/food-in-english/.
3. “My Kitchen Rules” (Australia)
This is one of the most favorite cooking shows among housewives. The program is vaguely reminiscent of “Top Chef America,” but the differences are significant.
First, couples are selected as participants; usually these are husband and wife, sisters, old friends. Secondly, those competing for the main prize throughout the entire program prepare relatively simple dishes, without going into the nuances of haute cuisine and without working with delicacies.
And thirdly, “My Kitchen Rules” devotes a lot of time to the personal relationships of the participants. Often episodes of the program turn into a real “soap opera”. In addition, this show quite often talks about preparing a particular dish from start to finish.
Viewers in Russia really liked “My Kitchen Rules” - on social networks you can find not only all seasons of the program with translation (or with Russian subtitles), but also entire public pages dedicated to the program.
4. The Jamie Oliver Show (UK)
It is worth saying that British chef Jamie Oliver is a record holder in the world of culinary television shows. Over the past 18 years, he has produced about 30 different programs, four of which lasted more than one season.
But most of all, the audience remembered two programs: “Cooking in 30 minutes” and “Cooking in 15 minutes.”
These shows became real breakthroughs in the world of “gastronomic television”. In short episodes, Oliver managed to prepare simple and complex dishes, promote healthy eating, talk about products and, of course, communicate with his guests (sometimes he went to visit himself).
Jamie Oliver's shows have been translated into dozens of languages, sold on licensed DVDs and are considered a veritable culinary encyclopedia.
5. “Kitchen without a kitchen” (USA)
You should definitely watch this program if you love cooking, travel and extreme sports.
Three chefs travel to the most remote and wild corners of the world to cook food from the most unusual ingredients, go hunting, compete with each other, and also surprise the natives with their dishes. Sounds intriguing? You bet this is a crazy show!
Due to the high cost and complexity of the project, only one season of “Kitchen Without a Kitchen” was released, but it instantly became a hit in America and Canada.
If you search hard, you can find a more or less adequate translation of this program on the RuNet.
It is also generally accepted that Russia is one of the flagships in the culinary television industry. For example, the gastro-travel format “Food, I Love You” is planned to be bought by several global holdings at once for filming remakes around the world. And the “Smak” program is even called by some the world’s oldest cooking show. It’s not surprising - “Smak” turns 23 years old this year.
:: You may be interested in other culinary publications.
Anya Airapetova
Today on Netflix The third season of the documentary series about world-famous chefs “Chef’s Table” is being released. This time our compatriot Vladimir Mukhin, chef of the Moscow restaurant White Rabbit, also got into it. The release of new series in itself is an event, both among industry professionals and gastroenthusiasts. The presence of Mukhin in it forced even those who were previously unaware of its existence to talk about the series. We found out from Moscow chefs what gastronomic programs they watch in their rare free moments, and we tell you what will be interesting to watch for those who are interested in cooking.
Chef's Table
A documentary show, each episode of which is dedicated to one world famous chef. An episode tells the story of how a professional became a professional - the result is mini-biopics shot at the level of the best feature films. Creator David Gelb also produced the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, about the owner of a tiny restaurant in Tokyo who devoted his entire life to making sushi.
Georgy Troyan
Chef of the Severyan restaurant
I've seen every episode of Chef's Table because it's beautiful. How might this affect the chef? Probably at the formation stage. I can imagine a child watching an episode about a great rock star chef and thinking: “So beautiful! So interesting! I’ll become a cook too!” Watching “Chef’s Table” for a professional chef is like watching a cool TV series. It’s interesting, but it can’t be particularly useful in life. You have to travel and try, do an internship, practice, learn languages, read - and all this every day or even every hour.You can watch the episode about why Massimo Botura became number one, but for me there is only one conclusion - because he worked hard and never stopped there.
My favorite story related to gastronomic films and TV series is the mockumentary “Documentary Now”. I'm talking about a series about a nasty, crazy old man living outside Bogota whose shop has three Michelin stars. Every day he cooks just rice with butter and chicken, a perfectly cut banana and coffee. This is such a beautiful picture and story that you forget that there is no Michelin rating in South America, no three stars are possible in such a shack, and in general, this is all a complete deception. If you haven’t watched this series, be sure to watch it - and you will understand that gastronomy has long been not only about taste, but about history and show.
Kristina Chernyakhovskaya
Chef at Iskra
When I was filming the culinary program “Two and a Half Chefs,” we were always watching something interesting to look for some new formats, study filming, what cameras were used to film. That is, in “Chef’s Table” I like not only what is said, but also the way it is filmed, because this is also a very important part. Everything was done brilliantly, superbly, with very good optics and good direction. The series will appeal not only to people who professionally deal with food, but also to those who are far from it, simply because it is done very well. I am very glad that our compatriot got there - I want to quickly see how they filmed all this in our reality.
I also can’t help but talk about the 2012 documentary “Spinning Plates”. It contains three stories about people who have their own restaurant. One of them is about a family that owned a restaurant in Iowa for about 150 years, and it burned down twice. Moreover, the concept is such that almost the entire city works in this establishment, and it opens at six in the morning - a truly important place for the city. One day the restaurant burns down and the whole town helps rebuild a new restaurant. But six months later it burns out again. The owners give up and don’t know what to do, since their credibility has been exhausted, but people come to the rescue again and rebuild the restaurant. Although this is a place with the most ordinary American food.
The second story from this film is about Grant Achatz, the chef of the Chicago restaurant Alinea with three Michelin stars, recognized as the best in the world in 2015. Achatz learns that he has stage four tongue cancer, and doctors in New York say he will need to have almost his entire tongue removed. He realizes that his career is over, despairs and goes to the last meal with his wife to try to taste the food during it. But his companion calls him back to his native Chicago and advises him to see doctors at the local institute. He goes to these guys who say: “Listen, we won’t cut anything. We can cure you this way,” and they actually cure him. At the stage of recovery, he just received his third Michelin star.
Cooked
Another good series for which thanks to Netflix. Unlike Chef's Table, there are no professional chefs. The host of the show, Michael Pollan, is a popular healthy eating activist in America who wrote the book “Omnivore’s Dilemma” about the theory of four ways to obtain human food. Each episode is dedicated to an element - for example, in "Fire" Pollan explores the evolution of cooking meat.
Kristina Chernyakhovskaya
Chef at Iskra
In Cooked, I was struck by a story that showed how Aboriginal people cooked meat since ancient times: how they stuck lizards in the ground and how long they cooked them. It struck me because this method of cooking at low temperatures is what we are all trying to achieve now and what the Aborigines recognized many years ago. It turns out to be truly delicious food cooked in coals in the ground.
Diners, Drive-ins and Dives
A cult American series that has been running for ten years. Host Guy Fieri, who has three restaurants in California, travels across America in search of diners and eateries that serve interesting food. A huge number of stars managed to visit it - for example, you can even find an episode with the participation of Matthew McConaughey.
Mikhail Shishlyannikov
Chef and owner of the Black Code gastro bistro
I have been passionate about cooking since childhood - it is my passion. I was always looking for new culinary knowledge myself, reading literature on the topic, but everything changed when one fine day I learned about the existence of a channel on cable television. There I came across a program that I periodically watch on the Internet when I need fresh culinary inspiration: “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”
The action takes place in the USA. The development of the culinary tradition of this country was greatly influenced by the large number of different cultures that are mixed here. Host Guy Fieri moves around the states in search of new, interesting, unusual operating catering establishments. These are mostly fast food establishments, but not in the usual sense. In our country, it is generally accepted that fast food is represented by large chain giants, where you can quickly have a snack after a couple of minutes of waiting. The program may include establishments where truckers eat, and this will be a diner that serves sandwiches with pastrami and fresh meat broth, the meat of which can be prepared for ten days, in accordance with the traditional recipe. Or, for example, in another state there may be two eateries that have stood opposite each other for decades, and they serve sandwiches with crab meat caught that morning. Or you can also go to a cafe where in the backyard there is a smokehouse made by two brothers - the owners of the establishment, and in it you can simultaneously cook one hundred kilograms of meat.
In the episodes you can see brief cooking technologies, which cannot but please me as a person obsessed with cooking. All this is similar to a cooking video book where you can bookmark the recipe you like. Thanks to the transfer, I discovered the preparation of chicharron snack. Before that, I didn’t even know it existed. Chicharron is pork skin that is boiled in oil, then dried and then fried in oil again. At the final moment of cooking, the skin puffs up like popcorn and becomes like chips.
Hypebeast Eats
A section of the popular American men's website about modern fashion and streetwear Hypebeast. Three-minute videos about upscale meals in interesting restaurants (including those with Michelin stars) and about, for example, a simple cup of latte from a nice coffee shop. Each episode is dedicated to a specific place and menu item.
Fedor Tardatyan
I often watch different YouTube channels. It all depends on what topic I am currently passionate about. There is an interesting channel called American Hipster, which was recommended to me by my New York friends. Ten American cities are viewed through the prism of lifestyle: music, fashion, art and, of course, the most interesting for me - food. The second channel I watch regularly is Hypebeast Eats. Beautiful stories about interesting restaurants in America, interviews with their owners and spectacular filming. There are no boring or banal restaurants here. The creators of this channel make a very cool selection of places - you want to go to each of them.
I don't watch professional cooking shows, I find it boring. I watch the show for the mass audience, with the caveat that this viewer understands food and shares the style and presentation with which the programs are made. It often happens that after watching a video, I want to buy a ticket and fly to this region, appreciate the cuisine and traditions. So I went to New York to study burger culture, to Portland, Oregon, to see the hipster capital from the inside with their new take on cuisine, to Philadelphia to try the Philly steak sandwich and, of course, to Texas to learn barbecue. New Orleans is on the cards with tempting Gumbo soup.
How to Cook Like Heston
The transfer of the world famous British chef Heston Blumenthal, owner of The Fat Duck restaurant - one of four establishments in the UK that has three Michelin stars. In the program, he takes off his snow-white robe and shows how to prepare his signature dishes in the most ordinary home kitchen.
Stanislav Pesotsky
chef of the northern cuisine restaurant BJORN, best young chef of Russia 2016
Now I don’t have any favorite shows, because everything has its time. I used to watch a lot: “Hell’s Kitchen”, “MasterChef”, “How to Cook Like Heston” and some others in the original. This was about five to seven years ago during my formation as a chef. Now I watch much less often and only narrow-profile content. It’s difficult for me to single out just one program, because almost every one has something to gain for yourself. And it’s not just about gastronomy, but also about the organization of the process, management, equipment, and other people’s approach to their business. Each program, of course, has its own format, and if it is a show, then most often it is just that and there is nothing else behind it. Another thing is professional action. When I watched various programs for a long time, the realities in Russia were far from the realities of more gastronomically developed countries, so anyone would have noticed the difference between them. Now we are developing, becoming more and more professional. And in such programs, I am always primarily interested not in what, but in how.
BBQ with Franklin
An 11-episode web series by self-described barbecue nerd Aaron Franklin, in which he explains in detail all the steps to perfect barbecue. The author explains why even the type of wood is important when cooking, at what temperature it is correct to smoke meat, and why the way you cut an already cooked piece matters.
Fedor Tardatyan
co-owner of Brisket BBQ and Ferma Burger
A couple of years ago, I began to seriously study Texas BBQ and prepare to open our Brisket BBQ restaurant. Before we went to study in Austin, I watched a bunch of channels about barbecue. Of course, I couldn’t ignore the channel of Aaron Franklin, the king of Texas barbecue, whose Franklin BBQ restaurant has a daily line and a minimum wait time of three hours. By the way, this is the same guy who starred in the episode “” - there he sells his famous smoked brisket to the heroes. I was at Franklin BBQ in Texas and tried the standard Brisket that everyone looks up to. Even Gordon Ramsay praised this restaurant, and his word is worth a lot.
Hell's Kitchen
One of the most popular culinary reality shows led by the British monster of both cooking and character, Gordon Ramsay, about whose temperament everyone has heard. Participants compete for the position of chef at a famous restaurant. At the moment, 16 seasons have already been released. Two seasons of Hell's Kitchen were also filmed in Russia, in which Probka Family creator Aram Mnatsakanov acted as chef instead of Ramsay.
MasterChef
Another no less popular show, which was invented in the UK back in 1990 and is currently filmed as a franchise in forty countries around the world. The original version of MasterChef was not much different from Hell's Kitchen, but the brand has grown to include MasterChef: The Professionals for professional chefs, Celebrity MasterChef with celebrities and Junior MasterChef for children.
Cover: Boardwalk Pictures