Chef’s
Table is a documentary series on NETFLIX that features renowned chefs.
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photo source: wikipedia.org |
The creator, executive producer
and director of Chef’s Table is David Gelb, who is known for his critically
acclaimed documentary film called “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”.
What is interesting about Chef’s
Table is that it is a visually delighting documentary series which features different
locations and scenes which are artistically shot and presented with apt music
and excellent cinematography. Also, the documentary connects with the viewers
since the story teller for each episode is the featured chef and each one
shares their personal story from their own perspective.
Below is a NETFLIX trailer of Chef's Table season 1:
It is inspiring to watch Chef’s
Table as one gets to a closer look on how the chefs live, the different
challenges they faced, their passion for cooking, their learnings and how they
achieved success. The series also includes an interesting line-up of chefs from
different parts of the world with individual culinary styles, personalities and
success stories.
Even with their different
stories, there is one thing consistent and common among all the chefs and it is
their concern on using the best ingredients. The series also shows how some of
the chefs have been involved in the farm-to-table movement and are working
closely with farmers to ensure that they get the best and sustainable
ingredients.
Some of the best chefs featured
in the Chef’s Tables series are Massimo Bottura and female chefs Dominique
Crenn and Ana Ros.
Massimo Bottura
Massimo Bottura is an Italian chef and owner of Osteria
Francescana, the number 1 restaurant in the World’s 50 Best restaurants list in
2016. It is the first Italian restaurant to earn the award
and it also got 3 Michelin stars from Michelin Guide in 2016.
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| Osteria Francescana restaurant interiors source: osteriafrancescana.it |
Chef Massimo is married to Lara Gilmore, an American whom he met when he worked at Caffe di Nonna in New York. He admits that his wife exposed him to the arts and the avant garde which has influenced and inspired him in his work as a chef.
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| Chef Massimo Bottura and his wife Lara source: osteriafrancescana.it |
Chef Massimo apprenticed under famous chefs Alain Ducasse and
Ferran Adria.
As a chef, he also innovates to help others. He created a dish called “Risotto Cacio Pepe” in May 2012 when the earthquakes in Emilia damaged nearly 400,000 forms of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Bottura is dedicated to
reconstructing Italy’s cultural heritage. He made a modern version of the
tortellini dish by putting six pieces of tortellini in one line and placing the
broth on the left and right side and playfully called the dish “Tortellini
walking into broth”.
There was also a part in the
episode when they encountered a problem when one of his kitchen staff had
accidentally dropped the last piece of lemon tart available and how Chef
Massimo turned the situation into an opportunity of serving a creative dish
featuring the broken tart with painting like yellow splashes surrounding it
which he called “Oops! I dropped the lemon tart!”
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| Oops! I dropped the lemon tart dessert at Osteria Francescana source: osteriafrancescana.it |
Dominique
Crenn
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| Chef Dominique Crenn, her dishes and Atelier Crenn restaurant interiors source: the50worldsbest.com |
Chef Dominique Crenn of Atelier
Crenn restaurant is a French chef who describes her cooking style as “poetic
culinaria”. She takes inspiration from her childhood memories and nature.
Guests at her restaurant are presented with a poem in lieu of a menu.
She moved to San Francisco,
United States in 1988, confidently approached American celebrity Chef Jeremiah
Tower and asked if he could work for him at Stars restaurant.
Several years after working at Stars, she opened her restaurant called Atelier Crenn in San Francisco which got two Michelin stars in 2012.
“Atelier Crenn”, is a homage to
her father who was a French politician and artist. “Atelier” is a French word
that means “workshop” in English and for Chef Dominique the restaurant has
become a workshop where she creates exceptional culinary French dishes plated
beautifully which are made from organic, local produce and ingredients. .
Chef Dominique Crenn won World’s
Best Female Chef award in 2016.
Ana Ros
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| Chef Ana Ros and one of her dishes source: theworlds50best.com |
Ana took a different path when
she married Valter, a sommelier who’s family owned Hisa Franko restaurant. When
Valter’s parents decided to retire years ago the restaurant was turned over to
Ana and Valter. Since Ana did not have any formal culinary training she taught
herself by traveling, eating at other restaurants and creating dishes on her
own.
One of the restaurants she and
her husband went to before was La Subida, located in the Italian boarder and
the only Slovenian restaurant in the world that has earned a Michelin star.
Through perseverance and
creativity, Ana turned the menu around and included local ingredients and
produce. She included dishes like trout and its liver with white asparagus and
grapefruit in the menu and her husband paired the dishes with excellent wines.
She won the World’s Best Female
Chef award in 2017. She may not have become a diplomat but she definitely ended
up becoming an ambassador for Slovenian cuisine.
Below is the NETFLIX official
trailer for Chef’s Table season 2 which includes chefs Ana Ros and Dominique Crenn:
Chef’s Table is certainly a cool
documentary series that takes the viewers to another dimension of the culinary
world. Unlike the typical shows that features how to cook dishes, the series
gives a more in depth look at the life experiences of chefs and shows how their
relentless passion for food and cooking pushed them to evolve and achieve success.
