Streamers stun: the best cooking shows of 2023
There’s a lot to sink your teeth into when it comes to watching TV. If cooking mayhem and breaking baking boundaries are your thing, these series — currently available to stream — might just be for you:
“Chef’s Table” (Netflix): Following a different top-tier chef in each episode, this docuseries has travelled from Italy to Thailand to Peru, highlighting culinary innovation, techniques and cooking philosophies. Currently, six seasons of “Chef’s Table” are available, with more seasons coming soon. With 30 visually stunning episodes and two additional spinoff series — “Chef’s Table: France” and “Chef’s Table: BBQ” — there is sure to be an episode to fit everyone’s taste, making mouths water and stomachs grumble coast to coast.
“Hell’s Kitchen” (Prime Video): Gordon Ramsay is back and hotter than ever. With 21 seasons to binge and Season 22 on the air, this series proves a fan-favourite, following Ramsay as he puts 18 aspiring chefs through the gauntlet of his “fiery” command, each given a spot in his intense, high-octane culinary academy. The chefs are separated into two teams, each led by previous culinary “graduates.”
“Secret Chef” (Disney+): This series, created by chef David Chang (“Ugly Delicious”), welcomes chefs — from “professional chefs and home cooks to social media influencers,” according to Disney — to take part in an unusual cooking challenge, in which each chef is isolated in a secret subterranean kitchen, each connected by a series of conveyor belts. With no judges (and only an animated talking hat for guidance), the chefs are tasked with performing a series of cooking challenges, before they must then rate each other’s dishes through blind taste tests.
SUNDAY
2:30 p.m. 25 Years With Lidia: A Culinary Jubilee The life of chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Lidia Bastianich both on and off the screen.
3 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Killer waffles, old-school biscuits and gravy, the bomb huevos rancheros and a hash extravaganza.
NGC Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted
Gordon discovers that Puerto Rico’s cuisine is bouncing back from devastating hurricanes.
“Ciao House” (Prime Video): Tuscany, dubbed the epicentre of Italian culture and cuisine, acts as the backdrop for this new series, which premiered in 2023. Judged and hosted by Alex Guarnaschelli (“Alex Vs. America”) and Gabriele Bertaccini (“Say I Do”), “Ciao House” asks 10 chefs to live and cook together in a breathtaking Italian villa as they are put through a gauntlet of tests to determine their mastery of the local cuisine. Navigating alliances and rivalries, these chefs must prove they have what it takes to win a life-changing culinary education.
“Baking Impossible” (Netflix):
Showcasing “bakineering” at its finest, this one-season series, hosted by Justin Willman (“Magic for Humans”), welcomes pairs of contestants to try their hand at the world of extreme baking, asking them to complete challenges that combine baking with engineering (see: “bakineering”) with someone they’ve previously never met. Each team — composed of one baker and one engineer — has 18 hours to complete their projects, at which point their creations face stress tests and taste tests by the judges, who then eliminate the weakest pair.
4 p.m. FOOD
Dives Comfort food classics, including chicken and waffles, pierogis, and even outrageous oxtail stew.
NGC In the wilds of the Lone Star State, chef Ramsay learns the meaning of “Texas Tough.”
5 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Beer with mussels; brisket sandwich; headcheese; cheesy popovers; shellfish.
5:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Chicken caesar sandwiches and fajitas in Syracuse; fisherman’s risotto in Kitty Hawk.