10 Food Documentaries To Watch On Netflix

10 Food Documentaries To Watch On Netflix

George Bernard Shaw once said, ‘There is no sincerer love than the love of food’

From exploring authentic street food around Asia to the connection between athleticism and diet, the following documentaries about what we put into our bodies will captivate you—even if you don’t consider yourself a foodie. Here are 10 food documentaries on Netflix that’ll have you thinking about your next meal, either indulgently or critically.

1/10 Cooked

Examining food from four different perspectives—fire, water, air, and earth—Cooked doesn’t just  look at food as a meal but as an anthropologic force that helps us better understand society. Beautifully directed, each episode focuses on a different natural element and its relationship to both modern and ancient cooking methods.

2/10 Taco Chronicles

If you love Mexican food, Taco Chronicles is a docu-series that explores the history of Mexico’s favourite street food. Both stylish and educational, the show digs deep through interviews with experts, street vendor owners, and food writers.

3/10 Rotten

This engaging six-part series focuses on the corruption known as “Big Food” within the global food supply chain that causes dangerous consequences for consumers. Learn how corporations control the food we eat and how governments play a key role in their facilitation.

4/10 Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Directed by David Gelb, Jiro Dreams of Sushi follows the now 95-year-old Jiro Ono, a Japanese sushi master and owner of 10-seater, three-Michelin-star sushi restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro. Jiro is one of the most renowned sushi chefs and is dedicated to making the most enticing sushi in the world.

5/10 Salt Fat Acid Heat

Salt Fat Acid Heat is an American cooking documentary starring food writer, chef, and TV personality Samin Nosra. The show is based on her award-winning New York Times Bestselling cookbook by the same name. The title comes from Nosrat’s proposed four elements of successful cooking and each of the show’s episodes depicts Nosrat travelling to various locations to illustrate how the elements are used in local cuisine. 

6/10 The Game Changers

With big-name producers like Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron, The Game Changers became the best-selling documentary of all-time on iTunes in just one week. The documentary showcases success stories of athletes who have adopted a plant-based diet, compellingly challenging generally held assumptions about meat, protein, and strength. 

7/10 Ugly Delicious

A non-fiction original series combining travel, cooking and history, in Ugly Delicious, host David Chang meets with writers, chefs, activists, and artists as they break down cultural barriers by exploring how a certain dish is prepared in different regions and how it has evolved. 

8/10 Somebody Feed Phil

From the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, this travel series is presented by Philip Rosenthal and all about gaining a better understanding of the world by eating like locals. The show follows Phil everywhere, from Mexico City to Bangkok and Lisbon. 

9/10 Street Food Asia

Like Ugly Delicious and Somebody Feed Phil, Street Food champions that the best way to get to know a culture is to eat its street food. The tradition of street food has been around for thousands of years and there’s just something about street food that is unrivalled in the world of cuisine. In this documentary, you’ll get up close and personal with amazing street food vendors all over Asia, Thailand included.

10/10 Chef’s Table

If it’s by David Gelb, you already know it’s going to be good. Chef’s Table offers a peek into the lives of some of the world’s most celebrated chefs, each episode focusing on a specific chef’s philosophy and approach to cooking. David Gelb considers it a follow-up to his documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Both make use of cinematography and production techniques positioned on traditional filmmaking rather than reality television.

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