Whether you’re looking for culinary inspiration or just like marvelling at intricate plates of food, there’s something addictive about cooking shows. The following series span everything from deep dives into Korean food culture to behind-the-scenes kitchen tours with the planet’s top chefs.
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
This “sweet, vibrant cooking show” follows Samin Nosrat in her pursuit of flavour-packed dishes, said Emma Specter in Vogue. The Iranian-American chef and bestselling cookbook author explores the four elements of excellent cooking: salt, fat, acid and heat. Watching her travel the world from Kami-kamagari island in Japan to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to collect as much knowledge as she can is “an adventure in itself”.
Available on Netflix
Chef’s Table
“Chef’s Table” is “the ultimate in food porn and the most handsomely filmed culinary show there has ever been”, said Michael Hogan in The Telegraph. Each episode takes viewers to meet a world-renowned chef, delving into their life stories and inspiration behind their cooking. There’s plenty of “drool-inducing cinematic close-up” shots of their dishes, too – most of them are more akin to a “work of art” than a plate of food.
Available on Netflix
The Great British Bake Off
This beloved British baking competition has been running for over a decade but in its 15th season, it’s still a “pleasure to welcome a dozen fresh bakers to the tent”, all of them “sunny and comradely and kind”, said Jack Seale in The Guardian. Getting to know them is a “delight”. Alison Hammond is also back presenting the show for a second year; “effortlessly friendly and just naughty enough” she is “clearly a natural”.
Available on Channel 4
Rick Stein’s Food Stories
In Rick Stein’s latest BBC food show, the chef and restaurateur is seen “zipping around” the UK to sample the nation’s favourite food, said Carol Midgely in The Times. In Cumbria, he meets farmer James Rebanks and his Herdwick sheep, one of which Stein eats in a hotpot before declaring it “world-class”. Despite having had open-heart surgery and nearing 80, in this 15-episode series Stein “clearly still has a lot of energy in the tank”.
Available on BBC iPlayer
MasterChef
“A whopping 20 series in, ‘MasterChef’, by now, is cooking on gas,” said Nick Duerden on the i news site. Each season brings in another group of “plucky individuals” to sweat away in front of the stove under the watchful eyes of John Torode and Gregg Wallace. In short, the iconic show is “one of the reasons that British TV is currently and forever obsessed with cookery programmes”. Who knew that baba ganoush “prettily arranged on a homemade plate” could “elicit so very many goosebumps”?
Available on BBC iPlayer
Flavorful Origins
This documentary series goes “deep”, providing a “crash course in authentic Chinese cuisine”, said Debby Wolfinsohn in Entertainment Weekly. Each season tackles a different region (so far the show has covered Gansu, Chaoshan and Yannan), and “feel like travelling across China with a knowledgeable guide”. Episodes are under 15 minutes and a “total treat”.
Available on Netflix
Is It Cake?
“A TikTok meme that became a fiendishly addictive TV game show”, “Is it Cake?” sees top bakers disguising desserts as an array of everyday objects in an effort to “dupe” celebrity judges, said Hogan in The Telegraph. Viewers find out whether the cake is real only when host Mikey Day “cuts them in half with a samurai sword”. It’s “bizarre, brainless fun” that’s all but guaranteed to have you “shouting at the TV screen”.
Available on Netflix
K Food Show
It’s hard to watch this “incredibly mouth-watering cooking show” on an empty stomach, said Wolfinsohn in Entertainment Weekly. Each series focuses on a different “Korean delicacy” – so far the show has covered kimchi, banchan (side dishes served with cooked rice) and broth. Watching this “beautiful travelogue of a fascinating country” is like “taking a dream vacation without ever leaving home”.
Available on Netflix
Nadiya’s Time to Eat
Nadiya Hussain might have started her career as a competitor on “Bake Off”, but shows like this demonstrate she is a “natural heir to Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver”, said Sarah Carson on the i news site. In “Time to Eat” she swaps the “tired concepts of domestic goddessery or pristine health food virtue” for simple yet delicious recipes that save time.
Available on Netflix