The Mind of a Chef

The best food show presenter/writer narrates as one of the smartest and most creative chef of today takes a journey that presents how his professional skills and personality were build. Bourdain's only highlight the steps of the lead character, David Chang, as he takes his friends to places he loves and meets chefs he admires, from his home town New York to Tokyo, passing by Denmark, Spain and many other places, always displaying his good natured rock-and-roll personality. Changs light approach towards the kitchen and food is a real bliss during these days that chefs are taking their craft a little too seriously. To be watched slowly, savoring each short episode.

I enjoyed the show but was quite turned off by the final episodes evolving around the Swedish chef. The trivial smartness and tricks he took so much delight in, seems to be pleasing himself more than anything, but they are just some stratagem and ruse upon himself. It was not serious or genuine cooking - it was mimicry of the environmental surroundings, clumsy, uncultured, sometimes brutal - especially the scenes on Faroe Islands. The way he cooked a duck will make any Asian chef laugh. I quite the show upon this chef. The show also overlooked Indian, Middle Eastern, and Asian chefs, perhaps due to the production difficulties. Many of the casting duplicated "Chef's Table." I wish to see more of heartfelt and genuine cooking instead of trivial smartness in future.