Omnivore

Rene Redzepi, the acclaimed chef of Noma, is undoubtedly a culinary genius. His innovative approach to cooking has revolutionized the food world, making him an influential figure in contemporary gastronomy. However, the decision to cast him as the narrator of "Omnivore" seems to have been a misstep. Redzepi's narration lacks the engaging dynamism needed to capture and retain the audience's attention. His delivery, while knowledgeable, feels monotonous and fails to evoke the excitement and curiosity that the subject matter warrants.

The first episode of "Omnivore" sets the tone for the series, but unfortunately, it falls short of expectations. The pacing is slow, and the content, though rich in potential, is presented in a way that feels uninspired. Viewers may find their minds wandering, unable to connect deeply with the material. The episode's structure and presentation do not do justice to the vibrant and diverse world of food it aims to explore.

Don't get me wrong, AppleTV+ has some excellent content like Severance, For All Mankind and Presumed Innocent. But even with their top tier stuff, there's this whiff of something noxious that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

This docu-series perfectly encapsulates it: that odor is the smug condescension of the global one percent. Hosted by some celebrity chef from a fancy restaurant few people could ever afford to dine at, it trots through some popular foods, focused on just a tiny fragment of the whole industry, the fancy pants artisanal froo-froo segment.

It's lovely that some dude in Rwanda is making coffee by hand, for what, $100 a pound? Obviously this has no relevance to the common herd, watching grocery prices soar and thinking about what they have to cut back.

The episode about salt could have been fascinating, especially if it did anything more than, once again, talk about the teeny industry of making salt by hand. How about the long, fascinating history of salt in various human cultures? We barely get any of that.

Netflix (which in general doesn't have anything near the quality of AppleTV+ anymore) made a good series along the same lines called Rotten. If you're frustrated by Omnivore, check that out. Eschewing the prissy approach, Netflix takes us to the gang wars of the avocado trade, the cratering French wine industry, and corruption in the garlic industry. Much more real and relevant.

Chef Rene Redzepi is many things in the world of gastronomy--a master craftsman, creative genius, famously disciplined, a generational talent and visionary. David Attenborough he is not.

Whoever decided to give Redzepi narration responsibilities for this series should forever be second guessed on any and all creative matters. Any moments of visual brilliance or stirring storyline are instantly deflated by the insipid voice that overlays them. Redzepi is at his best, and his dry Nordic charisma most appreciated, when speaking off the cuff. In Omnivore it's clear that while he may have contributed in some way to the writing, they are not his words, and the AI-like delivery only emphasizes this.

In truth, the whole production fails to live up the subject matter. What's more, the first episode revolving around chilies was possibly the most uninspiring of the lot with the direction and cinematography failing to deliver what an amateur could provide with a cellphone on a gimbal. There's no doubt that the crew was high-fiving and chest bumping after wrapping a shot of the Thai chef resting on, and being showered by, bird dropping chilies like he was Mena Suvari. I wasn't expecting to get second-hand embarrassment from my viewing, but this scene nonetheless provided it.

Anthony Bourdain famously said he would rather fail miserably than to make competent television. If only the creators of Omnivore had taken the same advice.

The name and introduction before watching this TV series,i thought the content was going to be very interesting and meaningful. I thought each episode is to introduce the growth process of the most commonly eaten food in different parts of the world, its nutrition, different tastes and human effects brought by different people and different cooking methods in different regions. The documentary introduction also said"We are what we eat" which is compeletely my opinion. But in this series,we don't see much of these. And we don't see periods of professional cooking process and food raw materials are different all over the world, we just see very very slow picture, people walk around, say some nonsense,like in the chili episode,A family in Serbia,They just roast peppers in the yard and make sauce. Like every other family in this world can do,imean,this is good,but not making a big meaning in a se Ries introducing human's food. And there went some nonsense words again,more and more young people do N't want to do this. I tell you why.tradition is tradition,but it gotta to be a meaning of being kept .Only good meaningful tradition will be left behind. The production process of this simple made chili sauce is less than a few tenths of the taste of the machine, and it is not as delicious as the pepper factory, and it can't make money that's definitel Y going to be eliminated,And introduced some chilis in Thailand.not introducing the growing process,not filmi Ng how they cook the fried frogs with this local chili,just filming some nonsense about they eati Ng and saying their love story,not even some shots of the dishes. Just as a word what i saw in another Review:commercial.i can understand the commercials in tv series,but your resturant is that type tha T serving a little serving in each dishes,and selling high price. Only introducing 4 chilis in whole episod E and you saying that chili planted in your resturant is the hottest in the world,not at all.and eve Ry costmer and cook takes a bite. That's not some interesting plot.just like i saw the series:the bear, Very high scores and dozens awards. But I can't watch it after watching it for more than ten minutes. Extremely slow and meaningless shots, dim light and sad music, you call it art, truth is that's just nonsense. Just like the fifth episode of Iberian black pigs, they proudly introduce that they only need to eat, sleep and play a day without thinking about other things. It seems that this is an advantage, but which pig in the world does not only need to eat, drink and sleep. Those pigs do have a lot of space to move but not worth That highest price in the world which is totally IQ tax. Complicate simple things, that's what they're doing.

"Omnivore" is a captivating new series on Apple TV+, a visual feast that dives deep into the stories behind essential food ingredients, with educational and entertaining episodes on chilies, tuna, salt, rice, coffee, corn, bananas, and pork. The cinematography is stunning, and I was often so mesmerized by the visuals, I had to rewind to catch the dialogue we missed. Renowned chef and host René Redzepi guides viewers through each episode with his mellifluous voice making even the most commonplace ingredients seem significant. Each episode serves as a deep dive, exploring cultural relevance and the intricate connections in our lives. The series transforms the mundane into the extraordinary, reminding us of the importance of the ingredients we often take for granted.