TL;DR – Watching this I discovered that Orange Juice goes into ever marinade and there is a peach not-pie that has my name on it.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Review –

There are many reasons to make a food TV show, maybe you want to explore what drives the top chefs, maybe it is exploring the food that speaks to a place or time, or maybe you create a TV show so you can hang out with a friend and cook stuff across America.

So to set the scene, back in 2014 Jon Favreau wrote and directed a film called Chef about someone who quits his job in a fine dining restaurant to open a food truck. On the film consulting about the food was Chef Roy Choi who had followed a similar story in his real life. I have not seen Chef (though that will likely change in the coming days) it is clear that the two formed a strong friendship which we see all throughout The Chef Show.

I am not really sure how to best describe The Chef Show, it is part interview, part animation, part exploration of Los Angeles food, part love letter to smoking meat, and part friends revisiting their past and future. This gives the show a really eclectic feel, as sometimes it is all about the food, and other times in it is wistfully jumping into the past.  

When it comes to the food, there were a lot of moments when I discovered that watching this show on an empty stomach was a real mistake. Before every recipe, there is a moment when they have an animation with the final meal that explodes into its core components and while they didn’t need to do all this it was a really nice touch. What it does is add to the feeling of the show, the way the food connects us to our pasts and to our futures.

At the heart of the show is the bond between Jon Favreau and Roy Choi, a bind that was built through shared adversity that is film making. But also because they both know the struggle that is finding your own voice in a world where the only measure is speaking to what others want and not your own voice. You speak through your food in this case, and it is such a powerful voice. There is banter with them that you can’t force, a report based around a shared past and a shared love. It also means those moments where Roy is showing Jon how to perfectly cook something is equal parts care and support, with a dash of good-natured ribbing.  

While it is a show about food, it is also a show about sharing that food with friends and family. I think a lot of the focus is going to be about Gwyneth Paltrow discovering that she was actually in Spider-Man: Homecoming. For me, the heart of the series is the episode they filmed in the weeks after famous critic Jonathan Gold passed away. It was a celebration of friendship, it was longing for a dear friend that was now gone, and it was a chance to show those emotions through food. It was nice to see Robert Rodriguez’ mad pizza skills like that man can cook. It was fun to catch up with the Marvel guys, explore the different celebration dishes in Korean culture, and their deep dive into the world of barbecue.

In the end, do we recommend The Chef Show? Yes, yes we do. This is a show where you come for the food, stay for the friendship. Where food is used for exploring the world and our relationship with it, and where friends help friends make the most perfect grilled cheese sandwich in the world. It also reminded me that I have to go watch Chef.            

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen The Chef Show yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Chef Show
Written by – Jon Favreau and Roy Choi
Created by – Jon Favreau and Roy Choi
Production/Distribution Companies – Netflix
Featuring – Jon Favreau & Roy Choi with Gwyneth Paltrow, Bill Burr, Spencer Gomez, Ford Fry, Kevin Feige, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland, Andrew Rea, Evan Kleiman, Jazz Singsanong, Robert Rodriguez, David Chang, Aaron Franklin, Rebecca Masson, Benji Jacobs, Adam Perry Lang & Ivan Orkin