Looking for something fun and enjoyable to watch on TV one recent evening, my wife and I came upon The Chef Show, which reunites multi-talented producer/actor/director Jon Favreau with Los Angeles chef Roy Choi. It’s the latest foodie offering from Netflix, which in recent months has very nicely taken over food TV with Chef’s Table, which explores the discipline and culinary talent of world-renowned chefs such as Mashama Bailey and Dario Cecchini; Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, based upon Samin Nosrat’s book of the same name in which she travels the world to explore how these principles fuel good food; David Chang’s Ugly Delicious, in which the James Beard Award-winning chef uses food to break down cultural barriers; and the Great British Baking Show.
The Chef Show is all about bonding over the joy of cooking – in a kitchen – with friends. Each episode takes place around a place to eat or cook without being like a travelogue. Favreau described it for Grub Street as a “dinner party in the back of the house” kind of atmosphere. The series took its name from the 2014 film, Chef, which starred Favreau as Carl Casper, a chef who opens a Cuban food truck with his son in Miami. Choi, of Kogi Korean BBQ food truck fame, was the film’s food consultant and created all of the dishes that were featured – including the deliciously mouth-watering Cubano and grilled cheese sandwiches.
After watching the first three episodes of The Chef Show – there are eight in all and it’s quite easy to binge watch – it becomes evident from the beginning that Favreau and Choi have developed a deep and wonderful rapport in the kitchen – built upon mutual respect for one another – and they share a similar taste in food. Each episode always welcomes banter between hosts – taking with each other without looking directly at the camera – and celebrity guests such as actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Avengers actor Tom Holland and Sin City director Robert Rodriguez.
What viewers get to enjoy in this documentary-style series is the showcasing of Choi’s technique and enthusiasm for the craft of cooking and Favreau’s interest in absorbing this knowledge and wisdom while keeping things light and funny. Choi is the master chef and Favreau is both his student and best buddy.
One of the funniest bits that delivers a big laugh – and, thankfully, it didn’t wind up on the cutting-room floor – shows Favreau attempting to make New Orleans-style beignets made famous at Cafe Du Monde. After making the dough by just adding water, then cutting it into individual squares, deep frying them, and showering them with powdered sugar, Choi bites into one of them. He throws the rest into the garbage. Favreau deadpans, “It’s not quite like there.” Looking for the right response, Choi pauses for a moment, then with a serious look on his face that turns into a big grin, he looks at Favreau and says, “I can tell they were a year old.” Both burst out laughing. Choi adds: “I didn’t want to say it on camera, but f••k it, this whole thing isn’t about lying.”
In a recent story about The Chef Show, Eater’s Greg Morabito wrote: “This new series allows the chef to showcase his obsession with technique and enthusiasm for the craft of cooking in ways that we’ve never seen on TV before. In every kitchen sequence, he drops culinary knowledge like an older brother handing you a mixtape of his favorite jams. Favreau, meanwhile, manages to keep the spirit light, even as he tackles new culinary challenges at the encouragement of his friend. Part of the fun is watching (Favreau) gradually increase his skill level and build more confidence in the kitchen.”
As Favreau told Grubstreet.com in a recent interview, “I’ve watched all these episodes a dozen times in the process of making and defining the show. Every little thing, a lot of care went into it. The animation, the way we talk, there’s recipes in it, the way the food is filmed. It’s just incredibly personal and something we both like a lot. It’s just really nice to share.
“It’s like you cooked a meal you want to eat, and now you’ve invited people. It’s mind-boggling to me that there’ll be someone sitting on the opposite end of the world watching the most personal, specific story. I’m really interested to see who connects to it because if they do, there’s nothing else like it that they’ll find about people in L.A. cooking and talking about Korean food. It’s such a specific thing about what Roy and I geek out about.
“Hopefully, there’s some humanity and personalness. And then people who like to cook and want to just go and show people who cook for real, and not try to present it any other way. And what it’s like to be there by the side of someone who is really great at what they do and learning from them. I wanted to show what that was like.”
Adds Choi: “It’s really honest and tender. It’s really funny, too.”
Indeed, it’s funny – an absolute delight.
Note: The Chef Show (eight episodes) debuted via Netflix on June 7.
