It’s been raining here in Northwest Arkansas. Tons.

Torrential tons.

I love it. It energizes me.

For many, rains that seems to never cease brings a melancholy or, at the very least, the overwhelming desire to curl up with a blanket and read a good book or watch a movie. Are you in that camp? In today’s world we no longer have to wait for our weekly episodes of our favorite television shows or brave the elements to head to the movie theater. Nor do we have to settle for whatever the broadcast stations determine that we want to watch. Yes, nowadays we get to choose. And the choices available to us are torrential.

Do you subscribe to Netflix?

Recently they posted a Netflix Original documentary (kinda) called Chef’s Table. I say “kinda” because this series feels more than a documentary to me. It feels like a masterpiece of beautiful cinematography mixed with interesting characters that opens up the mind to the wonderment of innovators in the world of cuisine.  That last sentence was a mouthful to me. Essentially, I think this series is stunning and blew my mind with the beauty and the stories.

To be honest, this show owned me at Vivaldi.

The opening score alone that highlights all six internationally renowned chefs in the series are punctuated by one of my favorite scores from Vivaldi’s four seasons. It’s emmy-worthy in my opinion and perfectly introduces the show. In a nutshell, all of your senses are engaged and I really think you will love Chef’s Table. This series is about the chef’s story, their environment, and not so much about the food other than the food is everything. It’s hard to explain, as I have never seen anything like it before.

Here’s a quick overview of the six chefs highlighted in the series. Once you watch them, tell me your favorite.

Francis Mallman, Patagonia

Watch this one first and when you are finished with the others, come back and watch it again. This chef is eccentric and you will find yourself drawn to every second. His island home in Patagonia takes over an hour dirt-road ride and then another hour boat ride. Yet somehow the little island is overflowing with rich food abundance and high quality surroundings. The chef is obsessed with fire and every nook and cranny you will find him firing up a fire and cooking something delightful.

Massimo Bottura, Italy

While Francis Mallmanis is my favorite episode to watch for the fascination factor, Massimo Bottura is my favorite chef in the series. His infectious enthusiasm is refreshing and he is someone I could just see myself having dinner with along with his wife. A lovely, lovely episode.

Ben Shewry, New Zealand

A quiet man and driven. The scenery is stunning.

Dan Barber, NYC

His NYC restaurant, Blue Hill, has often been on my list of places to eat while visiting the city yet one that keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list. Now that I feel I know him, that will change.

Magnus Nilsson, Sweden

This one was just okay to me.  Not sure I would want to have dinner with him, ha.

Niki Nakayama, Los Angeles

The lone female chef in the series. The storyline felt a little off for me on this one because it talked about how she was breaking barriers in her cuisine genre but I didn’t really get it.

Wrap it all up with a trek back to Francis Mallmann and your binge watching adventure is complete.

If you don’t have Netflix, I found that the youtube trailer rolls right into the Massimo Bottura episode. Enjoy and tell me what you think!

Eat well, my friend. Eat well.
Lyndi