11 cooking shows on Netflix and YouTube that will leave you very hungry

There’s just something about watching people make and talk about food that is incredibly satisfying. You don’t have to be a world-class chef to appreciate the art of making food. Even if you can’t tell the difference between ‘parboil’ and ‘flambe’, you can enjoy these shows about food and the art of cooking. From reality competition series, where chefs try and top each other’s delicious (looking) creations, or a series that follows your favourite celebrity chef around the world as they explore international food and customs, these cooking shows are best watched if you have snacks around you. 

Street Food (2019)

The title of the show is pretty self-explanatory. Taking you on a tour of the best street food places in Asia, the nine-episode series explore nine different cities, focussing on the best street food spots in each. Every episode also delves into the city’s cultural history through its food. Cities covered include Delhi, Bangkok (Thailand), Osaka (Japan), Yogyakarta (Indonesia), Chiayi (Taiwan), Seoul (South Korea), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Singapore, and Cebu (Philippines).

Streaming on Netflix

The Chef Show (2019)

Actor and director Jon Favreau discovered his love for cooking on the sets of his movie Chef and decided to take that and make one of the most entertaining cooking and travel shows right now. Along with his friend chef Roy Choi, who also served as the consultant on Chef the movie, Favreau travels to different locations around the globe to explore his love for food and cooking. The best part is that Favreau sometimes invites his friends to come on the show, including the cast of Avengers, and other Hollywood celebrities.

Streaming on Netflix

Binging With Babish (2016)

You know how sometimes you’ll see a dish on TV or in a movie and wish you could try that? Well, you can. If you follow Binging with Babish that is. This YouTube series, created by chef and filmmaker Andrew Rea, is perfect for movie buffs and foodies. Aside from covering food basics, Rea takes popular dishes from TV shows and movies and recreates them, sometimes giving them his own twist.

Streaming on YouTube

Chef’s Table (2015)

This Emmy-nominated show was Netflix’s first original documentary series. Each episode features a world-renowned chef and their unique style and story. For fine dining aficionados, this series is gold as it offers a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most famous chefs’ cooking styles and insights into some of their most well-known creations.

Streaming on Netflix

How to Cook That (2011)

Australian YouTuber Ann Reardon was a food scientists and a dietician before creating her massively popular channel called How to Cook That. Reardon focuses mainly on desserts, including novelty cakes and complicated baking techniques. She also teaches people how to fix baking fails and turn them into beautiful dessert creations. Recently, Reardon has gained popularity for her series for debunking the popular cooking videos posted by big YouTube channels that feature clickbait recipes and techniques that are often dangerous.

Streaming on YouTube

Zumbo’s Just Desserts (2016)

World renowned pátissier and chef Adriano Zumbo challenges twelve amateur cooks to create out-of-this-world desserts. Seems simple? Two of the worst cooks have to fight to stay in the competition by recreating one of Zumbo’s iconic desserts in a limited time. There are tears and a lot of drool-inducing visuals. Watch it when you’re not hungry.

Streaming on Netflix

Nailed It (2018)

All the well-intentioned amateur chefs out there, who tried to recreate a recipe from Instagram, only to have it look like something that you stepped on in the street, this show is for you. Each episode sees three contestants trying to recreate intricate dishes. Whoever manages to create a dish that seems closest to the original takes home a grand prize of $10,000.

Streaming on Netflix

Salt Fat Acid Heat (2018)

Widely considered to be among the best food-and-travel shows around, this four-part mini series will make you fall in love with food all over again. Based on Samin Nosrat’s 2017 eponymous cookbook, the show explores how cooking around the world is influenced by the four titular elements. The host, Nosrat, travels to different countries and meets chefs, farmers, and other food providers to appreciate the basic details that go in creating the best kind of food.

Streaming on Netflix

Bon Appetit's Back-to-Back Chef Series (2017)

The YouTube channel of this popular American food publication has slowly become one of the most-talked-about cooking channels on the internet. The channel’s Back-to-Back Chef series features chef Carla Lalli Music creating a dish along with a celebrity guest per episode, while facing away from each other and only using verbal instructions. Some of the guests featured so far include Natalie Portman, Antoni Porowski, Miz Cracker, and Trixie Mattel. Additionally, chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Bobby Flay have guest-hosted the series too.

Streaming on YouTube

The Final Table (2018)

Twelve pairs of chefs from around the world compete for a spot at a table with nine culinary legends. All they have to do is prepare national dishes from countries around the world, including Mexico, Spain, Japan, England, India, and the United States. Also, each episode is judged by celebrity guests, food critics, and that particular country’s greatest chef. No big deal.

Streaming on Netflix

You Suck at Cooking (2019)

This brilliant YouTube show is the opposite of every glossy, highly-produced cooking video you’ve probably seen on Facebook and Instagram’s infinite scroll feature. The show has a narrator who takes you through the recipe peppered with hilarious, deadpan quips and witty riffs on the recipe. There are no fancy equipments, no pleasant lighting. Just food and acerbic comedy. Pro tip: Check out the channel’s ‘Break Up Pasta’ episode. It’s a treat.

Streaming on YouTube

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