7 deliciously binge-able food shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar 

Chances are you’ve spent a fair bit of time in the kitchen lately—whether out of desire or necessity is another matter. If you want a break from your quarantine kitchen and watch someone else cook for a change, there’s a plethora of choice on the OTT platforms. Here’s the Vogue edit of the best food shows streaming right now—some will amp up your kitchen game while others will have you dreaming of meals to come when travel reopens. Let the bingeing begin.

Nadiya’s Time to Eat

If multiple lockdowns and phased unlocking has got you stressed in the kitchen, there’s Nadiya Hussain to the rescue. The Great British Bake Off winner (2015) recently came out with her own BBC series, Time to Eat. “Try these stress-free recipes using my cheeky time-smart hacks”, says Hussain as she potters about a bright, pastel-hued kitchen set whipping up dishes like Speedy Egg Rolls, Fastest Roast Potatoes Ever, Easy-to-make Ice Cream, and more. There’s even a Banana Tarte Tatin if you’re over banana bread. Hussain also ventures into other homes and helps time-starved Brits with simple go-to dishes using pantry staples and make-ahead prep—her clever instant noodles in a jar recipe is a keeper.

Streaming on Netflix

Masterchef Australia

Matt, Gary and George may be missing in action, but there are other familiar faces in the MasterChef Australia kitchen this year. Season 12 brings some of the top contestants from the previous 11 editions—Poh, Hayden, Ben, Amina, Reynold, Dani, Callum, Emelia, and others—it seems like old times! The new judges, chef Jock Zonfrillo, food writer Melissa Leong, and season four winner Andy Allen, encourage and push the 24 contestants to cook better as mystery boxes are unveiled, pressure tests hot up and the immunity pin goes up for grabs. Who will lift the MasterChef Australia 2020 trophy (and walk away with a cool quarter of a million dollars)?

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Masters of Taste with Gary Mehigan

Gary Mehigan may have exited Masterchef Australia, but he’s channelling his love for India in a new show called Masters of Taste. With his characteristic affability and gregariousness, Mehigan hobnobs with chefs and restaurateurs as he travels around India exploring the food scene. From learning how to make The Bombay Canteen’s Seafood Bhel from chef Thomas Zacharias to trawling the cities for local street food with Sadak Chef Saransh Goila, we see him in his element. In the second season, he ventures into people’s homes where he learns traditional pit cooking from a Rajput family, cooks a vegetarian feast for a Jain family, discovers biryani recipes in Hyderabad, and much more.

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Ugly Delicious

James Beard Award-winning chef David Chang hits culinary hotspots around the world as he focuses on a single dish or concept per episode—dissecting it, eating it and exploring how it evolves. For instance, the pizza episode zips from Brooklyn’s famous Lucali to New Haven, Connecticut institution Pepe to Naples, Italy to Tokyo’s Savoy pizzeria (tuna and mayo pizza, anyone?), as Chang and other chefs debate the importance of authenticity in pizza. Apart from chefs, celebrities like Padma Lakshmi, Aziz Ansari, Steven Yeun etc. make an appearance. And if you can’t get enough of Chang, there’s also Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, featuring more celebrities like Chrissy Teigen, Kate McKinnon, Lena Waithe, and Seth Rogen.

Streaming on Netflix

Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted

You’ve watched Gordon Ramsay in his element in high-pressure kitchens, practically screaming at hapless contestants. But the National Geographic series, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted takes him out of his comfort zone and into remote locations. “I’m travelling to the ends of the world in search of culinary inspiration”, says Ramsay as he tries to lasso a cactus (no, really) growing on the edge of a sheer mountaintop overlooking Peru’s Sacred Valley. Watch him prepare a feast using local ingredients and traditional cooking techniques like the Māori hāngi (earth oven) in New Zealand, or go shopping for Afro-Indian spices in a local marketplace in Durban, South Africa or trying his hand at cast-net fishing on the Mekong in Laos.

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Cooked

If the history of food and how we cook interests you, you have to watch bestselling author Michael Pollan’s enlightening show, Cooked, which is based on his book by the same name. Over four, nearly hour-long episodes, Pollan explores food through the lens of four natural elements—fire, water, air and earth. “I started with fire because that’s where cooking begins”, says Pollan in the very first episode where, with the help of Australian hunters, he shows how fire shaped human gastronomy. In the ‘water’ episode, Pollan arrives in Mumbai to look at how one-pot cooking forms such an important part of Indian cooking techniques. The episode on ‘air’ focuses on bread while the last one highlights fermentation. This engaging, deeply researched docu-series is certainly worth your time.

Streaming on Netflix

Eat The World With Emeril Lagasse

This 2016 show helmed by celebrity chef and restaurateur, Emeril Lagasse, is a short season of six 30-minute episodes. But it packs a lot of punch as Lagasse enlists his chef friends for epic foodie adventures—from Spain with José Andrés where they explore the roots of Modernist cuisine to South Korea with Danny Bowien (of NYC’s Mission Chinese Food) to Italy with Nancy Silverton (of LA’s Pizzeria Mozza). It may not be as slick as some of the other shows out there, but there’s enough food geekery to keep you hooked.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Also read:

4 green smoothie recipes for people who trying to eat healthy at home

6 easy steps that will help you make your own pizza at home from scratch

4 easy ice cream recipes you can make without an ice cream maker for the ultimate summer treat