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For the folks who loved 2011 documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, you can certainly expect the same kind of poetry in food in the same filmmaker's new Netflix docu-series on renowned international chefs. The first trailer for the six-part series just dropped today—and it's a beautiful one.
When we first watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi, we had no idea we could be captivated by the craft of sushi for nearly an hour and a half. That's why we're looking forward to Chef's Table, which will be dedicating each hour-long episode to six famous chefs. They include Niki Nakayama of Los Angeles' n/naka, Dan Barber of New York City's Blue Hill Restaurant at Stone Barns, Ben Shewry of Australia's Attica Restaurant, Magnus Nilsson of Sweden's Fäviken, and Francis Mallmann of Argentina's El Restaurante Patagonia Sur.
The trailer shows breathtaking vignettes of the chefs in their home countries, preparing their dishes like it's an art form, and talking about their passion for food. Nakayama says in the video, "When I'm plating a dish, there's a song that goes on in my head. I don't know how to get rid of it."
Director David Gelb told Grub Street that it won't be your average food reality or travel show, but rather a portrait on the chefs. Instead of having a host talk about the series, the chefs will be telling heir own stories, as well as people who are close to them and their work. "It's sort of an expansion of Jiro: It's very character-driven, and it's about chefs who are forging their own paths, creating their own types of cuisine, and defying the normal expectations," Gelb said.
Although some of these chefs have been highly profiled, Gelb tried to bring out different elements of their stories that haven't been told. He used Barber as an example, saying that although the chef has done TED Talks, "we were excited to go in and tell his origin story, and try to figure out exactly what drives him," Gelb said.
Chef's Table is Netflix's first original docu-series and will launch on April 26.
