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We all love food. When we're not eating food, we're thinking about food, talking about food, or watching food content on TV or Netflix. Throughout the years, many films about food (like Food, Inc. and Meet Your Meat, for example) have sought to raise awareness about the food industry's less-than-perfect standards and practices, while food-based TV shows have focused on helping viewers expand their recipe repertoire. But more recently, film and TV alike have capitalized on our present-day foodie culture, creating movies and shows that celebrate food in all of its glory.
Nowadays, there's a food documentary or docuseries for every type of foodie out there. You've got the classics—Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown and Chef's Table, for example—but new food films and shows are coming to Netflix constantly. Whether you're interested in different cultural cuisines, learning the food basics, or trying to make some healthier diet and food choices, there's food content for you. From Samin Nosrat's Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat to new series Street Food, these are the best Netflix food documentaries available right now.
Street Food (2019)
Street Food spotlights different street food vendors all over the world and allows each of them to tell the origin stories of their food. Street food is the most authentic cultural representation of cuisine, and vendors have to assert themselves as business owners in order to have the right to operate the same way brick and mortar restaurants do. Street Food documents the sacrifices many vendors have to make in order to be taken seriously and make a living wage, all while working long hours and providing for their families.
Food: Delicious Science (2017)
Have you ever wondered what makes you crave chocolate? Why our bodies tend to like salty food? Or why some of us have a different tolerance level for spicy food? Food: Delicious Science explores the scientific reasons behind our relationship with certain foods and flavors, and what reactions the foods cause in our brains after we consume them. This documentary also explores the relationships foods and ingredients have with each other, as well as how different food combinations cause different reactions.
The Heat: A Kitchen Revolution (2018)
This documentary follows different female chefs and explores how they navigate male-dominated kitchen culture. Although most people’s frame of reference for food stems from their mothers’ cooking, the food industry remains male-dominated and appears to have edged women and nonbinary people out of professional kitchens as much as possible. The Heat dives into what can be done to keep culinary culture from remaining male-centric, and serves as a reminder that we all play a role in uplifting the successes of marginalized groups.
Ugly Delicious (2018)
Chef David Chang takes a look at what categorizes different foods as “authentic” while delving into the history of fast food counterparts and why they have also earned a spot in the culinary world. Chang challenges the dynamics between authenticity and cheaper alternatives while asserting that each has a time and place to be appreciated. During the length of the documentary series, Chang discusses how he went from being meticulous about the appearance of food to understanding that while some food is ugly, it tastes incredible. Ugly Delicious is an important documentary to remind us having a well-rounded palate is about being able to taste and appreciate all kinds of food, whether it’s from an award winning chef or a drive thru.
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (2018)
Chef and food writer Samin Nosrat has managed to divide understanding the important cornerstones of food and flavor into four categories: salt, fat, acid, and heat. In this four-part documentary series, Nosrat breaks down each element and explains how we interact with each, and how each mingles with the others. Nosrat explores locations all over the world in search of good food and good cooking, listening to chefs who specialize in different cuisines and coming back to the basic formula of salt, fat, acid, and heat. Nosrat explains that anyone has the ability to cook well, as long as these elements are understood and respected.
Somebody Feed Phil (2017)
James Beard Award-winning producer Phil Rosenthal and his sense of humor travel all over the world to taste food and make friends. The entire documentary is heart-warming, showing that curiosity and a willingness to listen can make experiencing food memorable and fun. During his different trips, Rosenthal video chats with his parents and presents them with information he’s learned about food. The producer’s adventurous nature and charisma make him the ideal personality for sharing good food and good conversation.
A Cook Abroad (2015)
A Cook Abroad follows six chefs as they try different foods and immerse themselves in the corresponding cultures. Each chef goes into their trip knowing there are aspects to the culture they are ignorant about, and prepares to learn the history. The chefs are then taken on journeys that extend beyond learning about food; they also learn about themselves and how they can evolve not only as chefs but as people.
Cooked (2016)
Michael Pollan, author of Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, hosts this four-part food documentary that focuses on the primal nature of cooking. He insists that when humans learned to cook their food, it separated us from animals. Most of us have distinct memories of someone else cooking for us, and although primal in nature, cooking for someone is about more than just eating. Cooking for someone is about emotion, and the journey Pollan takes through this documentary is about getting back to that source. It’s also about going back to the most basic origins of cooking (fire, water, air, earth). Pollan discusses the difference between human to human cooking and mass-produced corporate cooking (fast food, frozen meals, etc.), and how although each component holds a place in culinary culture, there’s nothing like a lovingly prepared home-cooked meal.
Rotten (2018)
Rotten uncovers ugly details about the food industry that everyday consumers are mostly oblivious to. Though food plays an undeniable role in everyday life, few of us know the true origins of our food and the corruption that goes hand in hand with the dollar amount placed on it. This documentary explores the various foods Americans consume on a regular basis, the plethora of scams taking place in the food industry, and how there are more food allergies now than ever documented before. Farmers are suffering and struggling to earn a living wage and fair compensation, and we all deserve to know why.
The Hairy Bikers' Chicken & Egg
British celebrity chefs David Myers and Simon King (known as The Hairy Bikers) often go on different adventures to try foods from all over the world. The duo met while working in television and decided to turn their passion for food into a learning experience. This time, they indulge poultry fans by traveling to eat the best chicken and egg dishes. Chicken is a phenomenon across many cultures, and the Hairy Bikers aim to see how many different ways poultry can be made into an amazing dish. Through their mission to eat chicken in as many ways as possible, the versatility of food becomes even more clear.