What is the Future of ‘Chef’s Table’ on Netflix??

Over five years ago, a super stylish food docuseries called Chef’s Table premiered on Netflix and became a stealth mega-hit. Inspired by creator David Gelb’s hugely successful film, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, each episode of Chef’s Table focused on the life and work of an internationally-renowned chef, positioning them as heroes and their dishes as works of fine art.

Chef’s Table was also coincidentally Netflix’s very first original docuseries. While the show has ushered in an avalanche of similar artsy series, food-centric programming, and as of today, yet another spin-off — Chef’s Table: BBQ — what comes next for the Chef’s Table franchise itself? 2020 doesn’t just mark the show’s five year anniversary, but a crisis moment for the food industry. As COVID-19 has closed down restaurants and culinary institutions like Bon Appétit face a moral reckoning, what more does Chef’s Table have to say about food, and what does Chef’s Table: BBQ tells us about the franchise’s own ambitions?

When Chef’s Table premiered in 2015, it was riding a cresting wave within foodie culture. It was a time where chefs were treated like rockstar kings. There had not yet been reckonings with regard to pervasive sexism, racism, classism and abuse within the industry. And the first season of Chef’s Table seems to reflect this old attitude. Of the six chefs profiled only one, Niki Nakayama, wasn’t a white man. The style of cooking on display was Michelin-star rated and accepted by the gatekeepers of the industry.

However, in just five short years Chef’s Table has evolved to include the voices of chefs all over the globe. Some of whom wouldn’t necessarily refer to themselves as chef’s, but custodians of a way of life. (Think Jeong Kwan or Chef’s Table: BBQ’s Rosalia Chay Chuc.) The show’s scope has evolved so much that the storytelling has demanded spin-offs, like Chef’s Table: France, Chef’s Table: BBQ, and unofficial sister show, Street Food. The fact that executive producers David Gelb, Andrew Fried, and Brian McGinn have taken it upon themselves to examine food outside of the Michelin guide suggest that they sensed the industry’s changing tides ahead of time. Or, at the very least, recognized the limitations of the show’s original ethos.

Which brings us to today’s launch of Chef’s Table: BBQ. The four-part season focuses on the art of the pitmaster. Each episode seems to, in its own way, scoff at the idea of precision cooking or aesthetics over flavor. Even the Lennox Hastie episode, the most traditional “chef” in the bunch, has a philosophical quandary about the value of industry recognition. The series features an 85-year-old Texas spitfire named Tootsie Tomanetz, the aforementioned Hastie, South Carolina’s own Rodney Scott, and traditional Mayan chef Rosalia Chay Chuc (who has been already featured on another Netflix’s series, Ugly Delicious). All four stories celebrate the twin forces of community and tradition. And all four episodes are made with the same craft that has come to define Chef’s Table as a brand.

But what’s next for Chef’s Table? I ask this as an ardent fan of the series and also as a critic who wonders if there’s still space for the series in Netflix’s stable of food docs. Shows like Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and Ugly Delicious have taken the style of Chef’s Table and expanded upon it. The former was a brilliant showcase for Cooked stand out Samin Nosrat while Ugly Delicious is as much of a groundbreaking travelogue as it is living diary for host David Chang.

Chef’s Table: BBQ is not only a brilliant riff on the franchise’s original formula, but an acknowledgement of that formula’s limitations. The hyper-edited food symphonies and Vivaldi riffs have become their own cliché (and I’m not sure they helped the presentation of full hog BBQ). The idea that kitchens run on the engine of one person’s genius alone has garnered pushback as it’s become clear how much a staff is the lifeblood of a restaurant. And what comes next for restaurants themselves? As 2020 hurls challenges at us all, will all future Chef’s Table episodes be steeped in COVID-19 crises?

The Chef’s Table franchise has dazzled audiences for years and helped Netflix find its footing in the world of food television. Where it goes next, audiences are sure to follow. But between the wanderlust of the Street Food series and the tonal shift in Chef’s Table: BBQ…does the Chef’s Table team want to mix it up? Or continue to pay homage to chef’s as gods of food?

Watch Chef's Table: BBQ on Netflix