The 5 dreamy food+travel shows I binged watch in August

When was the last time you watched a food show? Yeah, me too.

I don’t know why, but one evening, I found myself on MAX and Ina’s face popped up. We all love the Contessa. And I soon realized a bunch of her cooking shows are available on the streaming platform. I mean, ALL 19 SEASONS of Back to Basics (legendary), and 4 seasons of Be My Guest (kinda entertaining for the celebrity factor, but not as great). Of course, I got happily sucked in and started watching a few seasons.

Interestingly, I didn’t run to my kitchen to try out her recipes, as I would have in the past. I will always LOVE Ina (and my family and I swear by some of her classic French recipes and more).* But maybe I got a little turned off by the amount of butter? Chefs out there, you’re not reading this, but don’t kill me! I’m not sure. However, seeing her cook did inspire me and give me a ton of joy…

So I started scrolling thru MAX and was amazed by the amount of food content. It’s as if Food Network + CNN + YouTube + A&E made many, many food babies. There are TONS to choose from. Here are the 5 shows I binged watch, saving the best for last:

1. Bobby & Giada in Italy: 1 season, 4 episodes, 43min each

   For everyone, because everyone loves Italy.

   TBH I have never been a huge fan of Bobby and Giada. Clearly, they’re very talented and savvy, but they’re just not my favorites to watch. Bobby could use more warmth. And while the camera loves Giada and I respect everything she’s done, I was never that impressed with her recipes. There, I said it.

   However, if you want to eat your way thru Italy from the comfort of your couch, discovering some time-honored culinary traditions and delicious new creations, then this show is for you. The two of them are VERY entertaining together. Giada brings out Bobby’s fun side, and the man is just so giddy- happy to be in Italy with a Roman guide. Did he just spoon feed her gelato? Are they buying each other gifts? You can read between the lines here…This is the show that prompted me to make my first focaccia, which was very satisfying to make (pretty easy, just some downtime), versatile and delicious. More on that later!

   

2. Simply Giada: 1 season, 4 episodes, ~22min each

   For people who miss that Brooklyn viiibe and want to eat more healthyish…

   So I decided to give Giada another shot. This show is very cute because it features her mini-me, super chill and sweet teenage daughter Jade, as they both relocate from sunny LA to a beautiful Brooklyn brownstone. It also features Giada’s long-time boyfriend who seems like a nice guy. This is kinda like a travel show because of the NYC location, right?

   What I appreciate about this show is a more grown-up version of Giada here. She’s more real about leading a busy hectic life all the while trying to cook nutritious, delicious food for her family. She shares some practical meal prep tips (eg make a big batch of quinoa and freeze in 1 cup bags to use as oatmeal, salads or sides). She offers some easy, tasty-looking recipes, such as easy homemade chicken broth, and healthy alts to lighten up the meals we love. So yes, I’m going to try her Bison Bolognese, maybe add diced roasted mushrooms to hype up the umami flavor…will report back soon.

   

3. Getting Lost with Erin French: 1 season, 8 episodes, 43min each

   For soulful travel junkies…

   I first discovered Erin French a couple years ago when I binged watch her show The Lost Kitchen on Discovery+ (also avail. on MAX, duh. 3 glorious seasons). She’s a self-taught chef who moved to a tiny town called Freedom in Maine to open up a little jewel called The Lost Kitchen. I think her restaurant is open just for the summer season. And guess what? Because a seat at TLK is so highly coveted, reservations are made by sending a postcard and waiting for it to be drawn by the staff. Some may balk at this, but I think it’s romantic and nostalgic, and very much on brand.

   Anyways, I digress. I definitely suggest you check out her first show to get to know her as a chef, her signature style, and dare I say, her raison d'être. (Listen, it’s a real word we use. But ok, you can still laugh…)

   This time though, she’s decided to spend the winter/spring months, while TLK is closed, to travel through the US with her very sweet, supportive husband. They travel in an airstream that looks like a little cottage inside. Erin wants to get INSPIRED (ha!) and is visiting chefs, home cooks and farmers all across America. She’s humble - there’s a lot she doesn’t know and wants to learn (ie homemade pasta, baking a fish in a salt crust) which is very refreshing to watch for a very successful chef. And the show gets better with each episode. The human connections get deeper. She seems genuine, and deeply caring, and I couldn’t help but connect to that. I also love that she creates a beautiful meal at the end of each episode, to thank everyone who hosted them that week. I got MAD INSPIRED watching this show, and couldn’t stop gushing about it to my husband (the Oregon and Idaho episodes are my faves).

   

4. José Andrés and Family in Spain: 1 season, 6 episodes, ~43min each

   For Spain & family adventure lovers…

   OK. I know. Jose Andres is A LOT. He can be exhausting to watch, because his passion really runneth over. But, he is a legit Spanish chef and founder of WCK. So big up to him. His twenty something daughters who join him on this culinary adventure thru Spain are the show’s saving grace. They too get exhausted by his over-the-top personality, but they love him deeply and are patient with him (and sometimes, they check him), which is fun to watch. For most of the season, Andrés is accompanied by two of his three daughters, Carlota (23) and Inés (21). These are smart, savvy and daring American women who speak fabulous Castilian Spanish and are down to eat everything and anything. I mean, they love Morcilla (blood sausage). ‘Nuff said.

   The show gives you a deeper look at some of Spain’s wonderful culinary and cultural traditions and innovations. The Valencia episode where the girls learn how to make authentic Paella Valenciana and compete with some local teams is brilliant. I’ve made paella maybe twice before and it really made me wanna try again. Andrés knows pretty much everyone in Spain and seeing him get even closer to his daughters warmed my heart. Hmm…I’m sensing a pattern here.

   

5. La Pitchoune: Cooking in France: 1 season, 7 episodes, 44 min each

   For big dreamers and Provence lovers…

   Has anyone watched this gem of a show?? I could go on and on, and I will, so indulge me. It’s the story of thirtysomething American entrepreneur Makenna Held who decided to purchase Julia Child’s vacation home in the South of France in 2015 and create a cooking school. Makenna reminds you a lot of Julia, she’s very tall, with the same infectious exuberance. What’s more, her teaching method is pretty genius. She calls it Courageous Cooking - it’s intuitive, recipe-free! You watch how students (mostly American) are pushed outside of their comfort zone to create delicious meals out of unlikely pairings they put together intuitively.

   This show is extremely charming, and I LOVED it for so many reasons:

   a/ You get an insider look at Julia’s French kitchen, which they recreated pretty authentically. You see a lot of cool artifacts documenting her longtime friendship and collaboration with Simone Beck, who lived next door.

   b/ If you don’t love Julia, that’s fine. The show is set right outside of Valbonne, a beautiful medieval village 30min from Nice, my hometown. Suffice it to say, I was really reminiscing. Every scene is just beautiful but not in a cloying way. It’s all about the natural beauty and artisanry of Provence. The show was shot during Spring/Summer when the flowers are in bloom and the farmer’s markets are essentially serving up food porn. It makes you want to grab whatever herbs and veggies you have lying around, and cook your heart out.

   c/ The show’s dynamic is very fun to watch. Makenna and her husband (musician, resident historian?) have partnered with another couple, Kendall and Ross, to run the place. Makenna met Kendall on their first day of cooking school at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and became instant friends. Kendall was already an accomplished chef, and so she runs the cooking school. She is damn knowledgeable and amazing but so casual about it. Her husband Ross can build/create/repair anything on the property and also sources the wine. These are four chill, down to earth dreamers…irresistible.

   d/ I learned A LOT about intuitive cooking. It’s all about following your desires (love), picking out seasonal produce that excites you without a dish in mind (what?! But I guess this is what chefs do, and maybe something we all do at times), and really start using spices in a big way. You see the students experience a real breakthrough, and become so much more confident.

   Makenna and Kendall have come up with a pyramid concept to create a dish more intuitively. Honestly, it’s pretty brilliant. You choose one ingredient as the foundation for your dish, and then you start to layer complementary and contrasting flavors and textures using different ingredients to build an exciting, deeply flavored dish. You also think about the kind of fat to acid ratio you want. And finally, you add your salt and aromatics (eg herbs, spices, alliums [garlic and onions] and zest) and garnish with that last bit of love.

   

   Makenna and her pyramid concept.

   In the last episode, a group of women entrepreneurs create a gazpacho together. In addition to the usual tomatoes and cucumbers, they add some out-of-the-box ingredients they picked out at the farmer’s market including gorgeous cherries, zucchini, garlic scapes and smoke black cardamon. Huh?? You really don’t think this is going to taste good. But in fact, it’s the best gazpacho they’ve ever tasted, and I believe them.

   The show is freeing and encouraged me to be more bold and playful in the kitchen. And that’s really what I’m after here. Yes, we have recipes, but they’re just the starting inspiration, the fun techniques we learn, for the culinary canvas we can create ourselves.

   Watching these food shows is easy entertainment, but it can also lead you back into the kitchen with a pep in your step and an excitement for things to come…

*Boeuf Bourguignon, Coq au vin, Roast Chicken, her many roasted veggie recipes….

P.S. I did not mention the OG Gangster of all food+travel shows; Parts Unknown/No Reservations, created by our beloved Anthony Bourdain because I’ve seen every episode and they can be harder to watch these days, since he left us. That said, some of my faves include Myanmar, Lyon and Sichuan with Eric Ripert. Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy is also wonderful, elegant and scrumptious, just like its host.