Looking for food shows that center POC points of view
November 2, 2020 12:21 PM   Subscribe

I'm looking for TV shows like Taste the Nation and Ugly Delicious that go beyond the "white guy talking to white guys" schtick. I am in the U.S. and have access to Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video. I'm not interested in competition shows or instructional cooking shows. Examples of what I've liked below.

What I've really enjoyed:

Ugly Delicious and Taste the Nation (POC hosts, talking to POC chefs/cooks, with some really insightful unpacking of concepts like "authenticity")

Street Food Asia and Street Food Latin America (mostly just pointing a camera and letting the POC chefs tell their stories)

Flavorful Origins, Raja Rasoi Aur Anya Kahaniyan, and Taco Chronicles (series made outside the U.S. for non-U.S. audiences)

What I've liked:

Worth It (Buzzfeed show with a POC host, and featuring a lot of POC chefs)
Strictly Dumpling (YouTube series with a Chinese host visiting Asian restaurants)
No Passport Required (I saw one episode and liked it, but I don't pay for PBS's streaming, I can't access any more of it)
Chef's Table episodes about Mashama Bailey, Niki Nakayama, Bo Songvisava, and Asma Khan
posted by creepygirl to Media & Arts (16 answers total) 27 users marked this as a favorite
 
Have you watched Salt Fat Acid Heat? To some extent, it is instructional, but the joy of the show is watching Samin Nosrat travel around and meet and speak to interesting chefs all over the world and enjoy delicious food.
posted by ChuraChura at 12:27 PM on November 2, 2020 [18 favorites]


Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. On Netflix, hosted by Samin Nosrat, on whom I now have a crush because of how charming she is on that show.

I adored Taste the Nation, and now I am going to have to check out a couple of things you listed!

ETA: Jinx, buy me a coke!
posted by hought20 at 12:28 PM on November 2, 2020


Sohla El-Waylly's post-Bon Apetit career seems to be taking off well. I've watched some of her shows on the Youtube Binging with Babish channel, which I think comprise a series called "Stump Sohla." They aren't instructional but not like Taste the Nation either. It's more like "Give Sohla a weird challenge and watch her do her thing."
posted by PussKillian at 12:35 PM on November 2, 2020 [5 favorites]


Response by poster: Ooh, yes, I forgot to mention Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat as one of the shows I've watched and liked!
posted by creepygirl at 12:44 PM on November 2, 2020


Mind of a Chef, mainly the first season with David Chang.
posted by gingerbeer at 1:04 PM on November 2, 2020 [3 favorites]


Maangchi has a YouTube channel that focuses on Korean cooking. I've tried some of her recipes, and they're really good.
posted by spinifex23 at 1:24 PM on November 2, 2020 [2 favorites]


Mikey Chen also has a pretty interesting YouTube channel, that's aside from Strictly Dumpling. Mikey Chen.

I also enjoy BuzzFeed India; it's not so much food related, but they have some food videos that I really liked: BuzzFeed India. They also have my favorite cooking video of all time! How To Cook Every Indian Dish Ever.
posted by spinifex23 at 1:38 PM on November 2, 2020 [2 favorites]


I don't know if it's available in the USA, but if it is, you might enjoy Reza: Spice Prince of India.

Also, the Chronicles of Nadiya is really good and features a British Bangladeshi chef (the all-time break-out star of the Great British Bake-Off) going back to her Bangladeshi roots.
posted by essexjan at 1:44 PM on November 2, 2020 [5 favorites]


Not a visual show, but I'm enjoying the podcast Point of Origin. It's hosted by Whetstone Magazine co-founder Stephen Satterfield and "enthusiastically uplifts the voices of women and people of color."
posted by pumpkinlatte at 2:56 PM on November 2, 2020


The same Nadiya as mentioned by essexjan also has a Netflix show, Nadiya's Time to Eat though it's more instructional.

I'd also recommend the Taco Chronicles on Netflix, though it is subtitled.
posted by mcgsa at 2:59 PM on November 2, 2020 [2 favorites]


Anything with Michael Twitty on it. He doesn’t have his own show yet but I bet he will someday. He’s been on a lot of other shows.
posted by matildaben at 3:04 PM on November 2, 2020 [1 favorite]


You might enjoy Moosemeat and Marmalade, in which a Cree/Dane-zaa chef with bush cooking experience and a white British chef trained in the European style travel around North America and beyond investigating indigenous ingredients and the culture and worldviews attached to them. I'm not sure if APTN is region-locked, but if it's not you can find the first four seasons here. It also apparently airs on a channel called AWE TV in the U.S.
posted by northernish at 3:06 PM on November 2, 2020


If you have Hulu, Padma Lakshimi's show "Taste the Nation" is on there.
posted by COD at 3:26 PM on November 2, 2020


I have 3 suggestions (2 of which are slightly off center):

ULAM Main Dish on Hulu/Amazon Prime - Documentary on filipino chefs and the filipino food movement.

Midnight Diner on Netflix - This is a fictional show about a late night japanese diner. There is a storyline to each episode, but the food/cooking plays a central role in the story. In japanese with subtitles.

Stars' Top Recipe at Fun-staurant on YouTube - These video clips are from Korean tv that I watch on YT. If you search Funstaurant, you'll find the videos. It's a variety show where they show celebrities and different people cooking in their homes. The panel watches the video and makes comments. I love seeing inside the kitchens and the refrigerators. In korean with subtitles.
posted by jraz at 3:59 PM on November 2, 2020 [2 favorites]


A Bite of China is along the same lines as Flavorful Origins, covering a broader scope of Chinese cuisine and features beautiful, calming cinematography.
posted by hellopanda at 10:22 PM on November 2, 2020


No Passport Required with Marcus Samuelsson plays to me like a proto-Taste the Nation, but a little slower pace. It's enjoyable.
posted by hijinx at 6:27 AM on November 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


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