Our 6 Favorite TV Shows to Spark Wanderlust: Food Edition
2020 brought about quarantines, travel bans, restaurant closures and social distancing. It has been a rough year for travel. When the coronavirus epidemic brought us home from our long term travels, my wanderlust went into quarantine as much as we did. I was bummed (to say the least) that our travels came to an abrupt end and it was hard to watch anything travel related. After almost 9 months back in the U.S., and the development of the coronavirus vaccine, my wanderlust is picking up again and I hope yours is too!
Since we’re all still spending a lot of time in front of the TV, we might as well fuel our wanderlust and start traveling vicariously with some great travel-based television. Today, I’m sharing about our favorite food series that feature cuisines around the world. In future posts, I will share our favorite documentaries, kid’s shows and tv series/movies that all transport us to places abroad. All shows can be found on Netflix, unless noted otherwise.
STREET FOOD: ASIA (& LATIN AMERICA)
From personal experience, this show is enjoyable before you travel to the destinations feature and even more enjoyable after you’ve been there! This show helps transport me back to our travels like no other. I can’t wait to dig into the Latin America season since it’s the next region that we want to visit.
Episode to start with: “Bangkok, Thailand” - chef Jay Fai’s story is hard to beat.
SALT FAT ACID HEAT
Samin Nosrat just might be the most charismatic person on the planet. In one breath she can both give food the respect it deserves and make exotic food relatable.
Episode to start with: “Salt” - where she travels to Japan, just to see her emotional reaction to food.
BREAKFAST, LUNCH & DINNER
I’m a big fan of David Chang’s work. (His memoir, “Eat a Peach”, was one of my favorite books of 2020.) Watching him travel and eat with celebrities is always entertaining.
Episode to start with: “Phnom Penh with Kate McKinnon” - while we didn’t travel to Cambodia’s capital, we did fall in love with the country’s food. This episode brings back those memories and anything with Kate McKinnon is high on our list.
NO RESERVATIONS (HULU)
There couldn’t be a travel food tv list without including No Reservations. Anthony Bourdain practically invented the genre. At a minimum, he sparked the desire in all of us to eat more adventurously abroad. It’s hard to explain how much I’ve been influenced by Bourdain and this show because it has permeated so much of my knowledge and love of travel.
Episode to start with: “Vietnam: There’s No Place Like Home” - I can vividly remember watching this episode and thinking that I had to go to Vietnam and eat Pho on those plastic stools. We did just that during our travels and ate at the Bahn Mi restaurant no less than 7 times.
CHEF’S TABLE
Six season, plus two spinoffs, filled with food and travel inspiration. If you haven’t seen this series yet then you’ve just found the next show to binge. You’re welcome!
Episode to start with: “Niki Nakayama” and her passion for kaiseki cuisine.
EATER’S GUIDE TO THE WORLD (HULU)
I haven’t seen this series… yet. It’s next on our list! I cannot wait to start with the episode “Dining Alone in the Pacific Northwest” since it’s location is where we now call home. Plus, I’m a huge Maya Rudolph fan!
What is your favorite No Reservations episode? What food-based travel show do you love?
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