The Best Food Shows on Netflix That’ll Make You Seriously Hungry

The world of food is a big one, and a great passport to that world is food shows. If you want to see local cuisines, street food, hear the stories of the world’s best chefs, or just want to see some incredible food get made (or eaten), food and cooking shows are where it’s at. And Netflix has a bunch of them.

We’ve scoured the streamer’s backlog to find the best food shows so you can sit back and get inspired by the top-notch viewing that is being served up. Bon appétit!

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Culinary Class Wars

Culinary Class Wars is essentially Physical:100 as a cooking show. The South Korean food show sees 100 contestant chefs split into two teams of veterans and newcomers, all competing for the top cash prize. The huge number of contestants and the challenge rounds make this a dramatic but very fun watch. If you enjoyed Physical:100 or like large-scale competition formats that are compelling and creative, this is for you. Watch it here.

Is It Cake?

What started as an internet joke has somehow transformed into an incredibly successful (and seriously fun) food show. If you haven’t watched this show yet, trust me, just give it a go. Is It Cake is exactly what you think it’s going to be. Incredible bakers create cakes that look like ordinary everyday items, but you will be shocked at the skill, and I can guarantee you will not guess what is and is not cake. You can watch it here.

Salt Fat Acid Heat

This four-episode series is the perfect bit-sized cooking show that will take you around the world and teach you a little more about cooking. It’s hosted by chef and author Samin Nosrat and based on her book of the same name. Wanting to understand flavour and cooking, she breaks it down into four elements: (you guessed it) salt, fat, acid and heat. This is a great show for anyone wanting to get better at cooking or even for newbies to the world of food. Watch it here.

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Iron Chef: Quest For An Iron Legend

Fans of the original or anyone who loves a good cooking challenge show will be in for a really good time with the rebooted Iron Chef: Quest For An Iron Legend. Alton Brown returns to host and five new iron chefs will battle contestants over the entire season, after which the Iron legend will be crowned after one more final battle. Fans of the original will like that the classic hasn’t been overhauled too much, while new fans will love the high stakes cooking concept. Watch it here.

Street Food

In some cultures, it doesn’t get more local than street food. This series is the perfect combination of food and travel and each season takes you around Asia, Latin America and the USA by way of street food delicacies. The show does a great job at storytelling through in-depth interviews with local, expert chefs as well as speaking to local vendors, which is always a highlight. Three seasons are streaming on Netflix now.

Fresh, Fried & Crispy

If you have a soft spot for all-things fried food and relentlessly charming hosts, then Fresh, Fried & Crispy deserves a spot on your watch list. Host Daym Drops is an ex-YouTuber who travels around the US trying everything that has been fried and brings you along for the ride. The show is joyous largely because of Drops’ continued enthusiasm and willingness to try absolutely anything that’s been fried, from Oreos to Rocky Mountain Oysters. You can watch it here.

The Chef Show

The Chef Show is one of those ‘if you know, you know’ shows. The concept is very simple, with creators and hosts Jon Favreau (also of Marvel fame) and Ryan Choi standing in the kitchen, talking and preparing a selection of dishes. Occasionally, guests will also come on to chat. The show is so natural, genuine, engaging and you learn a lot, which explains why it has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. You can watch it here.

Main image credit: Netflix