Whether you love to cook, don’t know a thing about cooking or just love to eat, there are plenty of shows about food that will keep you satisfied. From documentaries to films to TV series, here are some of the Sheaf’s top recommendations for you. 

Julie and Julia

Directed by Nora Ephron, the film Julie and Julia is a comedy/drama that is based off of the true story of Julia Child and Julie Powell, two women born in different decades who are determined to foster and build their own culinary skills.

The protagonist, Julie Powell, played by Amy Adams, starts an online blog to track her goal of cooking all the recipes in Julia Child’s cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in one year. Over the year, we see her struggle and gain stride in the kitchen all while gaining more and more attention from her blog.

This movie encourages those comfortable or uncomfortable in the kitchen to step out of their comfort zone and get their hands dirty.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

The 2011 documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, follows Jiro Ono, an 85 year-old Japanese man who is one of the world’s best sushi chefs. Considered a national treasure, his sushi restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro in Toyko, was the first sushi restaurant to receive a three-Michelin-star rating.

Through the documentary, the audience learns about the beautiful relationship between Ono, his son Yoshikazu who manages the restaurant, the history of Sukiyabashi Jiro and the dreams that lead Ono to open up his own sushi restaurant.

Chef’s Table

The Netflix original documentary series Chef’s Table consists of two seasons with six episodes each. From Argentina to Los Angeles to South Korea, each episode focuses on one world-renowned chef, giving the audience a taste of many different cultures and their foods.

In each episode, we see how the chef came to pursue a career in the culinary arts and take an inside look at how they run their restaurant, as well as learning about their unique passions and take on cooking.

This show allows us to vicariously travel the world, eat incredible food and hear amazing stories about the people who dish up some of the most delicious and sought-after food in the world. It will leave you feeling inspired and, most of all, hungry.

Chopped

Chopped is an American reality TV show where four chefs compete against one another in preparing a three-course meal for a panel of judges, the winner of which gets to take home $10,000.

In each round, the chefs are given a basket of random ingredients that are often not paired together and that must be used. Chopped displays the difficulty of coming up with and preparing a deserving meal in a limited amount of time. This show is a little stressful to watch, but mostly fun and extremely impressive. It’ll encourage you to get a little more creative in the kitchen, that’s for sure.

Forks Over Knives

This 2011 documentary advocates for a low-fat, plant-based and whole-food diet as a way to avoid or reverse chronic diseases. Forks Over Knives is not a subtle film — it presents its evidence upfront and boldly and will leave you thinking about moving from a meat-eating diet to veganism.

Although this film did not receive amazing reviews, it has gained much attention in the past couple of years as more people are advocating for a vegan lifestyle, not only to improve health but also for other reasons.

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Lauren Klassen

Graphic: Lesia Karalash / Graphics Editor