Here is a preview of a new PBS show titled The Mind of a Chef, produced by Anthony Bourdain and Zero Point Zero Productions (the award-winning team behind No Reservations). If the list of episodes at Eater is any indication, the whole first season will focus on Momofuku chef David Chang as he travels the world, cooks, and hobnobs with famous foodies like Aziz Ansari. This, to be perfectly clear, is a good thing.
We have discussed Bourdain very frequently around these parts, and we have discussed Chang a little as well, but the bottom line here is this: Food television, like sports television, is increasingly becoming unwatchable. Outside of Chopped, Top Chef (sometimes), and No Reservations, there is almost nothing geared toward viewers with an operational frontal lobe. Now, will I occasionally leave the television on for two hours while overweight clowns wearing wristbands around their forearms stuff their faces full of garbage? Sure. But that is because I am a damaged individual, and it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t prefer a show that follows someone who is more interesting and has better chops. That’s what this appears to be, and it has my full support.
