If you love food and if you love watching TV then you surely watch the cooking and food shows on TV. My boys are big foodies and they have a BIG appetite to watch TV. So, no marks for guessing that they love to binge watch the various food shows on the telly. Thanks to them, I am forced to watch a lot of food shows too. Ok, the last part is not true. I love watching these shows too.
Actually, it’s fascinating to watch someone cook. It’s amazing to see new, exciting and delicious culinary ideas. You get to know the styles and techniques of cooking, tips and advice from the professional chefs. And you get to explore cultures and cuisines from all over the world.
While I was drawing the skeleton of this post, I had a list of some 26 shows that I absolutely love watching. But today, I will be sharing only 11 of my favourite food and cooking shows on TV.
1. Kylie Kwong: My China
This was one of the first few food shows that we started watching on TV. In this show, Kylie Kwong travels all around China as she rediscovers her Chinese heritage, and explores the food and culture of this vast and enigmatic country.
2. My Sri Lanka with Peter Kuruvita
I like this show because I think KG cooks like Peter Kuruvita. In this show, Peter Kuruvita, a chef based in Sydney, travels to his ancestral country, Sri Lanka to explore the food culture and try delicious recipes in exotic locations… beaches, mountains, jungles.
3. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
Aah! I love this charismatic guy. He went away too soon. In this program, Anthony uncovers the best in culinary cuisine across the world. Along the way, he offers his perspective on both the food and the local customs he comes across in his travels.
4. Eat St
This program makes us hungry, very hungry!! In this show, the host tour North American street-side eateries and taste the scrumptious items on their menus while the owners narrate their inspirational stories.
5. Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
This is one show that I watch with fascination and disgust. Andrew Zimmern, in this show travels to different countries and tries unusual items from the local cuisine, which others might consider disgusting or bizarre. Just to give you an idea, he has eaten raw pig’s testicles, frog’s beating heart, lizard sake, giant snails, raw octopus sushi, chicken butts, rooster balls, blood stew, crickets of rice fields, ox heart grilled with bone marrow sauce to name a few!!
6. Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares
Gordon Ramsay is my favorite chef. Have you read his autobiography Humble Pie. Read it and you will truly amazed by his life’s story! In this show, Gordan visits restaurants that are on the verge of shutting down. He transforms the struggling restaurants with his own menu of extremely frank and forthright advice. I also like his Hell’s Kitchen which is competition between 2 groups of aspiring chefs and they are given a host of cooking challenges to attempt and win the grand prize.
7. The Fearless Chef
He risks his life for food!! Kenyan chef and restaurateur Kiran Jethwa travels around the world to discover unique ingredients and the extreme methods used to harvest them. From deep sea diving for fish in Mozambique to hunting with eagles in Mongolia, Kiran meets with extraordinary people and turns their hard earned harvest into mouth-watering meals.
8. Food Safari
Food Safari is an Australian television food series presented by Maeve O’Meara. Here she explores the cuisines brought to Australia by its immigrants. What I like about this show, Maeve’s appreciation for the food. You have to watch it to know it.
9. David Rocco’s Dolce India
In this show, Italian celebrity chef David Rocco travels throughout India, sampling the local cuisine and collaborating with Indian chefs to create unique recipes. How coolly he takes to the local customs and traditions. Awe-inspiring.
10. Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals
KG is highly influenced by this British Chef. While we have watched his many shows, this one is my fav. He whips up recipes that only take thirty minutes to prepare. Just the minutes that I want to spend in the kitchen!!
11. Nigella Bites
She is a food goddess! In this show, Nigella prepares food for holidays and family events. I like how she is clumsy in the kitchen and her bingeing in the light of her refrigerator in the middle of the night… she makes eating totally guilt-free.
There are so many more cooking and food shows that I love, but guess that will have to be for some other day.
Do you watch Cooking and Food Shows on television? Which is your favourite show?
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29 Responses
I have watched Nigella and Gordon Ramsay. I prefer to watch Indian cookery on YouTube, Hebbar’s Kitchen and Hema’s cooking.
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Comprehensive list of great TV shows. Can’t say I’ve watched any of them other than Nigella. I do enjoy Master Chef Australia.
My favorite is Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi. Namak Shamak. Namak Shamak.
Watching these shoes is such a culinary delight. I love watching them despite of not being a good cook dear. Picking favs won’t be appropriate either because each brings in a unique experience
Dolce India and nigella bites are my favorites but love all of them, I love all shows of ndtv good times and TLC.
OMG! There are sooooo many food shows on the TV! :O
And you didn’t even mention MasterChef. That’s the only one I know of!
I don’t watch food shows at all, because then I feel like cooking, which I hate.
I remember watching one food show ages ago… “Yan can cook”. Do you remember it?
And of course Sanjeev Kapoor’s Khana Khaza was very popular in my home back then.
but that’s about it.
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I’m a foodie but not much of a cook. I must admit my favourite food shows are the competitive kinds- Masterchefs and the like!
On My! I thought Master Chef Australia was the greatest food show ever and you make a list without it! So much to know, watch and learn. Thanks for sharing Shilpa.
Oh I love watching food shows too! My favorite are Nigella’s, Kylie Kwong, Jamie’s, Highway on the Plate, Pickles of India and of course Master Chef Australia along with many more. The list is endless! Wow…this was an interesting post to read. I’ll try watching the rest that you mentioned here.
I watch all of these too!
Love David Rocco and Anthony Bourdain !
You are following some great chefs on TV. What about our own Sanjiv Kapur. He has changed Indian culinary scene quite a bit. Then there are several others I see them on and off on TV.
I have seen them all. But my favourites were David Rocco and Nigella’s show. And of course, Masterchef Australia!
I also know only about ‘khana khajana’ and Master chef:). But the post is nice and informative.
I have been stuck at Vikas Khanna’s shows hahaha, this is quite a list which can be explored, thanks for sharing.
I love food & food show(s) 🙂
One disadvantage- the former contributes to my weight while the latter makes me hungry!
My favourite is Nigella Bites. I just love the way she cooks.
I only watch cooking shows when my daughter makes me! But I know there are a lot of good ones out there…
Great list Shilpa…all my favourites there…very sad about Bourdain though.
Wow, this is so cool. The only good food show I knew was Master Chef. LOL
I love them all, in fact, my whole family is a fan of cooking shows. Our Sunday special is Rick Stein’s India.
Hell’s Kitchen is so hot to handle and MasterChef is all time BOW Down.
Wow! I think you have covered most! No Reservations has been my favourite. There was another one years ago called “Yan Can Cook” .. the chef/show host was really humorous and entertaining.. I still make a couple of his recipies!
No Masterchef Australia? Blasphemy 😛
I love these shows, Eat Street in particular. There is something so orgasmic about watching food being cooked 😀
I love cooking programmes. I used to host one myself on the radio a few years ago. The big one running on TV now is The Great British Menu. I really enjoy watching Gordon Ramsay although he’s better at advising restaurateurs than he is at running his own! As for Nigella Lawson, her food is only the second reason I watch her show I’ll say no more!
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I have not watched any of these cooking shows, as I am not very inclined to cooking 🙂 but your post is quite interesting to read, thanks for sharing so much information…
I must admit I’ve never heard of any of the above-mentioned tv shows. I’m more of search online for recipe kind of person but now I’ll make an active effort to search for these shows. thanks for the list.
I love Nigella! I don’t know why but she is just so passionate when it comes to making food. Ramsay’s kitchen is the best it’s very entertaining Food shows are just so nice to watch and good for the soul
I’ve read Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks and enjoy his style. Gordon Ramsay, of course, is legendary. Love Nigella too! Have her cookbooks. But I don’t watch any food shows, except some really short 5 min recipes. This is a fun list!
I love Jaime and Nigella are my faves! I could watch food shows all day. I’ll have to look these up and try them out. I might find myself a new favorite.
I have only watched Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals and loved it. I think he has a book on this topic as well. I have visited Jamie’s Italian restaurant as a PR trip and it was a lovely experience as well. I need to check other tv shows. Thanks for sharing, Shilpa.