Chef's Table: Pizza

The episodes where people are speaking for themselves are pretty good, although I do find the origin stories rather sad and whiny throughout - and the chefs unlikeable except for the first episode. The worst part is that they use voice translations instead of subtitles - and they frickin' play the original dialog (eg Italian) loudly in the background - while at the same time playing a stilted American voiceover from someone who sounds like they read and speak at a third grade level. No emotion or inflection whatsoever. It's unbearable. I would rather hear the people speaking in their own language - some of which I'll understand - and read subtitles - than hear a horrible American actor who doesn't even sound like the people in the film look. (Blind people, by the way, have their own adaptive equipment so don't say this is more inclusive.) It sucks balls of mozzarella and ruins the series.

Chefs table is a food show known for its cinematic shots, heavy use of slow motion, long piercing stares and melancholy philosophical musings by the chefs featured. In short, a food show that takes food and itself very very seriously. There are probably only a few handful of restaurants and chefs in the world you could use this format on without it becoming off as pretentious tosh.

When I think innovative thought provoking food worthy of the pomp that this show serves up, I think of Alain Passard at L'arpege (which was rightfully covered in season 1). I don't think pizza, delicious as it is. If this is the path the show is going down I would say brace yourself for 2023 chefs table - cheeseburgers.

Would be a 1/10 but I gave it a 2/10 for it's unintentional comedy factor. To think you can say with a straight face that you are the "Michaelangelo of cooking" because you threw random toppings on a piece of dough until it tasted alright is truly bordering Steven Seagal-esque levels of self awareness.

Why does the dub over not match the subtitles? It's super annoying. There are two voices and it's distracting.

It's the only downside to an interesting show.

Why does the dub over not match the subtitles? It's super annoying. There are two voices and it's distracting.

It's the only downside to an interesting show.

Why does the dub over not match the subtitles? It's super annoying. There are two voices and it's distracting.

It's the only downside to an interesting show.

Why does the dub over not match the subtitles? It's super annoying. There are two voices and it's distracting.

It's the only downside to an interesting show.

Finally!! With the boom that the last decade has seen in the culinary arts coming to the forefront of television and entertainment, and just exposure in general, this is a truly SUPERB production. The first three episodes evoke so much raw emotion - the passion that drives these chefs (often bordering on varying degrees of insanity) is simply breathtaking. Diving deep into these chefs' stories, shedding light on how they're wired and how their genius has been developed over time and at what cost. The level of sheer focus (obsession) is beyond inspiring. And most episodes I've seen always touch on the importance of doing things differently today - with a focus on sustainability, quality, and local sourcing of food items and ingredients.

A food documentary in which I bawl my face off?!? (Chris Bianco) Very memorable.

Don't get me wrong, some serious food porn is served up, but as other users have pointed out, there's a lot of pretentiousness throughout the series. In my opinion the only chef who deserved such an honour to be included in a Chefs Table episode is Franco Pepe, do yourself a favour and skip to this episode first. Chris Bianco has a very interesting take and I would definitely try his pizza, but others in the series seem to think adding "weird" ingredients to their pizza makes them above everyone else. I don't want flower petals on my pizza, that's not how this works. I'm very saddened that this is where chefs table has gone, the quality control and screening of content has seemed to gone off a cliff. At least two episodes in this series shouldn't have been made.