Chef's Table: Pizza

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.

I come late to Chef's Table and when I started watching this series, I expected serious documentaries about pizza restaurants. Instead it is a series about the egos and pretentions of famous chefs.

Pizza is simple street food. I have eaten it on four continents. But an excellent slice does become more wonderful just because you throw some kimchee at it or buy your vegies with a handbasket at the local market.

The main contention of this series is that a restaurant is a success not because of location or value or front-end service or decor or atmosphere but solely because of the ingredients and the passion of the head chef.

I contend that any decent chef with a wood-fired oven can make a pretty good pizza at $50 a pop. What few chefs can do is provide a great street lunch for $5 or $10.

Watching this series I was reminded of glossy magazine articles that tried to convince me that one wine is worth a hundred times more than another because it was grown on the north side of the valley versus the crap that is grown on the south side.

I gave this series five stars for photography and travelogue aspects. The rest is soap opera and BS.

The show starts off amazingly strong but it all goes downhill from there: Too many of self-centered people who just love to repeatedly up big themselves up and tell everyone how amazing they are with pseudo-philosophical takes on food and life. While some of the foods where amazing, the amount of dishes and ideas fell somewhat short because the people involved seemed to have mistaken the show by thinking they were the main attraction when in reality, the viewer wants to see some amazing dishes, aesthetics and ambiente primarily. One thing that was done well was keeping the sound at an even level throughout the show, something Netflix has unfortunately fell short of too often.

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.

This is perhaps the most pretentious piece of television I have ever seen. The classical music overlaid on the basic, boring interviews of these chefs that use "raw ingredients", juxtaposed by the modern art critic explaning why they are so sophisticated is nauseating. It's a bit embarrassing, and honestly feels like satire.

This isn't to say that the food that these people making isn't good. But to showcase a few chefs and act like they are "Michelangelo" is silly. "I was the first one to bring dough and pizza to television." Give me a break.. You can get good pizza similar to any of these depicted in almost any large city.

If you are looking for comedy, which I only have to assume is their aim, stick to a more approachable and less self-aggrandizing show like 'Nailed It', or 'Is It Cake?'.