The Best TV Shows to Watch If You Love Food
From high-stakes cooking competitions to dramas set in the world of restaurants.
For many, the ultimate comfort can be a great meal or curling up on the couch to watch some feel-good, binge-worthy TV. When those things are combined, you not only have the recipe for a must-watch TV show but an incredible series that is perfect for any food lover to watch.
There are countless TV shows for foodies. Depending on what your preference is, you might prefer watching a cooking show featuring an expert teaching you how to make a dish or a reality series observing chefs of various skill levels as they try to figure out what to do in a competition, or even travelogues about the cuisines in far-off (or not so far-off) places. There are even great scripted dramas and sitcoms about the food world, so you're spoiled for choice if you're interested in the subgenre. Below, are the best TV shows if you're a food lover.
'America's Test Kitchen' (2001 )
Compared to others on this list, this is a highly educational show. The series features test cooks in a test kitchen, demonstrating their skills and passing along information. Pictured above is Christopher Kimball, who hosted seasons 116 and co-founded the show.
'Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown' (20132018)
The late Anthony Bourdain massively influenced our cultural understanding of food. The famed chef/TV personality had so much charisma and a no-BS communication style that you felt like you were really being let in on a secret as he explored lesser-known places and cuisines—and like you hanging out with an extraordinarily snarky, smart friend.
'Barefoot Contessa' (20022021)
Of the various cooking shows that could make this list, Ina Garten's is the most joyful. She just really loves food and various ingredients—especially butter—and her attitude is conspiratorially chummy and soothing.
'The Bear' (2022 )
The wild popularity of The Bear speaks to how much people love food content. While there are several scripted series on this list, few have had the response that this Emmy-winning FX on Hulu show has had, as it tells a riveting, emotional story about an esteemed chef (Jeremy Allen White) revitalizing his late brother's sandwich shop.
'Beat Bobby Flay' (2013 )
This show may see chef Bobby Flay bringing on another talented chef to see if he can beat them in a cooking challenge, but it's also a great way to meet a new face in the food world. Ultimately, we're usually rooting for the guest to win.
'Bob's Burgers' (2011 )
Bob's Burgers central premise is right there in the title: a family owns a burger joint. There is a lot of wisecracking and banter, with some plentiful food jokes thrown in for good measure. So if you like food and comedy combined, give this a watch.
'Chef!' (19931996)
This '90s British sitcom (which you may not have heard of) is very enjoyable. It follows an arrogant but extremely talented chef with two Michelin stars (played by Lenny Harry) who is deeply insulting to just about anyone. Also, he's very bad at business.
'The Chef Show' (20192020)
Actor and filmmaker Jon Favreau and Korean-American chef Roy Choi first met when Choi taught Favreau how to cook on screen for the movie Chef. They liked each other so much that they created The Chef Show, cooking together and with guests.
'Chef's Table' (20152024)
If you enjoy watching a chef at the top of their craft make an expert meal while speaking about their influences and experiences, great news: There are a bunch of seasons of Chef's Table. This also means a ton of inspiration and discovery, should you seek to cook or eat outside your comfort zone.
'Chopped' (2019 )
While the premise of this show has been explored elsewhere (chefs receive four mystery ingredients and must use each over several courses), this one does the format exceptionally well. Trying to figure out how chefs will use the sometimes obscure ingredients—yucca in dessert?—is fun.
'Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives' (2007 )
While you may be more familiar with hosts Guy Fieri and his son Hunter, the longevity of the show comes from the sheer breadth and depth of those diners, drive-in restaurants, and dive bars all over the world. It's a slice of life and food.
'Good Eats' (19992012)
Often called the Bill Nye of food, Alton Brown has a science-based attitude towards cooking. If you've ever wondered what a particular ingredient does, or how the chemistry of baking works, chances are he's probably wondered and explored the same thing.
'The French Chef with Julia Child' (19631973)
Julia Child hosted several shows that could go on this list, but The French Chef was one of the first cooking shows on television. The iconic series changed the course of the genre so dramatically that it basically influenced every other nonfiction cooking show.
'The Great British Baking Show' (2010 )
There are a few reasons this British hit has become so popular: It applies a familiar bake-off competition style to amateur chefs in the U.K., and it's so freaking wholesome. The judges are experts and funny, and the bakers have varying levels of competence but usually a good sense of humor.
'Iron Chef America' (20052018)
The original Japanese Iron Chef from the '90s is incredible and worth a watch. However, you may be more familiar with the American version. A guest chef and a resident Iron Chef compete over an hour centering around a secret ingredient. It's been popular enough to span multiple companion shows.
'The Lost Kitchen' (2021 )
If you're unfamiliar with chef Erin French's story, it's quite a whirlwind. The Lost Kitchen is a small, intimate, wildly popular restaurant in Freedom, Maine, and over three seasons, French takes us through its loss and various hardships (including COVID-19) to eventual triumph.
'MasterChef' (2010 )
This might be one of the most recognizable modern food reality shows. With challenges like the Pressure Test and Mystery Box, it constantly iterates on ways to approach cooking (while making contestants very, very stressed).
'The Martha Stewart Show' (20052012)
Martha Stewart had such an important influence on home cooking that her show deserves a place on this list. This '00s iteration (her previous show, Martha Stewart Living, ran from 1993 to 2004) built upon her work, including the impeccable vibes and joy of hosting and preparing food for others.
'MasterChef Junior' (2013 )
Leaving aside the fact that most of these kids are better chefs than the rest of us, these 8 to 13-year-olds are put through intense challenges as part of the show's competition. It's quite riveting, particularly the skills test and elimination box.
'Nailed It!' (2018 )
If you are unfamiliar with host/comedian Nicole Byer, let this delightful show be your introduction. Contestants, who are amateur in the extreme, try to reproduce complicated cake designs. The results are usually hilarious and often very, very terrible. This is serotonin TV!
'Next Level Chef' (2022 )
If you like reality television in the cooking space, this one has an inventive premise: Three kitchens, stacked on top of each other, have increasingly better tools and equipment. Chefs compete in the various kitchens, with Gordon Ramsay, Richard Blais, and Nyesha Arrington as judges.
'Oh My Ghost' (2015)
This South Korean series has an extremely fun premise: A young woman who's an assistant chef at a restaurant gets possessed by an extremely lustful ghost. The chef's interest in her boss—and her new forward personality—makes for a very watchable rom-com.
'Party Down'
Party Down is more food-adjacent than food-centric. It follows a group of caterers (or rather, aspiring actors with day jobs catering). The cult-loved show was canceled too soon and brought back for a recent revival. The jokes are nonstop and you'll be stunned by how many comedy favorites broke out of this ensemble.
'Restaurants at the End of the World' (2023 )
As the name implies, Top Chef winner Kristen Kish travels to some of the farthest regions on Earth to explore how, exactly, restaurants function (and serve up amazing food to boot). Kish has been a part of the Top Chef universe for a while, if you like her.
'Salt Fat Acid Heat' (2018)
This is a fun premise: Each episode of the four-episode docuseries deals with one of the words in the title and its impact on cooking. Our host is Iranian-American chef Samin Nosrat, who travels to a new location for each episode.
'Santa Clarita Diet' (20172019)
This Netflix comedy is designed to satirize trendy diets: Sheila (Drew Barrymore) becomes a zombie, has related cannibalistic cravings, and starts looking and feeling absolutely amazing. She loves her new meals, in other words.
'Simply Ming' (2003 )
Ming Hao Tsai has hosted several shows in his day (East Meets West, Ming's Quest), but his PBS titular series has had an impressive evolution. Whether he's on the road or at home, focusing on ingredients or competing with another chef, it's all fun and interesting.
'Somebody Feed Phil' (2018 )
The successor to I'll Have What Phil's Having, Netflix's travelogue Somebody Feed Phil features daring food and banter (and educational elements) in whatever location host Philip Rosenthal has chosen, some off-the-cuff moments, and just general enjoyment of a new location and its eats.
'Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy' (20212022)
If you're already a fan of actor Stanley Tucci, you'll know a) he's a great cook, and b) he's quite particular about food (specifically, Italian cuisine). As the name suggests, Tucci explores various regions in Italy and educates us while making and eating some phenomenal food.
'Sweetbitter' (20182019)
Based on Stephanie Danler's memoir, Sweetbitter is about her chaotic experiences working as a server in a New York restaurant. It's intense and dramatic—a forerunner to The Bear.
'Top Chef' (2006 )
A competition show so popular that it's spawned multiple spinoffs, Top Chef has a deceptively simple premise: a couple dozen chefs compete, in elimination style, while living in shared housing without access to the outside world. It makes for really good television.
'Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place' (19982001)
This sitcom about the inner workings of the fictional "Beacon Street Pizza" features a young Ryan Reynolds playing slacker Berg. The conceit of the show was abandoned in the third season (and the name of the show changed), but it was a fun vibe while it lasted.
