The Netflix pit is nearly bottomless. As hard as we’ve tried to reach the end, we just can’t do it. They keep dumping content on us and it can be overwhelming to wade through. To reacquaint yourself with your love of cooking during these indoor days, we’ve curated a list of shows that can help motivate your culinary pursuits. Or, if we’re being honest, just a list of shows to inspire your next trip to the kitchen while you have the munchies.
Cooking on High: Let’s just get the obvious one out of the way. Cooking on High is Netflix’s cannabis-infused cooking show. We never thought we’d see the day when there was a whole show, on the biggest streaming platform, devoted to edibles, but here it is. It’s a little corny, sure but each head to head competition-style episode is less than 15 minutes long (so if you get distracted, you’re not committed to the conventional hourlong format). Ngaio Bealum, cannabis comedian, educator, and advocate is the real star of the show who will definitely drop some knowledge on you between the laughs. This one’s an easy watch, and you might actually pick up some practical tips should you ever want to host an infused dinner party.
The Final Table: We’re not sure why cooking and competition is the recipe for a great culinary show but it's undeniable. However, you can stop wasting your time with Chopped or Iron Chef, because The Final Table is the pinnacle of cooking competition. Twenty-four world-renowned chefs compete to cook the cuisines of 9 countries over the course of the single-season on Netflix, with the top chefs from each country coming by to critique their dishes. It is the definition of binge-worthy! Seriously, grab a quarter of the top-shelf and start it early on the weekend because you just might watch all the way through. Smoke enough to get way too over-invested in all the competitor’s lives (though that’s just good advice for any competition show).
The Chef Show: Jon Favreau and Roy Choi host this showcase of restaurants and recipes primarily from LA and Las Vegas. You probably didn’t realize that the guy who directed Mandalorian and Iron Man could cook, or that he and the genius who invented the Korean street taco, basically popularizing Korean food in America, are homies. Well, guess what, they are. Talk about a real meeting of the minds over food. The episodes with David Chang and Robert Rodriguez stand out as classics. And we definitely recommend a massive joint be sparked as soon as you see them on that oyster farm (trust us, the weed will help your stomach not turn as you suffer through watching Roy eat triple-digit oysters). Plenty of other celebrities turn up to assist in the kitchen and when Seth Rogen is one of them, you know this gets the stoner stamp of approval (Honorary mention to Seth Rogen’s episode on the David Chang cooking show: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, which would have been number 6 on the list).
Chef’s Table: Just about every stoner worth their (metric) weight in kush loves a good documentary. Thankfully, Chef’s Table has six season’s worth of premium cooking docs ready to introduce you to the best chef’s in the world. There are more Michelin stars and innovative techniques in this show than we thought one could possibly hold (there’s a reason they limit restaurants to just 3 stars after all). From the moment Vivaldi's Winter plays over the opening credits of each episode, you’ll be emotionally hooked (assuming the edibles have already kicked in and you're properly predisposed to getting emotionally hooked). A warning for the particularly lazy stoner: as these are the best chefs in the world, there are some subtitles in this show. Consider an uplifting but calm sativa – otherwise, you might just read yourself to sleep (that is not to say this show is in any way boring. It is absolutely enthralling… But you know stoners).
Zumbo’s Just Desserts: Maybe it's a little on the nose, but you have to finish with dessert. And Zumbo’s Just Desserts will satisfy that sweet tooth craving. First off, this show is visually stunning. Desserts are undoubtedly the most incredible looking of all the courses, especially when they are made by artisans at the top of their craft. Secondly, what’s not to love about people taking themselves way too seriously over something relatively trivial? But believe us when we say you’ll start taking it way too seriously too. Going into episode 1 you’ll be amazed by these confectionary creations that you could never hope to imitate; and yet halfway through the season, you will be yelling at them for messing up their choux pastry or over-baking their gateau. (Seriously, see our advice above about smoking way too much pot to help get overinvested).