Back in June, we found out that season two of The Mind of a Chef, the public television show starring Charleston’s own Sean Brock and April Bloomfield, produced and hosted by longtime traveler, culinary commentator, and reservationless curmudgeon Anthony Bourdain picked up a Daytime Emmy award for the show’s most-recent incarnation. Well, if you didn’t catch the show’s initial run on PBS, you can now see all 16 episodes featuring Brock and renowned NYC/SF-based British chef April Bloomfield from the comfort of home on Netflix.
The season is, not surprisingly, heavy on its examination of the South, and opens with an episode featuring the Lee Brothers and Oxford, Miss. chef John Currence. Over the course of the season, Brock also talks with Southern Foodways Alliance founder John T. Edge and visits Anson Mills before enlisting friendly faces Mike Lata and Rodney Scott to pitch in for a rainy whole hog barbecue and Frogmore stew. Looking at the history of southern cooking, Brock also visits Louisiana, Vriginia, and West Africa to take a look at the origins of a few traditional regional dishes.
The second half of the season shifts to focus on chef Bloomfield, looking at her own British roots and the business of running a restaurant.
In addition to the Daytime Emmy, Mind of a Chef also took home the James Beard Foundation Award earlier this year for TV show shot on location. Season three of the show will feature Louisville chef Edward Lee and Magnus Nilsson of Faviken fame. (You might remember hearing about Nilsson from when he cooked a spot-on bowl of grits the first time he’d ever tried back in 2012 at a special McCrady’s dinner.)
Season two is available now to stream on Netflix.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No newspaper subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations from downtown to North Charleston to Johns Island to Summerville to Mount Pleasant.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.