Description
Genre: Documentary, Food, People and Culture
Language: English
Year: 2020
Duration: 3 Episodes x 60 Minutes
Territory/Rights available: Contact us for more details
Show Format: HD
Episodes
Episode 1 – Nature
Andre goes back to the very origin of our sustenance – Nature. Food is a gift of nature as much as it is born out of the constraints of the physical environment. In the coldest inhabited place on Earth – Oymyakon in Russia, with temperatures averaging -50°C in winter and seemingly inhuman living conditions, Andre discovers how local Yakuts survive on a diet of unique frozen food. Next, he joins the indigenous Ainu tribe in Hokkaido. Through generations assimilating to the Japanese way of living, the Ainu has lost touch with their roots and in recent years they have been fighting hard to restore their culture. Andre is touched by their spirit of resilience and their deep respect for nature. Back to the land of his ancestors, China, André finds a revival of the 24 micro seasons. He meets an urban-dweller-turned-farmer who has overhauled his life to live in tandem with this ancient wisdom, and learns how the harmonious relationship between man and nature changes one’s philosophy of life.
Episode 2 – Heritage
Food is history on a plate. It tells the stories of who we are, and where we’ve been. Not just personal stories, but stories that define our cultural identity and stories that bind a community. In this episode, André meets storytellers who are preserving and continuing the narrative of humanity through the things we eat. From Japan to Peru to Ghana, our intrepid chef travels to 3 continents to spend time with 3 prolific chefs of vastly different backgrounds and cultures. All of them, however, share a deep passion for their craft. And they are all born less than a year apart. All in the name of finding out how chefs of his generation are sharing stories of their identity, through their menus.
Episode 3 – Legacy
In the 21st century, the role of the chef has evolved. Andre meets three visionaries who are changing the way we eat and think about food.
In Paris, French chemist Herve This is revolutionising the culinary arts with “Note-by-Note” cooking, by using pure compounds such as glucose, lipids and amino acids to make food. Can this pioneering technique be the answer to food security for our overpopulated world?
In Italy, mercurial chef Massimo Bottura is using his platform to draw attention to hunger and food waste. Andre visits an elevated community kitchen nested in an impoverished Milan neighbourhood, where some of the world’s best chefs have cooked for the city’s homeless using unsold food from supermarkets.
Finally, Andre heads to Lisbon to join activist chef Nuno Queiroz Ribeiro on his mission to change the Portuguese diet. An advocate of healthy eating, Nuno has taken over a school canteen in an effort to make tasty and healthy meals accessible to all of the nation’s children.
