The Mind of a Chef

Mark Seen

Noodle Nov 9, 2012 Korean-American Author and Chef David Chang visits a noodle factory in Japan, eats the best bowl of ramen in his life, and cooks two incredible dishes with the instant ramen variety. Food Scientist Harold McGee explains how alkaline salts make ramen noodles unique.

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Pig Nov 9, 2012 In San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, David Chang discusses pork bushi and prepares pork belly and tonkotsu. Later, he and comedian Aziz Ansari head to Montreal to enjoy a fried bologna sandwich at Wilensky's.

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Memory Nov 9, 2012 David Chang revisits his favorite dishes from childhood and reflects upon summer eating, his time in Japan and golf.

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Spain Nov 9, 2012 This episode is all about Spain’s influence on Chang’s career. He visits with some of his idols- Juan Mari Arzak and Andoni Aduriz, makes fideos, salt cod omelet and a sponge cake from chef Albert Adria.

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Rotten Nov 16, 2012 There is something rotten in David Chang’s kitchen and that’s a good thing. Rotten is delicious; katsuibushi in Japan, XO sauce, rotten bananas with Chef Christina Tosi, and Kimchi.

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René Nov 16, 2012 Chang hangs out with one of his best friends- who happens to be the world’s top chef- Rene Redzepi.

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Simple Nov 23, 2012 Dishes in this episode are deceivingly simple; Chang travels to Japan for some Yakitori and high-end sushi, and his pal Daniel Patterson makes beets.

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Southerners Sep 5, 2013 A spotlight on the regional variations of southern cuisine. Chef Steven Satterfield makes okra and grits. Chef John Currence makes tamales. Chef Ed Lee creates a dish using bourbon, sorghum and country ham. Pastry chef Lisa Donavan makes a buttermilk pie. New host Sean Brock is joined by the Lee Brothers to make deviled crab

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Seeds Sep 12, 2013 It all began when Sean Brock went looking for Jimmy red corn. That simple journey turned into a lifetime of searching, archiving and reviving lost crops of the South. His partners in crime are legendary owner and operator of Anson Mills, Glen Roberts, and University of South Carolina professor David Shields — a trifecta of seed nerds hell-bent on preserving Southern food heritage.

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Rice Sep 19, 2013 The resurrection of Carolina gold rice, which disappeared following the Civil War era, is examined. Included: making pilaf and Hoppin' John fritters. Also: Louisiana chef Donald Link makes jambalaya; and Senegalese chef Fati Ly makes pilau.

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Louisiana Sep 26, 2013 A look at Louisiana cuisine features a visit to Middendorf's Restaurant in Akers, La., with food writer John T. Edge; and a frogging excursion with chef Donald Link.

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Preserve Oct 3, 2013 Preservation techniques that play an important role in Southern culture are discussed, including drying, salt-curing, canning and fermentation.

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Roots Oct 10, 2013 Host Sean Brock prepares a typical Appalachian dinner; cooks chicken dumplings with his mother; visits with chef Joseph Lenn at Blackberry Farms in Tennessee; and learns how to make fried okra and country ham.

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Low Country BBQ Oct 17, 2013 Host Sean Brock prepares an outdoor feast on a friend's farm, where he's joined by barbecue pitmaster Rodney Scott, who roasts a whole pig; and Steven Satterfield, who makes Savannah red rice. Brock also prepares frogmore stew

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NYC Origin Sep 6, 2014 Ed returns to his roots in East Brooklyn and the eclectic mix of cuisines that inspired how he cooks today.

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American Sep 13, 2014 Head to Houston, Texas, where a sweat-inducing crawfish dinner exemplifies how flavors can blend together to create an entirely new American cuisine.

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Argentina Sep 20, 2014 Travel with Ed to the foothills of the Andes to explore the most elemental part of cooking: fire.

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Louisville Sep 27, 2014 Taste the food and culture of Louisville, Kentucky, the place Ed now calls home.

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Kentucky Oct 4, 2014 From the smokehouse to the plate, see why country ham is one of Ed’s favorite ingredients from the Bluegrass State.

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Latitude Oct 11, 2014 What grows together, goes together. Ed explores combining the food of different cultures as culinary borders disappear.

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Impermanence Oct 18, 2014 The more things change… the more they continue to change. Explore the ephemeral with Ed as he tries his hand at cooking alternative meats.

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Prune Sep 5, 2015 With every chipped plate and hand-written to-do list, Gabrielle Hamilton’s “presence” is all over her NYC restaurant, Prune.

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Garbage Sep 12, 2015 Having been raised in a large family with many mouths to feed, to then needing to fend for herself from a very young age, Gabrielle Hamilton is the master of utilizing scraps.

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Rome Sep 19, 2015 Explore Gabrielle’s deep love with this ancient city.

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Hunger Sep 26, 2015 From a very young age, Gabrielle Hamilton was left alone in her home to fend for herself. She rummaged through what was left in the pantry and refrigerator and satisfied her hunger with what she could scavenge. At 16, she moved to New York City where she used her jar of change to feed herself. All her experiences with hunger made her the chef she is today.

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Past Oct 3, 2015 It’s an age-old saying, but where you have been is almost as important as where you are going and ultimately makes you who you are today. Gabrielle Hamilton has traveled the country and the world, but sometimes, it’s good to go back to your roots.

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Hustle Oct 10, 2015 Surviving the restaurant game for 15 years in New York City takes some major hustle. From lying about her age to get her first dishwasher gig to lying about her tips, getting busted and charged with grand larceny, hustling was the easy part in running a restaurant for Gabrielle Hamilton.

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Napkin Oct 17, 2015 Milan is a meeting ground of both contemporary and classic Italian culture. But what really entices Gabrielle Hamilton are the small details, an embroidered curtain, a classically non-garnished plate, a perfectly folded napkin.

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Eggs Oct 1, 2016 From the NYC classic egg on a roll to Faroe Island fulmar egg and curry, re-fall in love with the best egg dishes from our archives. Crack it open, and let the fun begin.

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Legends Oct 8, 2016 It takes a great chef to make a great chef. This episode is all about paying homage to the greatest culinary minds in the world. Fergus Henderson, Eric Ripert, Pascal Barbot and more spend some quality time cooking with our alumni.

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Fried Oct 15, 2016 When it comes to preparations, few could be as delightful and decadent as a good, old-fashioned deep fry. We dip THE MIND OF A CHEF basket in hot oil, serving up everything from oyster poboys to pig’s head, from alligator filets to sardine spines.

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LudoBird Oct 22, 2016 How does a chef trained in the finest kitchens of France translate his haute cuisine to fast food? Ludo’s obsession with a perfectly cooked bird can be traced back to France, where he learned to roast chicken, and his love for the American classic was solidified when he ate at KFC for the first time.

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Strip Malls Oct 29, 2016 Trois Mec and Petit Trois can be found side-by-side in a Hollywood strip mall, nestled between a dry cleaners and a Yum Yum donut. Ludo’s restaurants and the dishes he creates for them embody the cultural mash-up and high/low flair that is the strip mall philosophy.

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La Mer Nov 5, 2016 Ludo came up under mentors like Alain Passard and Mark Meneau, chefs with an almost pathological obsession with ingredients. His eyes light up when he describes the Lobsters of Brittany, the Oysters from Cancale, and the myriad of other extraordinary culinary jewels in the oceanic bounty of France.

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Le Végétale Nov 12, 2016 Today’s chef reveres his gardener as much as his butcher. Ludo explores the vegetables, gardens, and memories he uses to cook some of his dishes.

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Genesis Nov 14, 2017 Nobody gets a say in the life they’re born into. Thrust into a body, a family, a country and a history, the story of our lives are merely the sum of an endless combination of circumstantial factors determining who we will know, how we will fare, who we will become. But for those adopted, their origins are complicated as the where they were born fuses with the world in which they’re raised.Danny Bowien was born in Korea but only spent the first 3 months of his infant life there. He was adopted and raised by American parents in Oklahoma — religious, hard-working folks – and instead of a life in Seoul, Danny grows up in suburban middle-America. Adapting to this life was easy, for it was all he knew, but he constantly carried traces of his past with him, superficially and also buried deep below.

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Threshold Nov 14, 2017 Danny spends the bulk of his time obsessing over the future – there is urgency in him that needs to be on top of everything, ahead of every trend, aware of what lies beyond the curve. But it would be impossible to know where he’s going without first examining where he came from, and from where that drive was borne. Once he committed to leaving Oklahoma, Danny emerged in San Francisco as a human tabula rasa, open to all of the experiences the city laid before him. It was here that Danny formed who he was as a person and as a chef, and the grassroots movement of Mission Street Food blossomed into what is now his greatest success.

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Mentor Nov 14, 2017 Danny has been to China several times, but he’s visited Chengdu (the geographical and spiritual capital of Szechuan food) only once. He’s returning here to reconnect with the place, the food and the person – renowned chef Yu Bo – that have influenced him the most. Szechuan food has been the greatest source of inspiration for Danny, and consequently his life. This episode is about the dishes, cooking methods, unique flavors and stories (both his and Yu Bo’s) that have driven Danny on a quest to master this style of food.

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Family Nov 21, 2017 For better or worse, we do not get to choose the family into which we’re born. In Danny’s case, nor did he get to choose the family that adopted him. He had no say in where he would live or how he’d be raised. After his mother’s death he felt a bizarre combination of liberation mixed with guilt, and he desperately wanted to hold on to – or recreate – the familial feel of togetherness.

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Risk Nov 28, 2017 Without risk, there would not be the valuable by-products of risk – success and failure. Danny Bowien has learned that there is power in taking chances, and risk can be virtuous when it comes to navigating the creative process. Now more than ever, he has gained confidence in taking these risks, and grown more comfortable with both of its outcomes.

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Unexpected Dec 5, 2017 Danny Bowien does not cook authentic Chinese cuisine, but he cooks genuine Danny Bowien cuisine – food that is inspired by his love of Szechuan food and New York City and his family and new experiences. He is 100% himself, and is constantly in search and awe of others who are the same.

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Classics Dec 11, 2017 Continuing on the Hero’s Journey, if Korea was his starting point and San Francisco was his first threshold, New York City is where Danny’s adventure reaches the apex. Danny really believes that if you can make it in this ultra-competitive town with its even more competitive dining scene, then there’s nowhere you can’t succeed. While he never readily admits to long-term goals, there was a desire backed up by a strategy to prove himself as one of the Greats.