The Mind of a Chef

Does an artist follow instinct, training or intuition…or perhaps all three? This episode examines the ties between artists and their education, and how childlike wonder can, in fact, translate into a career.

A bistro is typically defined by its modesty – they are relatively small, affordable and humble. With Petit Trois, Ludo’s has brought the spirit of the bistro to Los Angeles. In this episode, Ludo brings us back to Paris to introduce us to some of the people and places that first inspired him to begin a culinary career.

The demands of a celebrity chef, especially one that runs three vibrant restaurants and a fried chicken franchise, are rigorous. When Ludo needs to escape the chaos, he heads to the lilting and poetic world of Paris in the spring, where the emphasis is placed on the joy and fun of life.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A dish is only as good as its ingredients, but an ingredient can also be manipulated in many ways. In this episode, David focuses his attention to the strawberry, at the height of its season during production, to celebrate the summer favorite.

Nothing is more calming or inspiring than the sea, and living in Santa Cruz, David is never far from one of his many muses.

Food is evolution, and wise chefs never forget from whence they came. A solid foundation allows them to test new boundaries and push things to new limits.

Things can change in an instant, as David discovered in July of 2014, when he got a fateful call that his restaurant Manresa had burned nearly to the ground.

Gabrielle looks long and hard at how she has evolved not only as a chef, but as a writer and restaurant owner.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Explore Gabrielle’s deep love with this ancient city.

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.

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

Return with Magnus to France, a place that had a profound impact on his culinary career.

When Chef Nilsson develops a dish at Fäviken, he pays careful attention to the unique properties of an ingredient. Through research and recipe testing, the components of a dish are combined with the aim of preserving their natural quintessence. “The Creation of a Dish” follows the life cycle of an ingredient as it transforms from an idea into a dish at his restaurant.

After a long winter, the arrival of spring awakens the delicate flavors of young herbs. The sun remains perched in the sky until midnight, the temperature climbs, and life returns to the once snow-covered landscape. This episode takes advantage of this brief window of time to explore the ingredients of spring in Sweden.

Explore the ways that the Scandinavian people have survived winter through the practice of preservation and aging with Chef Magnus Nilsson.

Ed tends bar and serves up a tentacled dish for actress and bourbon-lover Aisha Tyler.

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

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

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

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

Travel with Ed to the foothills of the Andes to explore the most elemental part of cooking: fire.

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

Ed returns to his roots in East Brooklyn and the eclectic mix of cuisines that inspired how he cooks today.

Explore April Bloomfield’s deep love for Italian cuisine and its influence on her cooking.

Explore the origins of curry and England’s versions of this historic cuisine.

Focus on April’s love of the sea, which is deep and fully realized.

Chef April Bloomfield visits London, where she began her cooking career. Cooking walnut tagliatelle with chef Ruth Rogers. Making rabbit pie with chef Fergus Henderson, and enjoying a pint and scotch eggs with chef Rowley Leigh.

The influence of West Africa on Southern cuisine is explored during a visit to Senegal. Historian and chef Fati Ly leads a tour of the markets in Dakar and M'Bour; and cooks theibou yapp, a traditional Sengalese dish.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

This episode explores the idea of fresh in the kitchen; instant broth, pea agnollini, fresh and aged steak with Chef Tien and Ike Jime with Dave Arnold and Chef Murata in Kyoto.

This episode is all New York with the Torrsi boys, oysters, carrot dashi, and farming. Plus Chang visits native New Yorker Ivan Ramen in Tokyo where he is making ramen that is taking the city by storm.

Chang travels to Tokyo and Kyoto where he visits a street market and Kikunoi, a Michelin three-star restaurant.

Chang makes eggs with his chef pals; Wylie Dufresne, Daniel Patterson, Rene Redzepi, and makes his Ko egg.

It’s gluttonous goodness in this episode; over the top indulgence with Joe Beef chefs Federic Morin and David McMillian’s fois gras sandwich, a whiskey tasting Mayhem with Chef Sean Brock at Buffalo Trace in Kentucky and the classic dish Hot Brown served up three ways.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.