TLC channel invites viewers to venture inside the heads of two incredibly talented culinary masters in the new season of The Mind Of A Chef
The second season of the series that won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Television Programme On Location turns the spotlight on two chefs — Sean Brock and his brand of American southern cooking, and chef April Bloomfield, with her innovative and refreshingly straightforward take on food — in 16 halfhour episodes.
For the first half of the series, plow headfirst with Brock into the world of true southern cuisine from the long-lost seeds and crops in the lowlands of South Carolina in the US to the rice fields in Senegal, Africa.
The executive chef and partner of McCrady’s and Husk Restaurants is one of the best known spokespersons for both expanding and preserving the integrity of traditional Southern food through his cuisine.
His mission: To prove there is so much more to Southern food than fried chicken.
Brock’s brand of cooking highlights the untold varieties of rice, beans, and grains which once made the US the envy of the world.
In the season premiere, he takes viewers on a journey to explore a few of the unique regional cuisines in the South: Prince’s hot chicken, tamales, buttermilk pie and devilled crab.
In subsequent episodes, he experiments with Carolinagold rice, takes a trip to Louisiana for catfish chips and frogging, and gives a history of Southern preservation techniques.
Discover where Brock was first introduced to cooking in Appalachia, Virginia, when he takes a trip down memory lane, visits Charleston, where he honed his culinary skills, and explores the markets of Dakar and M’Bour in Senegal with him as he traces West African influences on Southern cuisine.
The next eight episodes focus on British-born Bloomfield, one of the most innovative chefs of her generation and executive chef and co-owner of The Breslin Bar & Dining Room, The John Dory Oyster Bar, Salvation Taco and Tosca.
Join Bloomfield inside her kitchen as she wrestles with the demands of opening Tosca in San Francisco - her first restaurant located outside of New York City.
There, she tests menu ideas, obsesses over ingredients and techniques, and cooks with her mentors and contemporaries.
Learn about Bloomfield’s epicurean evolution as the second half of the series follows her from the Pacific Northwest to Birmingham, in the UK, tracing her culinary tradition, influences and obsession, from clams to cops to curries.
Over a pint and high tea, meet the mentors who taught her to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of food.
Discover her love for the sea and salt, why Italian food has such a prominent and dear place in her cooking regime, and get educated on the trials and tribulations of opening a new restaurant.
The documentary is executiveproduced and narrated by Anthony Bourdain.