A Cook's Tour (TV series) explained

Runtime:half hour (approx. 0:22 per episode)
Starring:Anthony Bourdain (host)
Num Episodes:35

A Cook's Tour is a travel and food show that aired on Food Network. Host Anthony Bourdain visits various countries and cities worldwide where hosts treat him to local culture and cuisine.

Two seasons of episodes were produced in 2000 and 2001 and aired first-run in January 2002 through 2003 in the U.S. on the Food Network.

Production

NYU film program graduate Lydia Tenaglia,[1] working at New York Times Television,[2] picked up the book Kitchen Confidential, and, learning that Bourdain was proposing an Innocents Abroad-style travel journal as a follow-up project, picked up the phone and made a cold call.[3] [4]

The show was filmed with two Sony PD100 DV camcorders.[5]

Reception

In Variety, Phil Gallo says, "For once, Food Network is putting on display food you can’t do at home — and they show that acquiring the ingredients isn’t all pretty before the meal hits the dining room table."[6] Bourdain's account of his trip to Cambodia in Episodes 5 and 6 of Season 1 has been criticised by professor of French and Film Studies at Clemson University Joseph Mai as "filled with tawdry stereotypes" and largely ignoring Cambodian cuisine.[7]

Episodes

Season 1

Prod NumDVDTitlePlace Visited
1TB1A01Disk 5A Taste of TokyoTokyo
2TB1A02Disk 5Dining with GeishasAtami and Tokyo, Japan
3TB1A03Disk 6Cobra Heart - Foods That Make You ManlyHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam
4TB1A04Disk 6Eating on the MekongMekong River, Vietnam
5TB1A05Disk 6Wild DelicaciesPhnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia
6TB1A06Disk 5Eating on the Edge of NowherePailin, Cambodia and Tokyo, Japan
7TB1A07Disk 3Cod CrazyPorto and Douro Valley, Portugal
8TB1A08Disk 3San Sebastian: A Food Lover's TownSan Sebastián, Spain
9TB1A09Disk 3Childhood FlavorsArcachon, France
10TB1A10Disk 3Stuffed Like a PigPortugal, south-western France
11TB1A11Disk 4A Desert FeastMorocco (Sahara)
12TB1A12Disk 4Traditional TastesMorocco (cities)
13TB1A13Disk 4The Cook Who Came in From the ColdSaint Petersburg
14TB1A14Disk 4So Much Vodka, So Little TimeSaint Petersburg
15TB1A15Disk 2Tamales and Iguana, Oaxacan StyleOaxaca, Mexico
16TB1A16Disk 2Puebla, Where the Good Cooks Are FromPuebla, Mexico
17TB1A17Disk 1Los Angeles, My Own Heart of DarknessLos Angeles
18TB1A18Disk 1The French Laundry Experience[8] Napa Valley and San Francisco
19TB1A19Disk 1My Hometown FavoritesNew York City
20TB1A20Disk 1My Life as a CookNew York City and Provincetown, MA
21TB1A21Disk 3Highland GrubScotland
22TB1A22Disk 3A Pleasing PalateLondon

Season 2

Prod NumDVDTitlePlace Visited
1TB1B01Disk 2Food Tastes Better with Sand Between Your ToesSt. Martin
2TB1B02Disk 1No Beads, No Babes, No Bourbon StreetNew Orleans
3TB1B03Disk 2A Mystical WorldSalvador
4TB1B04Disk 2How to Be a CariocaRio de Janeiro and Niterói, Brazil
5TB1B05Disk 1Elements of a Great BarNew York City
6TB1B06Disk 1The Struggle for the Soul of AmericaMinneapolis, MN
7TB1B07Disk 1The BBQ TriangleKansas City, Houston, and North Carolina
8TB1B08Disk 5Mad Tony: The Food WarriorSydney
9TB1B09Disk 5Down Under: The Wild West of CookingMelbourne
10TB1B10Disk 6Singapore: New York in Twenty YearsSingapore
11TB1B11Disk 6Let's Get LostChiang Mai, Thailand
12TB1B12Disk 6My Friend LinhHanoi, Vietnam
13TB1B13Disk 6Thailand: One Night in BangkokBangkok, Thailand and Singapore

Notes

  1. Episodes are categorized by region in the DVD box set; one or two regions per disk. Disk 1: The United States; Disk 2: Mexico and the Americas; Disk 3: Europe; Disk 4: Morocco and Russia; Disk 5: Australia and Japan; Disk 6: Asia
  2. Early versions of the DVD box set were shipped mistakenly missing episode TB1A04, Eating on the Mekong. Replacements were made available by Questar.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lydia Tenaglia. IMDb. 23 August 2018.
  2. Web site: New York Times Television. IMDb. 23 August 2018.
  3. Web site: Lydia Tenaglia - Interview. Chris Green. 25 October 2017. Producers Guild of America. producersguild.org. 23 August 2018.
  4. Web site: A Q&A with ZPZ's Lydia Tenaglia-Collins. 22 November 2017. explorepartsunknown.com. 23 August 2018.
  5. Web site: How Anthony Bourdain found his on-screen voice and changed television. 21 August 2019. Chris. O'Falt.
  6. Web site: A Cook's Tour. Phil. Gallo. 7 January 2002. variety.com. 23 August 2018.
  7. Mai . Joseph . August 2018 . Humble pies . 12 . . Unfortunately, his account of his trip to Cambodia in 2000 is filled with tawdry stereotypes: abject poverty in the city, comparisons to the Stone Age in the countryside, dirty hovels for hotels, reminders to keep clean condoms, news stories from the Phnom Penh Post about acid attacks and child rape. ... Cambodian cuisine? Barely mentioned. . 23 August 2018.
  8. Web site: A COOK'S TOUR – Episode Descriptions . Entertainment in Motion . https://web.archive.org/web/20180822233825/http://www.skyfilms.com/episode-lists/A_COOKS_TOUR_Episode_Des.doc . 2018-08-22 . dead . 2018-08-22 . 18. San Francisco: “The French Laundry Experience”; Country: USA; Chef Tony Bourdain makes a pilgrimage to meet the man he considers to be the finest chef in the western world: Thomas Keller, chef and owner of The French Laundry in Yountville, California, located in the Napa Valley outside of San Francisco. … Tony has also invited several chef friends, including Scott Bryan of NYC’s Veritas and Eric Ripert of NYC’s Le Bernardin, to join him for a special menu prepared by Keller himself. The high point in the meal comes when Keller sends Tony a specially-crafted custard made from tobacco leaves and coffee. .