“Angel León and the Salt Flats”

Chef's Table

2015 -

(Narrative)

Vol.

1-13

Chef's Table

(About Series)

In a lot of ways, this was my big break. We shot the pilot at chef Ben Shewry's restaurant Attica in 2014, and since then I've traveled the world with the show. I've been chased by moose in the woods north of Moscow, spear hunted for mud crabs in the mangrove swamps of Australia, and been lucky to do it all with a crew of close collaborators who have become like family to me.

The visual foundation of the series was shaped by creator David Gelb's documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which redefined how food could be captured on screen. Its slow-motion, high-resolution macro photography set a tone we carried into the series and continued to build on.

Before Chef’s Table, I had limited documentary experience and no experience shooting food. I'm still surprised I got the job. But in some ways, that naiveté shaped the visual style. I lit dishes like I would light actors in a grounded film — motivated, natural, and simple. In vérité scenes, I realized it was often more about which lights I turned off than what I added.

My closest collaborator is director and executive producer, Brian McGinn. For our tenth episode together, we profiled Jamie Oliver as part of the Chef’s Table: Legends series celebrating a decade of the show.

In that time, it has become Netflix’s longest-running original series, earning two Emmy nominations for cinematography, an ASC nomination, and a James Beard Award.

“Dough in his DNA”

(Description)

('15 -)

Chef’s Table is a documentary series created by David Gelb for Netflix. It profiles chefs from around the world, exploring their creative processes, personal stories, and culinary philosophies. The series helped redefine food television with its cinematic style and global scope, and has become the longest-running original series on the platform. It has earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, an ASC Award nomination, and a James Beard Award for Visual and Technical Excellence.