What a view | American-Korean chef David Chang’s Ugly Delicious returns to Netflix, serving food and humility
The second series of the food show takes in the flavours of Tokyo, Mumbai, Sydney and Los Angeles
With the coronavirus closing restaurants, eating out has become a vicarious pleasure. But at least we have American-Korean chef David Chang to step into the breach.
Series two of Chang’s documentary Ugly Delicious, now showing in four Netflix instalments, remains true to its original inquisitiveness about food and its origins while benefiting from an increased travel budget (Tokyo-Mumbai-Sydney-Los Angeles). Guests Padma Lakshmi, Nick Kroll and Aziz Ansari are among those doling out dollops of wisdom and humour.
Admittedly, the intricacies of guac sev puri might not be of interest if all you want are rudimentary recipes and shots of sizzling meat, but those with spare neurons to rub together should welcome an expansive agenda that also touches on veganism and compassionate farming.
The key to this approach is Chang himself. Once considered a contrarian, impending fatherhood turns him into an open, understanding host – one who even admits, “I don’t know what the f*** is what,” as he confesses his ignorance of Indian cuisine. Humility suits him.
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