# The Mind of a Chef

The Mind of a Chef is a non-fiction television series on PBS narrated and executive produced by Anthony Bourdain, and combines travel, cooking, history, and science. Each season follows a different chef, or pair of chefs, and examines their beliefs and philosophies on cooking and the culinary arts.
The first season premiered on November 9, 2012, with host David Chang. Season 2 premiered on September 7, 2013, and starred chefs Sean Brock and April Bloomfield. Season 3 premiered on September 6, 2014, and stars chefs Edward Lee and Magnus Nilsson. Chefs Gabrielle Hamilton and David Kinch were featured in Season 4. Season 5 featured chef Ludo Lefebvre.
In 2017, Zero Point Zero Production released the sixth season, featuring chef Danny Bowien, on Facebook Watch. It premiered on November 13, 2017.

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released | Network |
| 1 | 16 | 16 | November 9, 2012 (2012-11-09) | December 7, 2012 (2012-12-07) | PBS |
| 2 | 16 | 16 | September 7, 2013 (2013-09-07) | December 21, 2013 (2013-12-21) | PBS |
| 3 | 16 | 16 | September 6, 2014 (2014-09-06) | December 20, 2014 (2014-12-20) | PBS |
| 4 | 16 | 16 | September 5, 2015 (2015-09-05) | December 19, 2015 (2015-12-19) | PBS |
| 5 | 14 | 14 | October 1, 2016 (2016-10-01) | January 13, 2017 (2017-01-13) | PBS |
| 6 | 8 | 8 | November 13, 2017 (2017-11-13) | December 18, 2017 (2017-12-18) | Facebook Watch |

### Season 1 (2012)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Starring | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Noodle" | David Chang | November 9, 2012 (2012-11-09) |
| 2 | 2 | "Pig" | David Chang | November 9, 2012 (2012-11-09) |
| 3 | 3 | "Memory" | David Chang | November 9, 2012 (2012-11-09) |
| 4 | 4 | "Spain" | David Chang | November 9, 2012 (2012-11-09) |
| 5 | 5 | "Rotten" | David Chang | November 16, 2012 (2012-11-16) |
| 6 | 6 | "Rene" | David Chang | November 16, 2012 (2012-11-16) |
| 7 | 7 | "Simple" | David Chang | November 23, 2012 (2012-11-23) |
| 8 | 8 | "Gluttony" | David Chang | November 23, 2012 (2012-11-23) |
| 9 | 9 | "Chef" | David Chang | November 23, 2012 (2012-11-23) |
| 10 | 10 | "Japan" | David Chang | November 23, 2012 (2012-11-23) |
| 11 | 11 | "New York" | David Chang | November 30, 2012 (2012-11-30) |
| 12 | 12 | "Fresh" | David Chang | November 30, 2012 (2012-11-30) |
| 13 | 13 | "Soy" | David Chang | November 30, 2012 (2012-11-30) |
| 14 | 14 | "Sweet Spot" | David Chang | November 30, 2012 (2012-11-30) |
| 15 | 15 | "Smoke" | David Chang | December 7, 2012 (2012-12-07) |
| 16 | 16 | "Buddies" | David Chang | December 7, 2012 (2012-12-07) |

### Season 2 (2013)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Starring | Original release date |
| 17 | 1 | "Southerners" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | Sean Brock | September 7, 2013 (2013-09-07) |
| 18 | 2 | "Seeds" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | Sean Brock | September 14, 2013 (2013-09-14) |
| 19 | 3 | "Rice" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | Sean Brock | September 21, 2013 (2013-09-21) |
| 20 | 4 | "Louisiana" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | Sean Brock | September 28, 2013 (2013-09-28) |
| 21 | 5 | "Preserve" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | Sean Brock | October 5, 2013 (2013-10-05) |
| 22 | 6 | "Roots" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | Sean Brock | October 12, 2013 (2013-10-12) |
| 23 | 7 | "Lowcountry BBQ" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | Sean Brock | October 19, 2013 (2013-10-19) |
| 24 | 8 | "Senegal" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | Sean Brock | October 26, 2013 (2013-10-26) |
| 25 | 9 | "London" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | April Bloomfield | November 2, 2013 (2013-11-02) |
| 26 | 10 | "Sea/Salt" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | April Bloomfield | November 9, 2013 (2013-11-09) |
| 27 | 11 | "Curry" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | April Bloomfield | November 16, 2013 (2013-11-16) |
| 28 | 12 | "Italian" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | April Bloomfield | November 23, 2013 (2013-11-23) |
| 29 | 13 | "British Classics" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | April Bloomfield | November 30, 2013 (2013-11-30) |
| 30 | 14 | "Farmer" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | April Bloomfield | December 7, 2013 (2013-12-07) |
| 31 | 15 | "Leftovers" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | April Bloomfield | December 14, 2013 (2013-12-14) |
| 32 | 16 | "Restaurateur" | Michael Steed & Claudia Woloshin | April Bloomfield | December 21, 2013 (2013-12-21) |

### Season 3 (2014)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Starring | Original release date |
| 33 | 1 | "Origin" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Edward Lee | September 6, 2014 (2014-09-06) |
| 34 | 2 | "American" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Edward Lee | September 13, 2014 (2014-09-13) |
| 35 | 3 | "Argentina" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Edward Lee | September 20, 2014 (2014-09-20) |
| 36 | 4 | "Louisville" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Edward Lee | September 27, 2014 (2014-09-27) |
| 37 | 5 | "Kentucky" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Edward Lee | October 4, 2014 (2014-10-04) |
| 38 | 6 | "Latitude" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Edward Lee | October 11, 2014 (2014-10-11) |
| 39 | 7 | "Impermanence" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Edward Lee | October 18, 2014 (2014-10-18) |
| 40 | 8 | "Bourbon" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Edward Lee | October 25, 2014 (2014-10-25) |
| 41 | 9 | "Winter" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Magnus Nilsson | November 1, 2014 (2014-11-01) |
| 42 | 10 | "Spring" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Magnus Nilsson | November 8, 2014 (2014-11-08) |
| 43 | 11 | "Creation" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Magnus Nilsson | November 15, 2014 (2014-11-15) |
| 44 | 12 | "France" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Magnus Nilsson | November 22, 2014 (2014-11-22) |
| 45 | 13 | "Traditions" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Magnus Nilsson | November 29, 2014 (2014-11-29) |
| 46 | 14 | "Locality" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Magnus Nilsson | December 6, 2014 (2014-12-06) |
| 47 | 15 | "Documentation" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Magnus Nilsson | December 13, 2014 (2014-12-13) |
| 48 | 16 | "Fäviken" | Anna Chai & Michael Steed | Magnus Nilsson | December 20, 2014 (2014-12-20) |

### Season 4 (2015)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Starring | Original release date |
| 49 | 1 | "Prune" | Siobhan Walshe | Gabrielle Hamilton | September 5, 2015 (2015-09-05) |
| 50 | 2 | "Garbage" | Siobhan Walshe | Gabrielle Hamilton | September 12, 2015 (2015-09-12) |
| 51 | 3 | "Rome" | Siobhan Walshe | Gabrielle Hamilton | September 19, 2015 (2015-09-19) |
| 52 | 4 | "Hunger" | Siobhan Walshe | Gabrielle Hamilton | September 26, 2015 (2015-09-26) |
| 53 | 5 | "Past" | Siobhan Walshe | Gabrielle Hamilton | October 3, 2015 (2015-10-03) |
| 54 | 6 | "Hustle" | Siobhan Walshe | Gabrielle Hamilton | October 10, 2015 (2015-10-10) |
| 55 | 7 | "Napkin" | Siobhan Walshe | Gabrielle Hamilton | October 17, 2015 (2015-10-17) |
| 56 | 8 | "Evolution" | Siobhan Walshe | Gabrielle Hamilton | October 24, 2015 (2015-10-24) |
| 57 | 9 | "Fire" | Anna Chai | David Kinch | October 31, 2015 (2015-10-31) |
| 58 | 10 | "Legacy" | Anna Chai | David Kinch | November 7, 2015 (2015-11-07) |
| 59 | 11 | "Ocean" | Anna Chai | David Kinch | November 14, 2015 (2015-11-14) |
| 60 | 12 | "Strawberry" | Anna Chai | David Kinch | November 21, 2015 (2015-11-21) |
| 61 | 13 | "Balance" | Anna Chai | David Kinch | November 28, 2015 (2015-11-28) |
| 62 | 14 | "Restrictions" | Anna Chai | David Kinch | December 5, 2015 (2015-12-05) |
| 63 | 15 | "New Orleans" | Anna Chai | David Kinch | December 12, 2015 (2015-12-12) |
| 64 | 16 | "25 Bites" | Anna Chai | David Kinch | December 19, 2015 (2015-12-19) |

### Season 5 (2016–17)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Starring | Original release date |
| 65 | 1 | "Best Of: Eggs" | Morgan Fallon | Various | October 1, 2016 (2016-10-01) |
| 66 | 2 | "Legends" | Morgan Fallon | Various | October 8, 2016 (2016-10-08) |
| 67 | 3 | "Fried" | Morgan Fallon | Various | October 15, 2016 (2016-10-15) |
| 68 | 4 | "LudoBird" | Morgan Fallon | Ludo Lefebvre | October 22, 2016 (2016-10-22) |
| 69 | 5 | "Strip Malls" | Morgan Fallon | Ludo Lefebvre | October 29, 2016 (2016-10-29) |
| 70 | 6 | "La Mer" | Morgan Fallon | Ludo Lefebvre | November 5, 2016 (2016-11-05) |
| 71 | 7 | "Le Végétale" | Morgan Fallon | Ludo Lefebvre | November 12, 2016 (2016-11-12) |
| 72 | 8 | "Joie De Vivre" | Morgan Fallon | Ludo Lefebvre | November 19, 2016 (2016-11-19) |
| 73 | 9 | "Tous Au Bistro" | Morgan Fallon | Ludo Lefebvre | November 26, 2016 (2016-11-26) |
| 74 | 10 | "Instinct vs. Discipline" | Morgan Fallon | Ludo Lefebvre | December 4, 2016 (2016-12-04) |
| 75 | 11 | "LudoBites" | Morgan Fallon | Ludo Lefebvre | December 11, 2016 (2016-12-11) |
| 76 | 12 | "Surf N Turf" | Morgan Fallon | Various | January 14, 2017 (2017-01-14) |
| 77 | 13 | "Dessert" | Morgan Fallon | Various | January 6, 2017 (2017-01-06) |
| 78 | 14 | "Birds" | Morgan Fallon | Various | January 13, 2017 (2017-01-13) |

### Season 6 (2017)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Starring | Original release date |
| 79 | 1 | "Genesis" | Alex Braverman | Danny Bowien | November 13, 2017 (2017-11-13) |
| 80 | 2 | "Threshold" | Alex Braverman | Danny Bowien | November 13, 2017 (2017-11-13) |
| 81 | 3 | "Mentor" | Alex Braverman | Danny Bowien | November 13, 2017 (2017-11-13) |
| 82 | 4 | "Family" | Alex Braverman | Danny Bowien | November 20, 2017 (2017-11-20) |
| 83 | 5 | "Risk" | Alex Braverman | Danny Bowien | November 27, 2017 (2017-11-27) |
| 84 | 6 | "Unexpected" | Alex Braverman | Danny Bowien | December 4, 2017 (2017-12-04) |
| 85 | 7 | "Classics" | Alex Braverman | Danny Bowien | December 11, 2017 (2017-12-11) |
| 86 | 8 | "Multiverse" | Alex Braverman | Danny Bowien | December 18, 2017 (2017-12-18) |

## Reception
### Awards and nominations

In 2013 & 2014, The Mind of a Chef won a James Beard Foundation Award for Best Television Program, On Location.
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| 2014 | 41st Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Culinary Program | The Mind of a Chef | Won |
| 2018 | 45th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Culinary Program | The Mind of a Chef | Nominated |
| 2018 | 45th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Culinary Host | Danny Bowien | Nominated |
| 2018 | 45th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing in a Single Camera Lifestyle/Culinary/Travel or Educational and Informational Program | The Mind of a Chef | Nominated |