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 first aired from January 2002 to 2003 in the United States on the Food Network. As of 2023, the series is formally available across multiple online platforms such as YouTube, Tubi and Local Now through distributor Questar Entertainment under the GoTraveler brand.
Production NYU film program graduate Lydia Tenaglia, working at New York Times Television, 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.
The show was filmed with two Sony PD100 DV camcorders.
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." 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. Mai contrasts them to the later No Reservations to reflect on Bourdain's transformation in ethics and understanding towards Cambodia and its history.
Episodes
Season 1
# Prod Num DVD Title Place Visited1TB1A01Disk 5A Taste of TokyoTokyo2TB1A02Disk 5Dining with GeishasAtami and Tokyo, Japan3TB1A03Disk 6Cobra Heart - Foods That Make You ManlyHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam4TB1A04Disk 6Eating on the MekongMekong River, Vietnam5TB1A05Disk 6Wild DelicaciesPhnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia6TB1A06Disk 5Eating on the Edge of NowherePailin, Cambodia and Tokyo, Japan7TB1A07Disk 3Cod CrazyPorto and Douro Valley, Portugal8TB1A08Disk 3San Sebastian: A Food Lover's TownSan Sebastián, Spain9TB1A09Disk 3Childhood FlavorsArcachon, France10TB1A10Disk 3Stuffed Like a PigPortugal, south-western France11TB1A11Disk 4A Desert FeastMorocco (Sahara)12TB1A12Disk 4Traditional TastesMorocco (cities)13TB1A13Disk 4The Cook Who Came in From the ColdSaint Petersburg14TB1A14Disk 4So Much Vodka, So Little TimeSaint Petersburg15TB1A15Disk 2Tamales and Iguana, Oaxacan StyleOaxaca, Mexico16TB1A16Disk 2Puebla, Where the Good Cooks Are FromPuebla, Mexico17TB1A17Disk 1Los Angeles, My Own Heart of DarknessLos Angeles18TB1A18Disk 1The French Laundry ExperienceNapa Valley and San Francisco19TB1A19Disk 1My Hometown FavoritesNew York City20TB1A20Disk 1My Life as a CookNew York City and Provincetown, MA21TB1A21Disk 3Highland GrubScotland22TB1A22Disk 3A Pleasing PalateLondon
Season 2
# Prod Num DVD Title Place Visited1TB1B01Disk 2Food Tastes Better with Sand Between Your ToesSt. Martin2TB1B02Disk 1No Beads, No Babes, No Bourbon StreetNew Orleans3TB1B03Disk 2A Mystical WorldSalvador4TB1B04Disk 2How to Be a CariocaRio de Janeiro and Niterói, Brazil5TB1B05Disk 1Elements of a Great BarNew York City6TB1B06Disk 1The Struggle for the Soul of AmericaMinneapolis, MN7TB1B07Disk 1The BBQ TriangleKansas City, Houston, and North Carolina8TB1B08Disk 5Mad Tony: The Food WarriorSydney9TB1B09Disk 5Down Under: The Wild West of CookingMelbourne10TB1B10Disk 6Singapore: New York in Twenty YearsSingapore11TB1B11Disk 6Let's Get LostChiang Mai, Thailand12TB1B12Disk 6My Friend LinhHanoi, Vietnam13TB1B13Disk 6Thailand: One Night in BangkokBangkok, Thailand and Singapore
Notes 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 Early versions of the DVD box set were shipped mistakenly missing episode TB1A04, Eating on the Mekong. Replacements were made available by Questar.
References
External links