Somebody Feed Phil - Netflix, you've done good.
Netflix is usually my content source of last resort. When I have exhausted all other options (television, Facebook, YouTube, real human face-to-face conversation etc) I resign to opening the app and my experience reaffirms why it is my content source of last resort. Netflix thinks it knows me, it thinks it goes way back, as it conveniently proclaims under its 'For you' section. In fact, it knows me as well as that distant relation whose Christmas presents I have returned every year for the last 4 years, because they don't realise I don't like what they get me.
The contents of this personalised section is usually a motley crue of a mid-naughties comedies with actors who have all been forgotten about and intense conspiracy docs about how, beneath an unblemished exterior, all the rich and influential people in this world are secretly lizards.
Finally, thank God, Netflix has made something that falls somewhere in the middle ground and it comes in the form of a food show.
I'm not a major fan of food shows. They are unavoidable on television these days, partly due to the fact that there are seemingly no barriers to entry whatsoever into the 'TV chef' arena. You put a slice of toast in the toaster and oops, a TV production company is on the phone looking for you to front a new show. There's no need to have ever
worked in a kitchen, just get a glossy photoshoot and a good PR company and you'll have a book release and a primetime slot quicker than you can say 'I'm desperate for fame!'
Apologies for that brief outburst of cynicism. Honestly, food shows just make me hungry, and besides, I'm far too lazy to cook any of the intricate dishes on show. What suits better is watching a layman talk about nosh.
Enter Phil. Phil is just that guy. Everybody loves that guy Phil. Nobody has a bad thing to say about that guy Phil. He has an infectious enthusiasm and an idiosyncratic sense of humour. All hail Phil.
We follow Phil on his travels to Lisbon, Tel Aviv, New Orleans and Mexico City as he samples some cuisine delights and has a chin-wag with the local characters. Food-travel shows often present a sanitised version of the destination: the presenter hits-up the five star restaurants, hangs out with a few local celebs and tiptoes around the outskirts of the slums from the comfort of a limosine. This show is the real deal, thought. Phil is tasting the people's food, from the hearty red beans and rice of Louisiana to the spice of Israeli shakshuka.
Unlike other Americans (here comes the sweeping generalisation), he's not afraid to eat anything that isn't deep fried and doesn't have a golden 'M' plastered on the front. Quite the opposite, Phil is an intrepid food explorer. The show has the addictive quality of a Portuguese warm custard tart (which you'll see in the Lisbon episode); once you have consumed one, you'll want more.
The contents of this personalised section is usually a motley crue of a mid-naughties comedies with actors who have all been forgotten about and intense conspiracy docs about how, beneath an unblemished exterior, all the rich and influential people in this world are secretly lizards.
Finally, thank God, Netflix has made something that falls somewhere in the middle ground and it comes in the form of a food show.
I'm not a major fan of food shows. They are unavoidable on television these days, partly due to the fact that there are seemingly no barriers to entry whatsoever into the 'TV chef' arena. You put a slice of toast in the toaster and oops, a TV production company is on the phone looking for you to front a new show. There's no need to have ever
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| Phil Rosenthal is the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond and a man of 1 million expressions. |
Apologies for that brief outburst of cynicism. Honestly, food shows just make me hungry, and besides, I'm far too lazy to cook any of the intricate dishes on show. What suits better is watching a layman talk about nosh.
Enter Phil. Phil is just that guy. Everybody loves that guy Phil. Nobody has a bad thing to say about that guy Phil. He has an infectious enthusiasm and an idiosyncratic sense of humour. All hail Phil.
We follow Phil on his travels to Lisbon, Tel Aviv, New Orleans and Mexico City as he samples some cuisine delights and has a chin-wag with the local characters. Food-travel shows often present a sanitised version of the destination: the presenter hits-up the five star restaurants, hangs out with a few local celebs and tiptoes around the outskirts of the slums from the comfort of a limosine. This show is the real deal, thought. Phil is tasting the people's food, from the hearty red beans and rice of Louisiana to the spice of Israeli shakshuka.
Unlike other Americans (here comes the sweeping generalisation), he's not afraid to eat anything that isn't deep fried and doesn't have a golden 'M' plastered on the front. Quite the opposite, Phil is an intrepid food explorer. The show has the addictive quality of a Portuguese warm custard tart (which you'll see in the Lisbon episode); once you have consumed one, you'll want more.
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