New PBS Series "Chef's Story

Apparently this is only on WYCC-20 in the Chicagoland area. I think the first one was with Lidia Bastianinch and aired on Saturday 28 April at 5:00. Time to fire up the TiVo!

From the website:

http://www.chefsstory.com/

Chef’s Story is a new 26-part television series of interviews and cooking segments with today’s most renowned chefs. Hosted by Dorothy Hamilton, founder and CEO of The French Culinary Institute, the show follows a format inspired by Inside the Actor’s Studio. [Egads! A culinary James Lipton?!? Somebody call Will Ferrell.] Each half-hour program focuses on a master chef whose life, work, and evolution as a food legend is thoroughly explored. Each shares personal and professional reminiscences and demonstrates cooking techniques in The International Culinary Theater at The FCI.

The featured Chefs:

José Andrés
Dan Barber
Lidia Bastianich
Rick Bayless
David Bouley
Daniel Boulud
Anthony Bourdain
Tom Colicchio
Cat Cora
Robert Del Grande
Todd English
Dean Fearing
Bobby Flay
Suzanne Goin
Thomas Keller
Patrick O'Connell
Charlie Palmer
Jacques Pépin
Michel Richard
Alain Sailhac
Arun Sampanthavivat
Marcus Samuelsson
André Soltner
Jacques Torres
Charlie Trotter
Norman Van Aken
Jean-Georges Vongerichten

Is this really a new series? The production values look like this was shot on video in '94. I caught the Bourdain episode a few weeks ago - the Q&A was pretty boring, but the portion where he cooks was interesting if only to watch him in a personal hell. You can tell he absolutely abhors cooking for cameras, and one can imagine what kind of internal monologue was running through his head.

mchodera wrote:I think the first one was with Lidia Bastianinch and aired on Saturday 28 April at 5:00.

Synchronicity: At that exact moment (OK, actually a couple of hours after that), I and Mrs. JiLS were seated at the bar of Lidia's in the Freight House in Kansas City, enjoying the "el cheapo" all-you-can-eat pasta dinner option ($16/three pastas -- pretty good, actually; including the only fettucine Alfredo I've ever actually enjoyed).