| A Cook's Tour | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Anthony Bourdain (host) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 35 |
| Production | |
| Running time | half hour (approx. 0:22 per episode) |
| Original release | |
| Network | Food Network |
| Release | 2002 – 2003 |
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 U.S. on the Food Network. As of 2023, the series is formally available across multiple online platforms such as YouTube, [1] Tubi [2] and Local Now [3] through distributor Questar Entertainment under the GoTraveler brand.
NYU film program graduate Lydia Tenaglia, [4] working at New York Times Television, [5] 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. [6] [7]
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." [9] 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. [10] Mai then uses these episodes and contrasts them to the later No Reservations to reflect on Bourdain's transformation in ethics and understanding towards Cambodia and her history.
| # | Prod Num | DVD | Title | Place Visited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TB1A01 | Disk 5 | A Taste of Tokyo | Tokyo |
| 2 | TB1A02 | Disk 5 | Dining with Geishas | Atami and Tokyo, Japan |
| 3 | TB1A03 | Disk 6 | Cobra Heart - Foods That Make You Manly | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
| 4 | TB1A04 | Disk 6 | Eating on the Mekong | Mekong River, Vietnam |
| 5 | TB1A05 | Disk 6 | Wild Delicacies | Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia |
| 6 | TB1A06 | Disk 5 | Eating on the Edge of Nowhere | Pailin, Cambodia and Tokyo, Japan |
| 7 | TB1A07 | Disk 3 | Cod Crazy | Porto and Douro Valley, Portugal |
| 8 | TB1A08 | Disk 3 | San Sebastian: A Food Lover's Town | San Sebastián, Spain |
| 9 | TB1A09 | Disk 3 | Childhood Flavors | Arcachon, France |
| 10 | TB1A10 | Disk 3 | Stuffed Like a Pig | Portugal, south-western France |
| 11 | TB1A11 | Disk 4 | A Desert Feast | Morocco (Sahara) |
| 12 | TB1A12 | Disk 4 | Traditional Tastes | Morocco (cities) |
| 13 | TB1A13 | Disk 4 | The Cook Who Came in From the Cold | Saint Petersburg |
| 14 | TB1A14 | Disk 4 | So Much Vodka, So Little Time | Saint Petersburg |
| 15 | TB1A15 | Disk 2 | Tamales and Iguana, Oaxacan Style | Oaxaca, Mexico |
| 16 | TB1A16 | Disk 2 | Puebla, Where the Good Cooks Are From | Puebla, Mexico |
| 17 | TB1A17 | Disk 1 | Los Angeles, My Own Heart of Darkness | Los Angeles |
| 18 | TB1A18 | Disk 1 | The French Laundry Experience [12] | Napa Valley and San Francisco |
| 19 | TB1A19 | Disk 1 | My Hometown Favorites | New York City |
| 20 | TB1A20 | Disk 1 | My Life as a Cook | New York City and Provincetown, MA |
| 21 | TB1A21 | Disk 3 | Highland Grub | Scotland |
| 22 | TB1A22 | Disk 3 | A Pleasing Palate | London |
| # | Prod Num | DVD | Title | Place Visited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TB1B01 | Disk 2 | Food Tastes Better with Sand Between Your Toes | St. Martin |
| 2 | TB1B02 | Disk 1 | No Beads, No Babes, No Bourbon Street | New Orleans |
| 3 | TB1B03 | Disk 2 | A Mystical World | Salvador |
| 4 | TB1B04 | Disk 2 | How to Be a Carioca | Rio de Janeiro and Niterói, Brazil |
| 5 | TB1B05 | Disk 1 | Elements of a Great Bar | New York City |
| 6 | TB1B06 | Disk 1 | The Struggle for the Soul of America | Minneapolis, MN |
| 7 | TB1B07 | Disk 1 | The BBQ Triangle | Kansas City, Houston, and North Carolina |
| 8 | TB1B08 | Disk 5 | Mad Tony: The Food Warrior | Sydney |
| 9 | TB1B09 | Disk 5 | Down Under: The Wild West of Cooking | Melbourne |
| 10 | TB1B10 | Disk 6 | Singapore: New York in Twenty Years | Singapore |
| 11 | TB1B11 | Disk 6 | Let's Get Lost | Chiang Mai, Thailand |
| 12 | TB1B12 | Disk 6 | My Friend Linh | Hanoi, Vietnam |
| 13 | TB1B13 | Disk 6 | Thailand: One Night in Bangkok | Bangkok, Thailand and Singapore |
Unfortunately, his account of his trip to Cambodia in 2000 is filled with tawdry stereotypes: abject poverty in the city, comparisons to the Stone Age in the countryside, dirty hovels for hotels, reminders to keep clean condoms, news stories from the Phnom Penh Post about acid attacks and child rape. ... Cambodian cuisine? Barely mentioned.
18. San Francisco: "The French Laundry Experience"; Country: USA; Chef Tony Bourdain makes a pilgrimage to meet the man he considers to be the finest chef in the western world: Thomas Keller, chef and owner of The French Laundry in Yountville, California, located in the Napa Valley outside of San Francisco. … Tony has also invited several chef friends, including Scott Bryan of NYC's Veritas and Eric Ripert of NYC's Le Bernardin, to join him for a special menu prepared by Keller himself. The high point in the meal comes when Keller sends Tony a specially-crafted custard made from tobacco leaves and coffee.