«The Final Table» on Netflix: why this simple concept is such a success
In «The Final Table», twelve teams of two from all over the world are pitted against each other in a cooking competition. The participants are by no means amateurs: They're all professional chefs who run their own restaurants, some of them awarded with Michelin stars. That's what makes this show so exciting.
«How's octopus cooked?» Desperation is written all over the participants' faces. «Your octopus is too chewy. There are only ten minutes left,» the Spanish judge Andoni Aduriz criticises. At this point, only three teams are left in the competition. The starred chef has given them the task of cooking octopus. Previously, the three teams had already failed at preparing the Spanish national dish Paella.
Simple but effective
All episodes of «The Final Table» follow the same setup: It’s all about one country. The teams have to cook a typical dish in one hour and are then rated by three world-renowned judges from the host country. They're asked to cook Paella in Spain, Kaiseki in Japan and English Breakfast in Great Britain, for example. They get their ingredients from a storage room that contains everything the culinary heart could ever desire – from live crustaceans to slaughtered laying hens (including non-hatched eggs). After the first round of ratings by the judges, the three teams with the lowest rating have to cook again. In this second round, however, they are asked to prepare just one ingredient and not an entire dish: octopus in Spain, sea urchins in Japan or peas in Great Britain, for instance. The ingredient is selected by a starred chef from the respective country. Again, the teams have one hour time to win the judges over. The team with the lowest rating is knocked out. The concept is as simple as this. And it works.
It didn't take more than an episode and I was hooked on the series. I cheered for some teams and hoped that others would be kicked out. «The Final Table» was my version of «The Bachelor»… While similar competitions often show amateur chefs compete against each other and things can get a bit boring, «The Final Table» packs a lot of action into one episode: In one hour, two tasks are set and you always get to see at least four dishes per round. Because all chefs are well-established professionals, they come up with all kinds of great and unusual ideas. My only point of criticism is that, for my taste, there is a bit too much «fancy» molecular cooking.
Will Switzerland feature in the next season?
Of course, the contestants get really emotional sometimes and, of course, the show also lives by emotional background stories about the contestants and their careers. But this is done in a subtle way. The makers don't turn the show into a tear-jerker. The teams are also put together in such a way that the chefs complement each other well and all teams have a fair chance. This means that if the Scottish chef Graham Campbell is completely clueless about Japanese cuisine, his US partner Aaron Bludorn takes the lead. There's no swearing and dissing, as with other chefs such as Gordon Ramsey or in programmes such as the German and Swiss «Restaurant tester». And this is a good thing.
«The Final Table» is great because it shows professionals from all over the world compete on equal terms. Sure, it doesn't revolutionise cooking shows, but it does a lot of things right. I'm really hoping there will be a second season, but it hasn't been confirmed yet. What's sure is that there are plenty of countries left that could still be featured. How about Switzerland, for example? A Swiss starred chef has already made it to Netflix: In the series «7 Days Out», Daniel Humm is portrayed seven days before the reopening of his New York restaurant «Eleven Madison Park» – the best restaurant in the world at the time.
When I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.