Reality
Host Padma Lakshmi takes audiences on a journey across America, exploring the rich and diverse food culture of various immigrant groups, seeking out the people who have so heavily shaped what American food is today.


El Paso was once part of Mexico. Its border location defines the region’s identity and the complexity of America’s political landscape. Padma eats her way through this border city while discovering the origins of one of America’s most beloved cuisines.

Hot dogs, hamburgers, pretzels… Many think these foods are quintessentially American, but their origins are actually German. In Milwaukee, Padma meets descendants of early German immigrants who hold onto their heritage by celebrating and reclaiming it.

Padma asks family, friends and those she admires how they hold onto Indian culture and pass it to the next generation. In NYC, she cooks the dishes that remind her of her original home and tastes Indian foods near her current home.

The Gullah Geechee people of South Carolina are fighting to preserve the traditions passed down from their ancestors, West Africans forced into slavery. Padma catches and cracks crab with new friends and old, all working towards reclaiming their heritage.

Chinese food is one of the most popular cuisines in the U.S. but the flavors of a vast country have been simplified over time. In San Francisco, Padma explores how Chinese immigrants and Chinese-Americans are broadening our understanding of this cuisine

Padma tastes her way through Los Angeles, sampling one of her favorite cuisines: Persian food. The community opens up about the misconceptions some Americans have about Iranians, one kabob at a time.

What is the original American cuisine? Padma travels to Arizona to eat food that is indigenous to this land. She tries some surprising dishes and explores how Native Americans seek to reestablish a connection to the past in order to protect their future.

Peruvian cuisine hasn’t quite had its moment on the American food scene, but Padma knows the power of a great bowl of ceviche. She visits Paterson, New Jersey, a Peruvian enclave, for a deeper look at this vibrant culture.

Las Vegas is home to one of the largest groups of Thai immigrants in the country, many of whom were women who came here after marrying American soldiers during the Vietnam War. Padma hears their stories over delicious food - Pad Thai is just the start.

Padma dives into Japanese culture, ubiquitous in Honolulu, to understand just how far their cultural footprint reaches. She slings fish and rolls sushi where a century and a half ago Japanese immigrants first docked on Hawaii’s shores.

Self - Host

The special thing about this unusual cooking competition: In each episode, the two top chefs decide in which country the other chef must complete his difficult task. After arriving in the respective country, the two competitors are served the favorite dish of his regular guests by a local chef in the black "Kitchen Impossible" box. They then have to prepare the dish they tasted in the kitchen themselves to the best of their knowledge and ability, copying it as precisely as possible. The highlight: In "Kitchen Impossible" both the exact recipe and the list of ingredients remain a secret for the two chefs.

Three big egos, one small van. Gordon, Gino and Fred pack up their camper van once again and head off on a European adventure, but this time it's personal as each episode takes us on a tour of their cherished homelands. With three countries, three weeks and three coqs au vin in close confinement what could possibly go wrong?

The Amazing Journey is an Israeli documentary TV series that explores and studies cultures, their history, religion, ceremonies and geography, through their reflection in the local food. The 7th season of The Amazing Journey will take place in the USA, where the two presenters would explore some of America's best cuisines.

Exploring China: A Culinary Adventure is a four-part British documentary television series that aired on BBC Two. Chefs Ken Hom and Ching He Huang, both Chinese food specialists, describing their travels through China and the recipes and personal stories they find there.Hom and Huang will travel to Beijing, learning about Peking Duck, and on to the Silk Road, Kashgar, and the Sichuan Province,together bringing a unique and authoritative perspective on Chinese food that will surprise and inform.Ken and Ching undertake an epic 3000-mile culinary adventure across China - not only to reveal its food, but its people, history, culture and soul.BBC Books has acquired and published the title to accompany the BBC Two series of four hour-long episodes.