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The Worst Episodes of The Mind of a Chef

Every episode of The Mind of a Chef ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Mind of a Chef!

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Go inside the minds of some of the world's top chefs. Narrated by Executive Producer Anthony Bourdain, The Mind of a Chef is that rare and beautiful thing: an intelligent show about cooking.

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  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    The Mind of a Chef Season 6 Episode 1 - Genesis
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #1 - Genesis

    S6:E1

    Nobody gets a say in the life they’re born into. Thrust into a body, a family, a country and a history, the story of our lives are merely the sum of an endless combination of circumstantial factors determining who we will know, how we will fare, who we will become. But for those adopted, their origins are complicated as the where they were born fuses with the world in which they’re raised. Danny Bowien was born in Korea but only spent the first 3 months of his infant life there. He was adopted and raised by American parents in Oklahoma — religious, hard-working folks – and instead of a life in Seoul, Danny grows up in suburban middle-America. Adapting to this life was easy, for it was all he knew, but he constantly carried traces of his past with him, superficially and also buried deep below.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. The Mind of a Chef Season 6 Episode 2 - Threshold
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #2 - Threshold

    S6:E2

    Danny spends the bulk of his time obsessing over the future – there is urgency in him that needs to be on top of everything, ahead of every trend, aware of what lies beyond the curve. But it would be impossible to know where he’s going without first examining where he came from, and from where that drive was borne. Once he committed to leaving Oklahoma, Danny emerged in San Francisco as a human tabula rasa, open to all of the experiences the city laid before him. It was here that Danny formed who he was as a person and as a chef, and the grassroots movement of Mission Street Food blossomed into what is now his greatest success.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. The Mind of a Chef Season 6 Episode 3 - Mentor
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #3 - Mentor

    S6:E3

    Danny has been to China several times, but he’s visited Chengdu (the geographical and spiritual capital of Szechuan food) only once. He’s returning here to reconnect with the place, the food and the person – renowned chef Yu Bo – that have influenced him the most. Szechuan food has been the greatest source of inspiration for Danny, and consequently his life. This episode is about the dishes, cooking methods, unique flavors and stories (both his and Yu Bo’s) that have driven Danny on a quest to master this style of food.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. The Mind of a Chef Season 6 Episode 4 - Family
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #4 - Family

    S6:E4

    For better or worse, we do not get to choose the family into which we’re born. In Danny’s case, nor did he get to choose the family that adopted him. He had no say in where he would live or how he’d be raised. After his mother’s death he felt a bizarre combination of liberation mixed with guilt, and he desperately wanted to hold on to – or recreate – the familial feel of togetherness.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. The Mind of a Chef Season 6 Episode 5 - Risk
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #5 - Risk

    S6:E5

    Without risk, there would not be the valuable by-products of risk – success and failure. Danny Bowien has learned that there is power in taking chances, and risk can be virtuous when it comes to navigating the creative process. Now more than ever, he has gained confidence in taking these risks, and grown more comfortable with both of its outcomes.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. The Mind of a Chef Season 6 Episode 6 - Unexpected
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #6 - Unexpected

    S6:E6

    Danny Bowien does not cook authentic Chinese cuisine, but he cooks genuine Danny Bowien cuisine – food that is inspired by his love of Szechuan food and New York City and his family and new experiences. He is 100% himself, and is constantly in search and awe of others who are the same.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. The Mind of a Chef Season 6 Episode 7 - Classics
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Classics

    S6:E7

    Continuing on the Hero’s Journey, if Korea was his starting point and San Francisco was his first threshold, New York City is where Danny’s adventure reaches the apex. Danny really believes that if you can make it in this ultra-competitive town with its even more competitive dining scene, then there’s nowhere you can’t succeed. While he never readily admits to long-term goals, there was a desire backed up by a strategy to prove himself as one of the Greats.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. The Mind of a Chef Season 6 Episode 8 - Multiverse
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Multiverse

    S6:E8

    What would have happened if Danny never left Oklahoma, or was not adopted at all? Instead of looking at life as a series of “what ifs,” the lens of the multiverse allows us to see a reality with infinite possibilities and infinite selves. In this, Danny is still an orphan, and is not an orphan, he opens a Chinese bakery, he grows up in Korea, and he is even a puppet.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. The Mind of a Chef Season 3 Episode 11 - Creation
    5.8/10(11 votes)

    #9 - Creation

    S3:E11

    When Chef Nilsson develops a dish at Fäviken, he pays careful attention to the unique properties of an ingredient. Through research and recipe testing, the components of a dish are combined with the aim of preserving their natural quintessence. “The Creation of a Dish” follows the life cycle of an ingredient as it transforms from an idea into a dish at his restaurant.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. The Mind of a Chef Season 3 Episode 9 - Winter
    6.0/10(10 votes)

    #10 - Winter

    S3:E9

    Explore the ways that the Scandinavian people have survived winter through the practice of preservation and aging with Chef Magnus Nilsson.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. The Mind of a Chef Season 2 Episode 4 - Louisiana
    6.4/10(18 votes)

    #11 - Louisiana

    S2:E4

    A look at Louisiana cuisine features a visit to Middendorf's Restaurant in Akers, La., with food writer John T. Edge; and a frogging excursion with chef Donald Link.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The Mind of a Chef Season 2 Episode 16 - Restauranteur
    6.4/10(12 votes)

    #12 - Restauranteur

    S2:E16

    Chef Bloomfield wrestles with the questions every aspiring new or expanding veteran chef has to confront. April and her business partner, Ken Friedman, explore the challenges of opening their first out-of-state venture in San Francisco: Tosca. April is inspired by a local morning bun, and she’s busy in the kitchen testing and tasting dishes for her new menu.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. The Mind of a Chef Season 4 Episode 5 - Past
    6.4/10(13 votes)

    #13 - Past

    S4:E5

    It’s an age-old saying, but where you have been is almost as important as where you are going and ultimately makes you who you are today. Gabrielle Hamilton has traveled the country and the world, but sometimes, it’s good to go back to your roots.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. The Mind of a Chef Season 4 Episode 8 - Evolution
    6.4/10(14 votes)

    #14 - Evolution

    S4:E8

    Gabrielle looks long and hard at how she has evolved not only as a chef, but as a writer and restaurant owner.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. The Mind of a Chef Season 5 Episode 2 - Legends
    6.4/10(8 votes)

    #15 - Legends

    S5:E2

    It takes a great chef to make a great chef. This episode is all about paying homage to the greatest culinary minds in the world. Fergus Henderson, Eric Ripert, Pascal Barbot and more spend some quality time cooking with our alumni.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. The Mind of a Chef Season 1 Episode 14 - Sweet Spot
    6.5/10(23 votes)

    #16 - Sweet Spot

    S1:E14

    Chang’s protégé Christina Tosi makes corn cookies three ways and her three layered Arnold Palmer Cake, Chef Burns makes ice cream and Chang goes strawberry picking.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The Mind of a Chef Season 2 Episode 9 - London
    6.5/10(17 votes)

    #17 - London

    S2:E9

    Chef April Bloomfield visits London, where she began her cooking career. Cooking walnut tagliatelle with chef Ruth Rogers. Making rabbit pie with chef Fergus Henderson, and enjoying a pint and scotch eggs with chef Rowley Leigh.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. The Mind of a Chef Season 2 Episode 10 - Sea/Salt
    6.5/10(14 votes)

    #18 - Sea/Salt

    S2:E10

    Focus on April’s love of the sea, which is deep and fully realized.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. The Mind of a Chef Season 4 Episode 15 - New Orleans
    6.5/10(15 votes)

    #19 - New Orleans

    S4:E15

    When your first restaurant job is Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, you are inevitably destined for great things. As a high school student in New Orleans, David’s eyes were opened by the glamorous Crescent City institution, and a long career in cuisine followed.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. The Mind of a Chef Season 1 Episode 15 - Smoke
    6.6/10(22 votes)

    #20 - Smoke

    S1:E15

    Chang profiles regional BBQ in North Carolina, Texas, and Kansas City plus the other-worldly smoky bacon from Allen Benton in Tennessee.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. The Mind of a Chef Season 2 Episode 6 - Roots
    6.6/10(18 votes)

    #21 - Roots

    S2:E6

    Host Sean Brock prepares a typical Appalachian dinner; cooks chicken dumplings with his mother; visits with chef Joseph Lenn at Blackberry Farms in Tennessee; and learns how to make fried okra and country ham.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. The Mind of a Chef Season 2 Episode 12 - Italian
    6.6/10(14 votes)

    #22 - Italian

    S2:E12

    Explore April Bloomfield’s deep love for Italian cuisine and its influence on her cooking.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. The Mind of a Chef Season 2 Episode 14 - Farmer
    6.6/10(15 votes)

    #23 - Farmer

    S2:E14

    April travels four hours outside London to Cornwall to visit and cook with farmer and chef Tom Adams on his farm. Tom raises the cute, furry and delicious mangalitsa pigs. April and Tom butcher and cook the entire pig piece by piece: loin, shoulder, belly and head.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. The Mind of a Chef Season 3 Episode 12 - France
    6.6/10(14 votes)

    #24 - France

    S3:E12

    Return with Magnus to France, a place that had a profound impact on his culinary career.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. The Mind of a Chef Season 3 Episode 13 - Traditions
    6.6/10(13 votes)

    #25 - Traditions

    S3:E13

    Examine how the bonds of tradition help to forge the identities of families and individuals.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Genesis" is the worst rated episode of "The Mind of a Chef". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 11/13/2017. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Threshold".