‘The Mind of a Chef’ is the Best Show About Food on Television

Let me tell you about the best food show on television. It's called "The Mind of a Chef," and chances are you haven't seen it, but Netflix subscribers can catch the entire first season on instant watch today.

If you follow me on Twitter, here on the blog or along the BBQ Journey, you know one irrefutable fact about me: I love food.

As a sportswriter working nights at a newspaper in northern New York, I spent my days flipping between "No Reservations," "Man vs. Food," and "Bizarre Foods" on the Travel Channel.

When I came home from work around 2 a.m., I watch "Chopped" marathons until 4 a.m. I even recorded "Worst Cooks in America," "Iron Chef," "Hell's Kitchen," "Restaurant Impossible," "Kitchen Nightmares," and "Top Chef."

But none of them compare to the brilliance of "The Mind of a Chef," which heads into season 2 in the fall on PBS.

It blends haute cuisine, instruction, history and travel, incorporating several chefs along the way in a perfect harmony that is palatable for foodies and non-foodies alike. Like the chefs featured in the series, "The Mind of a Chef" elevates its genre to another level. It is so lauded it won a James Beard award this year for "TV Program on Location." You will not look at food shows the same.

PBS cameras take you into the world of chefs, their private laboratories, their friends and their lives. You're not just a third-party viewing what some producer produces or some camera man sees through the lens. You feel a part of that circle of chefs who discuss trends, new techniques, different ways to create classic dishes, and combining ingredients you wouldn't normally expect.

As the second season approaches, I hope PBS keeps the "In the Kitchen with..." segment. This instructional 5-minute piece educates amateurs at home on how to make haute cuisine, like watermelon feta salad, paella, salt cod omelets, strawberry ice cream pie, corn cookies and more. Or how about a mushroom chip?

PBS may have been slightly late to the television food craze of a few years ago, but it took its time to deliver the best product out there. And like good food, it's worth the wait.

Season 2 will showcase two internationally-known chefs in Sean Brock of Charleston, SC, who owns Husk, the 2012 Bon Appetit winner for "Best New Restaurant in America," and April Bloomfield, a British chef and holder of two Michelin stars.

The show will feature Brock for the first eight episodes and Bloomfield for the final eight. But if the first season is any indication, audiences will be taken into their labs, where guest chefs often appear to create inspired dishes that will have your salivary glands in full production.

Watch the season preview below: