When we think of TV cooking shows, the titles that spring to mind are the reality-competition series such as “Top Chef” and “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Cupcake Wars,” as opposed to mostly forgotten dramatic and/or comedic efforts, e.g., Starz’ “Sweetbitter” and AMC’s “Feed the Beast” and did you know Bradley Cooper played a fictionalized version of Anthony Bourdain on Fox’s short-lived “Kitchen Confidential” in 2005, a decade before Cooper played a chef in the feature film “Burnt”?
No worries. I’m not sure even Bradley remembers that TV show. Now we finally have a series with all the necessary ingredients on the menu to make for a long-running, satisfying, immensely entertaining, decidedly Chicago-centric, restaurant-based hit: FX/Hulu’s “The Bear,” a darkly funny, frenetic and intense gem that will make you very hungry and most likely will ring the bell of authenticity for anyone who has ever worked or is currently employed in the restaurant business.
