A Cook's Tour is a travel and food show that aired on Food Network. Host Anthony Bourdain visits various countries and cities worldwide where hosts treat him to local culture and cuisine. Two seasons of episodes were produced in 2000 and 2001 and aired first-run in January 2002 through 2003 in the U.S. on the Food Network. As of 2023, the series is formally available across multiple online platforms such as YouTube, Tubi and Local Now through distributor Questar Entertainment under the GoTraveler brand.

Production

NYU film program graduate Lydia Tenaglia, working at New York Times Television, picked up the book Kitchen Confidential, and, learning that Bourdain was proposing an Innocents Abroad-style travel journal as a follow-up project, picked up the phone and made a cold call. The show was filmed with two Sony PD100 DV camcorders.

Reception

In Variety, Phil Gallo says, "For once, Food Network is putting on display food you can’t do at home — and they show that acquiring the ingredients isn’t all pretty before the meal hits the dining room table." Bourdain's account of his trip to Cambodia in Episodes 5 and 6 of Season 1 has been criticised by professor of French and Film Studies at Clemson University Joseph Mai as "filled with tawdry stereotypes" and largely ignoring Cambodian cuisine.

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2