Food is never just food. That's the idea behind Omnivore, an Apple TV+ series that peels back the layers on eight common foodstuffs — coffee, corn, salt, rice, bananas, chilies, pork, and tuna. 

 

Narrated by Noma chef Rene Redzepi, the show serves up gorgeous images and fascinating characters. But it goes way beyond that. Each episode explores the cultural, historical, and socioeconomic context of a single ingredient, whether that's the connection between coffee cultivation and the 1994 Rwandan genocide or the impact of climate change on rice cultivation in Kerala, India or how a family of Serbian pepper farmers grows peppers in an effort to make exceptional paprika.

 

Redzepi discusses the making of Omnivore with Elvis Mitchell on The Treatment. You can hear more episodes of The Treatment here.