Netflix is extending one of its longest-running unscripted brands. The streamer has ordered two new cycles of Chef’s Table: Chef’s Table: Icons and Chef’s Table: Desserts, C21Media reports.
The franchise is created by David Gelb and produced by Boardwalk Pictures and David Gelb Films. Gelb, Andrew Fried, Brian McGinn and Dane Lillegard serve as executive producers.
The order lands 11 years after the original Chef’s Table debuted. The main series has run for seven seasons, and the franchise has already produced spin-off cycles focused on pizza, BBQ and noodles. The new cycles split the format into two distinct lanes: Icons follows chefs who have reached the top of the culinary world and the reinvention required to remain there; Desserts focuses on the artistry of leading dessert chefs.
Why the split matters
This is a franchise-extension play. Netflix is not starting from zero; it is using a known documentary format to serve two adjacent audience segments: prestige chef storytelling and visually driven dessert content. For streaming executives, the lower risk of a proven brand matters, especially in unscripted programming where new titles can be hard to break through.
- Proven IP: Chef’s Table already has seven flagship seasons and multiple single-subject spin-offs.
- Niche expansion: Icons targets prestige culinary storytelling; Desserts targets a visually driven pastry audience.
- Creator involvement: David Gelb is directing all eight episodes himself, raising the creative stakes.
Spin-off seasons are already central to this franchise: pizza, BBQ and noodle cycles have widened the format beyond the flagship run. Two more targeted seasons are a safer investment than launching an entirely new food title.
What Gelb is signalling
Gelb’s involvement is the key detail. The creator said the format has always been about more than food—it follows the personal journey of chefs who tell stories with their cuisine. For the two new cycles, he said the stories were so exciting that he chose to direct all eight episodes himself. That is a signal to talent, buyers and viewers that these are not routine spin-offs.
What to watch
The order reinforces how Netflix uses food as a global unscripted category. For media planners and content buyers, the question is whether these niche spin-offs get paired with advertising, localised versions or merchandising and travel extensions. If the Icons and Desserts cycles perform, expect more single-subject Chef’s Table seasons.
Source: C21media
