Australia’s SBS commissions Street Food Nomad: Kolkata from Mago Films
Australian public broadcaster SBS has commissioned a new series from Australian cultural documentary specialists Mago Films featuring UK-born and Bali-based chef Will Meyrick.
The first series, Street Food Nomad: Kolkata, is a six-episode journey through the Indian city’s food and culture.
Mago Films founder and producer Marian Bartsch who is a seasoned creator of food series and franchises said it was a coup securing Meyrick who has built a culinary reputation through South-East Asia after setting up restaurants extensively through Indonesia’s Bali and more recently West Australia’s Perth.
“Will Meyrick is not only an exceptional chef but has an acute understanding of the culture and secret idiosyncrasies of South-East Asia which can only be learnt by lived experience and in-depth food investigations, which has been part of his life for over 20 years,” Bartsch said.
Bartsch was the creator of Surfing the Menu for the ABC, which launched the international careers of Curtis Stone and Ben O’Donohue in 2003 and then reprised the series in 2016 with Surfing the Menu – Next Generation elevating the global profiles of emerging chefs Dan Churchill and Hayden Quinn.
Bartsch has also produced Recipes that Rock featuring Blur bassist and cheesemaker Alex James and created food and travel series with international chefs Jack Stein and Antonio Carluccio.
Despite the peaks of food format commissioning and investment having waned in recent years, Bartsch said that high quality, well-produced and unique food propositions still have currency globally and cut across all demographics.
London and Netherlands-based distributors, Insight TV, are handling global sales.
“There is still a lot of innovation and evolution left in the factual food format genre. We were delighted that SBS has agreed to take a gamble on a chef that may not be known to Australian TV audiences but has a significant online following with,” he said. His You Tube travel channel and reputationally, his restaurants Sarong, Mama San and most recently Buzo are well known by Australian travellers to Bali.”
SBS will be screening the series on its food channel at the end of January and Bartsch hopes that it will be the launch pad for further seasons.
“The plan is for chef Will to travel around the region in future series and share his experiences in gaining the intricate knowledge of place and cuisine that has built his restaurant empire through Asia. He is also terrific talent in the style of the great Bourdain, and we don’t get many of those treats.”
