Find Your New Favorite Comfort Show: Cooking & Food Edition

The Great American Recipe

Home cooked meals are the definition of comfort so it's only fitting that we consider The Great American Recipe a must-watch this fall. The show invites audiences to share the most loving thing you can think of: family recipes. But it's also a cooking competition with world-class judges. In each episode, contestants cook from the heart and tell the stories behind each recipe and as they make a dish that meets the challenge. Feel-good rating: 10/10

You can watch all three seasons of The Great American Recipe now. Just take a look at this edit of some of the mistakes and whoopsies the season 2 home cooks made. Hey, it happens to all of us, especially when we're being adventurous in the kitchen!

At Home with Jacques Pepin

Who doesn't love sitting in Jacques Pepin's home kitchen with him as he makes some of his favorite meals? He is welcoming, casual and his recipes are easy to follow in this series from American Masters. He also tell stories from his chef days and his chef friends that make us feel like we're friends with him, too. He's a gem and being home with him is as comforting as it gets. Feel-good rating: 15/10

In this episode he makes Eggs Jeannette, a recipe his mother used to make for him as a child.

La Frontera with Pati Jinich

Let's be honest, any show hosted by Pati Jinich is feel-good programming. She is the definition of warm and welcoming. When she meets other cooks, her honesty and appreciation for their food radiates through the screen. In her series La Frontera, she travels along the U.S.-Mexico border learning about the culinary character of the unique stretch of the North America. With every visit along the border, Jinich opens our hearts and minds to the cultural stories as well as the amazing flavor profiles she explores.

Just watch her learn about and taste Carne Asada Fries, a popular Mexican-American mashup she tries when visiting Rolando’s Taco Shop in San Diego, California. Feel-good rating: 10/10

Family Ingredients

Ed Kenney is a Hawaiian chef and restaurateur. He's also the host of Family Ingredients, a show where he explores the cultural and environmental history of Hawai'i's rich culinary scene. The way he appreciates people's family stories and flavors with great care is feel-good television at its best.

Kenney travels to learn about the roots of dishes that were brought to the Hawaiian islands by generations past, like pipi kaula and adobo. At the same time, Family Ingredients shares Hawai'i with the world, like in this episode all about their most famous dish: poi. You can watch all three seasons now. I'm confident you'll agree with my 10/10 feel-good rating.

Mary Berry

Dame Mary Berry doing anything is a comfort watch. A lot of us signed a lifetime commitment to Team Mary Berry the first time we saw her on tv. And the devotion hasn't stopped! Mary Berry Cook and Share, in which she makes recipes you can make for a group of friends and family (or coworkers in case anyone thought of making Berry's ultimate brownies on a weeknight.) There's Mary Berry Makes it Easy and Mary Berry's Fantastic Feasts. And no matter the time of year, watching Berry celebrate Christmas in Scotland's Highlands will take you to a cozy state of mind. All of her programs are available with Passport so settle into something comfortable (no soggy bottoms, ever.) Feel-good rating: scrumptious/10

Honestly, she is a delight and also, her recipes make us feel like we could be star bakers. (See what I did there?)

Yan Can Cook

Chef Martin Yan first appeared on PBS in 1982. His confidence-building energy has helped millions of home cooks believe in themselves. He reassured by us saying "If Yan can cook, so can you!" The definition of feel-good programming is a show that builds up others and inspires. So yes, Yan Can Cook is in the queue for comfort viewing this fall. Feel-good rating: 10/10

In this classic episode, Chef makes vegetarian meals and has us convinced we can totally make them, too.

Lidia Celebrates America 

Lidia Bastianich has been comforting audiences with her cooking shows for 25 years now. She has always invited us into her kitchen and treated us like family. In Lidia Celebrates America, she visits people all around the United States, hearing their family stories and breaking bread with them. We get to join her as she learns about people's diverse experiences and makes connections through the flavors of their cultures.

In this clip she visits Houson, Texas to meet Khalil Arab, a one-time interpreter for the U.S. Military who has relocated from Afghanistan with his wife. Over a traditional Afghan meal they talk about the foods that remind them of home. Feel-good rating: 10/10

Relish with Yia Vang

When you appreciate someone’s food, you appreciate their whole story. Chef Yia Vang believes this deeply, and as host of Relish he visits chefs and home cooks in Twin Cities communities to taste their food and with each bite, he listens to their stories. Vang knows deeply that in each dish we can learn where a cook came from and who taught them to love cooking.

In every episode of Relish, now in its fifth season, Vang joyfully reminds us that sharing food is also about sharing culture and identity. Feel-good rating: 15/10

Somewhere South

Chef and restaurateur Vivian Howard made one of the coziest food shows ever when she made Somewhere South in 2020. The show connects diverse Southern communities and dives deep into the culinary traditions of the Southern food. With each dish she makes and every neighbor she gets to know, she invites us to the most delicious and welcoming spaces. Comfort food makes for feel-good tv, it's that simple. You can bet we'll be rewatching this show as the leaves start to fall and we realize that cornbread pairs well with everything at the farmers' market. Feel-good rating: cornbread/10

The French Chef

Julia Child in The French Chef is a gift to us all. Watching Julia be the most fun, informative, and motivating teacher is one of the most comforting things on television and has been since its 1962 pilot episode. She taught us all the classic French techniques (like making Bouillabaise and French onion soup) while encouraging us to just go ahead and try! Hearing her voice alone is reassuring, honestly, so this fall we are happily re-watching The French Chef and saying "bon appetit!" before each meal. Eight seasons are available to watch with Passport and each season has a feel-good rating of 10/10.