Queer Chef Kristen Kish Goes Far in Restaurants at the End of the World

Groundbreaking lesbian chef Kristen Kish is exploring cuisine and culture at some of the world’s most remote restaurants in a four-episode docuseries premiering Tuesday night on National Geographic.

In Restaurants at the End of the World, Kish visits eateries in Boquete, Panama; Svalbard, Norway; North Haven Island, Maine; and Paraty, Brazil.

“Running any successful venture takes a certain tenacity and grit, but those who set up deep in the wild, cut off from the grid and normal supply lines, are in a class all their own,” says a press release from the National Geographic channel. “Chef Kish goes behind the scenes and embeds herself with local purveyors, farmers, herders, kitchen crew, managers and head chefs to listen to their stories and witness the day-to-day balancing act required to bring unique food to the table, meal after meal. She then dives into the depths of the land to forage only the freshest ingredients and, along the way, unearths the culture and heart behind the cuisine.”

“Food has an unparalleled power to bring us together and teach us about one another and the world around us, and we see that firsthand by going to restaurants in the world’s most remote areas,” Kish said in the release. “Filming this series with National Geographic was an adventure of a lifetime that taught me so much about an industry I’ve been steeped in my whole life. I can’t wait for viewers to come along on the journey with us and experience these dishes at restaurants most never even knew existed.”

New episodes will air each Tuesday at 10 p.m. Eastern/9 p.m. Central, and all four will be available this Wednesday on Disney+.

In the first episode, “Panama’s Cloud Forest Kitchen,” Kish learns the secrets of trek-to-table cuisine at Hacienda Mamecillo and helps the proprietors prepare a special meal for Panama’s top chef, Rolando Chamorro. In the second, “Norway’s Touch of Madness,” she explores Arctic cuisine at Isfjord Radio Restaurant, led by chef Rogier Jansen.

The third, “Maine Island Barn Supper,” sees her traveling to North Haven Island to help Turner Farm’s new chef, Carolynn Ladd, put her southern twist on its classic barn supper menu. In the fourth, “Brazil’s Floating Feast,” Kish assists chef Gisela Schmitt in sourcing ingredients from the rain forest and ocean to serve aboard her floating restaurant, Sem Pressa.

Kish won Top Chef in 2013, becoming the second woman and first woman of color to take home the title; she was born in South Korea and was adopted into a family in the U.S. She came out as lesbian in 2014.

She has worked in several well-known restaurants and opened her own, Arlo Grey, in Austin in partnership with Line Hotels in 2018. She is the author of Kristen Kish Cooking, published in 2017. On TV, she has cohosted 36 Hours and hosted Fast Foodies.

Restaurants at the End of the World is produced for National Geographic by World of Wonder and Cinetic.

Below, watch Kish's Advocate Channel interview, and then an exclusive clip of her harvesting ice in Norway.

Advocate Today | Out Chef Kristen Kish on Rappelling, Snorkeling for Food at Remote Eaterieswww.youtube.com

Norway’s Touch of Madness “Ice Harvesting with Walruses” | National Geographicwww.youtube.com