Netflix – Cooked

W e had the chance to work on Episode 4 for the new Netflix series “Cooked”. This series explores the cooking process through the four elements – fire, water, air and earth – Cooked show us the evolution of food preparation and how it connects the world.

Episode 4 was based on earth and fermentation, so we had the task to find some examples of this in the Peruvian jungle.First we dived into the artisan chocolate production in Chazuta, a very small village in the San Martin region. There we found how since the 90s a community evolved from growing coca plants to growing cacao. Now they not only produce a 1st grade cacao paste but also an award winning chocolate.

Second, we wanted to find something that was consumed every day, and we found the traditional drink masato. Masato is a yucca paste which is fermented using saliva, this fermented paste is later dissolved in water and drunk. We found the lady who makes the best Masato in Chazuta, and it was quite an experience!