Ten years ago, Netflix’s critically acclaimed culinary series Chef’s Table became a breakout hit—telling chefs’ and restaurateurs’ stories one dish at a time. Premiering on April 28, the new season celebrates a decade with Chef’s Table: Legends, a four-part limited series focusing on the influential chefs and culinary figures who shaped the way we eat today: José Andrés, the Spaniard who can never stop; Thomas Keller, the chef who set a new standard for American fine dining; Alice Waters, who brought a new focus to the fresh ingredients behind fine dining; and Jamie Oliver, who taught a new generation in Britain to love food.

“Coming to the start of this season, a lot of thought went into what makes a legend; it's more than just winning the stars, making a successful business and making delicious food,” explained executive producer and creator David Gelb during a premiere this month at Andrés’ latest New York City restaurant, Oyamel. “It's about how they use their power. Every chef is like a superhero, they have a talent. But at the level of our legends, they have reached the absolute apex.”

Chef’s Table launched in April 2015, coming right after the success of Gelb’s documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, following sushi master Jiro Ono and his sons. What sets Chef’s Table apart as a series is the cinematography and styling, framing food much differently from how it’s typically seen in reality television. Critics point to Chef’s Table as a new benchmark for “food porn”—the hyper-sensoral style of depicting food that’s taken over television and film. Over the years, Chef’s Table has delved into the works of luminaries from around the globe, including Grant Achatz, Massimo Bottura, Dan Barber, Nancy Silverton, Kwame Onwauchi and many others.

“When I started working, none of this existed,” chef Thomas Keller told the crowd. “In fact, if you went home and told your parents you wanted to be a cook, they labeled you a loser. To see our profession in America rise from that point to where we are today is nothing short of extraordinary.”

“Every time you go to a grocery store, the quality of the ingredients in the grocery store are because of a chef,” added Keller. “What makes me so excited about being a chef is how we give to others, how we influence the world in what we eat.”

Keller’s episode breaks down the tough shell of the chef, a leader for not only what American gastronomy looks like now, but what it will look like “for the rest of time.” Putting light on his failures and successes—including iconic dishes from his Wine Spectator Grand Award-winning restaurants the French Laundry and Per Se, like the salmon cornet and his “Oysters and Pearls”—shows Keller as more man than myth.

Chef José Andrés never seems to stop moving. The beloved Spanish chef is responsible for not only dozens of restaurants—including Award of Excellence winners minibar and Jaleo in Washington D.C.—but the groundbreaking nonprofit World Central Kitchen, which provides meals and hands-on aid to those in need during crises across the globe. Despite the pressure of it all, Chef’s Table depicts Andrés when his creative juices are flowing—sipping white wine straight from a magnolia petal or creating his now-iconic dishes like the El Bulli-inspired spherified olives.

“Restaurants are a place where we restore who we are,” says Andrés. “We restore our bodies with the food we eat, but in a way with those longer tables that restaurants we are able to build, we restore the faith in who we are.”

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