In January 2018, Netflix launched an original documentary series entitled Somebody Feed Phil.*  Phil Rosenthal, a rather famous foodie, is taxed with traveling all over the world in search of mouth watering cuisine.  Instead of focusing on high-end restaurants, Phil enlists his happy disposition to chat up locals and discover everything from the best street food to restaurants and pubs. In the opening lines of the trailer, he says “food is the great connector.” A sage older woman weighs in saying “just find out what people like to eat, and you make them happy.”

Apparently, one episode of Somebody Feed Phil takes place in one of my favorite cities: Venice. As you may have gathered from my second novel The Things We Said in Venice, I also love food, travel and Venice and of course a great love story that makes people happy.  That’s why I’m so excited about this show! Restaurants– both real and fictional–pop up throughout my novel as well as discussions of food, veganism and how our diet effects the planet. But back to love; they say the best way to a person’s heart is through his or her stomach.  Fokke van der Veld, a travel writer like Phil, knows the heart-value of food; he seeks out a vegan restaurant in Venice to woo the vegan of his eye, Sarah Turner. Espen also gives this technique a whirl. Who is Espen? A Norwegian man who also attempts to reach Sarah’s heart through her stomach by making vegan mozzarella.

Based on the trailer, Phil loves all things animal, ranging from pork tacos to lobster fried in egg. I wonder if Phil will add vegan gastronomy into his travel pursuits.

Doing research for a travel novel with a lead character who is vegan required quite a bit of research, including making vegan mozzarella!

Watch this Happy Pear video to see how!

What do you think? Should Somebody Feed Phil Vegan Mozzarella? Would you like to see Phil try some vegan food in the exotic places he visits? Do you think he will? We could tweet him and suggest it! (Twitter handle is @PhilRosenthal )

*Unfortunately, it looks like Somebody Feed Phil is not yet available on Netflix in The Netherlands. Is it available in your country?