We were able to catch the first episode of Food Samurai before it went to Disney+ and we have some thoughts on this six episode documentary series. The film work is gorgeous as we join Mory Sacko in Japan as he takes his love of French, Japanese and African food to conquer the challenge of mastering the five Japanese elements: water, earth, fire, air and void and bringing them together in a bento served from a yatai. This quest will have him taking an incredible journey that has him chasing his dreams right before he is going to become a father. His first stop will be learning a bit about karate as the audience learns a bit about Mory and his love for Manga. Everything will point back to cooking and we learn the things that make karate and cooking skills shine.
There are such good vibes in this episode and we think they will continue on for the rest of the series with the story making us feel like we are on a cooking adventure with Mory. We get to see Japanese cooking knives and how they are compared to the swords of the samurai, which served as our favorite part of the episode. The one thing to note is that you should be prepared to follow along via the subtitles, which may make it a little harder for the younger kids, but it does feel like a show you would sit down with the family to watch. Make sure to tune in on Disney+ to watch Food Samurai on September 30th and be prepared to see a visually stunning show with a great message.
FOOD SAMURAI | THE NEW DOCUMENTARY SERIES STARRING MORY SACKO TO PREMIERE EXCLUSIVELY ON DISNEY+ IN THE U.S. ON SEPTEMBER 30
LOS ANGELES — September 2026: In this six-episode culinary odyssey, Michelin-starred chef Mory Sacko, joined by a number of renowned guests, immerses himself in Japanese culture and gastronomy to unlock the secrets of the perfect bento.
All six episodes of the documentary series, created, directed and produced by Eric Nebot, will be available exclusively on Disney+ in the U.S. beginning September 30.
In this immersive exploration of Japanese culinary arts, some of the biggest names in gastronomy accompany Mory Sacko on his quest to create the perfect bento. FOOD SAMURAI features a number of renowned guests who enrich this extraordinary experience, including multi-Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire, writer Chihiro Masui and César Award-winning actor Omar Sy, who also shares his perspective through a series of exclusive interviews.
FOOD SAMURAI follows Mory Sacko on his first-ever journey to Japan. Accompanied by his pastry chef and close friend Théo Segretin, he sets out to discover a cuisine he has admired since childhood and that already inspires his cooking every day.
From encounters and tastings to centuries-old traditions and small street-food stalls, the series takes viewers on a journey through a vibrant, generous, spectacular and deeply human Japan.Guided by some of Japan’s greatest culinary masters, Mory is given a challenge: master the five Japanese elements: water, earth, fire, air and void and bring them together in a bento served from a yatai, a small Japanese street-food kitchen, in a bustling passageway in Osaka.
Sacko said: “I came across Yasuke, the first foreign samurai in Japan, and the only Black one and he reflected my own cuisine…My passion for Japan started young, with manga. And as I got older, I grew interested in Japanese culture as a whole. As a new chef, I got into Japanese cuisine. I left at a critical time, as I was about to become a dad. I had mixed emotions. Leaving right then wasn’t exactly ideal, but it was my last chance to go alone and benefit from the adventure. Leaving before the building work, becoming a dad and all these big changes, all these significant moments, marked the end of a stage in life. So that first stage concluded with the trip to Japan that I’d anticipated for so long. And when I got home, I could start the next stage.”
Conceived as both a major culinary adventure and a journey of initiation, FOOD SAMURAI combines road trip, transmission, Japanese pop culture and gastronomic immersion. It is the first chapter in a new universe of culinary samurai.The documentary series was created, directed and produced by Éric Nebot for Eagles Team Entertainment and Cocinor.
“We all have an idea of Japan. We think we know sushi, tempura or yakitori, but through Mory’s eyes, we discovered just how limited our imagination had been: the air between grains of sushi rice, the sound of tempura, the discipline of fire. The same was true of Hiroshima. Oppenheimer brought the bomb back into popular culture without taking us there. Meeting a survivor made that history immediate and human. Food Samurai is about going beyond what we think we know,” said Éric Nebot, creator, producer and director of the series.”
All six episodes of FOOD SAMURAI will be available exclusively on Disney+ US beginning September 30, 2026.
ABOUT MORY SACKO
Mory Sacko is a Michelin-starred French chef of Malian and Senegalese heritage. Raised in the Paris region, he rose to national prominence on the French edition of Top Chef before opening MoSuke in Paris. There, he has developed a distinctive culinary language at the crossroads of French technique, African flavors and Japanese influences. MoSuke received a Michelin star in 2021.The restaurant’s name combines Mory’s name with that of Yasuke, the African man who arrived in Japan in the 16th century and became a samurai under warlord Oda Nobunaga. That reference reflects Sacko’s approach to cooking: bringing cultures into dialogue, transforming what he has inherited and creating a language entirely his own.
In 2023, Sacko was named to the TIME100 Next list and featured on one of the issue’s covers, with Omar Sy writing the accompanying tribute. Sy celebrated Sacko as a pioneer whose cooking brings together multiple cultures without sacrificing his identity.FOOD SAMURAI takes Sacko to Japan for the first time, at a pivotal moment in his life, just before becoming a father. Already an acclaimed chef, he accepts the challenge of becoming a student again, learning from Japanese culinary masters and exploring the connections between craftsmanship, humility, identity and transmission.
ABOUT ÉRIC NEBOT
Éric Nebot is a serial entrepreneur: Founder and CEO of the leading product placement agency Hill Valley, he’s at the board of director of the American Cinematheque but as well Academy Award-nominated producer, director and screenwriter.In 2012, he founded Hill Valley, a leading entertainment company specializing in product placement, brand integration, and events. Specialized in luxury brands, with operations in Los Angeles, New York, and Paris, Hill Valley works with major studios, streaming platforms, independent producers, and filmmakers. Its work has been connected to projects including Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the James Bond franchise, and Emily in Paris, as well as major international festivals, premieres, and awards-season events.
Nebot began his filmmaking career as a screenwriter, co-writing The Disintegration, directed by Philippe Faucon and presented at the 2011 Venice International Film Festival.
As a producer, Nebot’s recent credits include Arnaud Desplechin’s Filmlovers!, Yann Gozlan’s Visions, and the Academy Award-nominated animated short Yuck!
In 2019, he created and directed The Chef in a Truck, following Ritz Paris pastry chef François Perret on a culinary journey through California. The series premiered on Netflix.
Nebot’s latest project is FOOD SAMURAI, a six-part Disney+ documentary series that he wrote and directed, following Michelin-starred chef Mory Sacko on his first journey to Japan. Inspired by the story of Yasuke, the African man who became a samurai in 16th-century Japan, the series follows Sacko as he learns from some of Japan’s leading culinary masters and reinterprets those traditions through his French, Malian, and Senegalese heritage.