Lucky Chow Season 7 to Debut on PBS on May 1
Today, American Public Television debuted the trailer and announced the May 1 premiere date for the seventh season of Lucky Chow, PBS’s Emmy Award-nominated series following culinary expert Danielle Chang.
This season transports viewers across seas for the first time to explore the rich culinary culture of Taiwan, from innovations in soy sauce and rice production to traditional tea ceremonies and temple cuisine. Lucky Chow Season 7 will be available starting May 1 on the PBS app, PBS Stations nationwide, and streaming on PBS Passport with new episodes weekly throughout May.
In this five-part season, Lucky Chow host Danielle Chang immerses herself in the vibrant food and culture of her homeland, Taiwan, spotlighting indigenous boar hunters, cutting-edge bubble-tea makers, late-night seaport dives, and Buddhist temples where vegetarian cooking is turned into high art.
Join Danielle on a season-long tour of this island crossroads, where ancient folkways co-exist with the world’s most futuristic technologies, and see Taiwan as you’ve never seen it before.
“Taiwan is a place where tradition and innovation coexist in the most beautiful and delicious ways. This season of Lucky Chow, premiering in May during AAPI Heritage Month, is a love letter to this island—a journey through its vibrant night markets, serene tea fields, and bustling kitchens where ancient techniques meet modern creativity,” said series creator Danielle Chang.
Chang added: “From the rice paddies and tea farms in the north to the innovators of the city, every bite tells a story of resilience, community, and connection. Through food, we celebrate the richness of global culture, a universal language that unites us all and reminds us of our shared humanity.”
LUCKY CHOW SEASON 7 EPISODES
MADE IN TAIWAN
(Season Premiere) Across Taiwan, there’s a growing movement to produce familiar pantry staples – soy sauce, hot sauce, tofu, rice – in a hand-crafted way that respects the island’s legacy.
Two brothers take over the family soy sauce factory; a tofu maker uses traditional methods, as well as water from a bubbling mud volcano; and a collective of young urbanites seek out a life farming rice.
OFFERINGS
Taiwan’s earthly obsession with food has a spiritual dimension as an offering to the spirits who watch over the vulnerable island nation. Indigenous men of the Rukai tribe hunt for wild boar in the mountains, while in the rocky tidal zone, the matriarchal Amis forage the sea’s bounty.
At Buddhist temples, dizzyingly diverse vegetarian menus speak to how food can cultivate compassion and connection.
NIGHTLIFE
A lot of cities claim to never sleep, but Taipei makes good on that promise. Danielle visits a 24-hour prawn pool where she catches dinner and tours a popular night market, tracking down oyster omelets and shaved ice.
At the port of Keelung, she walks down a dark alleyway to a bar straight out of “In the Mood for Love,” where the local catch is served fresh from the nearby seafood market.
STEEPED IN CULTURE
Taiwan is steeped in tea as a beverage, ritual, and way of life. Danielle meets a tea grower who processes the most tender leaves by wok-frying them and shares sips with an expert in the ceremony of brewing and drinking tea.
A San Diego surfer displays the delicate teapots he makes to honor his adopted culture, while the baristas at Odd One Out dispense gourmet bubble tea.
ORIGINS
All around the island are artists whose medium is Taiwan’s traditional ingredients and foods. Danielle visits an indigenous-rights activist’s lunch box canteen and the cooking studio where a young couple perfects the sticky-rice confection kueh.
A Michelin-starred chef deconstructs an iconic Taiwanese dish, lu rou fan, while a mad scientist of fermentation breaks down stinky tofu.
