Berkeley resident and slow-food guru Michael Pollan took on the topic of cooking in his 2013 book Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation — a second follow-up to his runaway bestseller The Omnivore's Dilemma, looking at the ways in which we've lost touch with the ancient art of cooking and transforming our own food. Now that book has become a docu-series premiering next week, February 19, on Netflix titled Cooked, which will be sure to feature some Bay Area scenes as Pollan further explores the topic of cooking, our contemporary obsession with watching others cook, and our society's ongoing issues around food — including everyone's growing paranoia about gluten.

Pollan has previously made it known that he finds the gluten-free craze an example of "social contagion," and "The number of people that are genuinely gluten-sensitive cannot be growing as fast as the market niche is growing." He also added, "There are people who feel better when they get off gluten, which may not have anything to do with the gluten. It may have to do with the fact that maybe they’re getting off carbs."

It looks like that topic will be addressed squarely in the series along with others, and there will be an appearance by local food writer and educator Samin Nosrat, who helped Pollan with the book and taught him everything she knows about the essentials of cooking.

Previously: Bay Area Food Folks Featured On New 'Victory Garden' Series