Chef's Table and the best documentaries on Netflix

Netflix has been making a name for itself as the home of some excellent documentaries, from its Oscar-nominated environmental film Virunga to the brand new cooking series Chef's Table.

The ever-expanding selection includes the best of television and film documentaries (including the upcoming What Happened, Miss Simone? and Hot Girls Wanted), and takes us behind the scenes of some fascinating lives and stories from all across the globe, lifting the lid on the hilarious, the bizarre and the tragic. Here are some of our favourites:

Chef's Table

Journey into the kitchens of some of the most celebrated restaurants across the world in this new Netflix original series, from LA's N/Naka to Melbourne's Attica and El Restaurante Patagonia Sur in Buenos Aires.

Chef's Table gives an insight into the work of six top chefs and the experiences and passions that have driven them to become the best in their field.

My Own Man

Produced by actor Edward Norton, Netflix original documentary My Own Man is a funny and touching exploration into the meanings and stereotypes commonly associated with the concept of 'masculinity'.

Upon learning that he is going to be father to a baby boy, director David Sampliner set out to make himself into a 'proper man' with vocal lessons, warrior weekends and hunting expeditions. But the further he progresses, the less clear he is on what it is supposed to mean to be a man - and the more often he runs up against the issues he has with his own dad...

The Short Game

We're willing to bet that this Netflix original film is likely going to be your first brush with the world of kid golfers. Follow the fortunes of eight young but dedicated contestants for the US Kids Golf World Championship.

The movie introduces the brilliant girls and boys bidding for their chance to take home the cup, not to mention some frighteningly pushy parents.

Blackfish

This heart-breaking film focuses on the lives of orcas in captivity and particularly around SeaWorld's controversial treatment of its animals.

Investigating the death of a trainer at the hands of her whale, this haunting film will certainly make you reconsider how much fun is to be had by watching these amazing creatures perform for our entertainment.

Virunga

The Netflix original, Oscar and BAFTA-nominated documentary takes us deep into the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park, the home of the last surviving mountain gorillas.

The park's employees - who risk their lives every day to tackle the many threats to the park from poaching, war and oil prospectors - lead us into the heart of this powerful and emotional tale.

Louis Theroux

Louis Theroux has a masterful ability to highlight both comedy and pathos as he lifts the lid on some of the most outlandish and terrifying stories of modern life.

His brilliant, self-titled series sees Theroux encounter Nazis, porn stars, the infamous Phelps family and many other strange and improbable characters we sometimes struggle to believe are real at all.

The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir

Arriving on Netflix from May 22 is Mike Fleiss's documentary tells the tale of The Grateful Dead's guitarist Bob Weir.

The film charts his membership of the legendary counterculture band, which he joined at the tender age of 16, with intimate commentary from Weir himself about his long and strange trip.

Starring Adam West

For many people, Adam West is Batman. The star of the goofy but iconic '60s television show is known for being a good-natured and easy-going guy not afraid to celebrate his superhero fame.

This Kickstarter-funded film - which features extensive interviews with West - reveals another side to the actor, from his rise to stardom and his wilderness years to eventually being embraced as a pop culture icon.

Pumping Iron

This 1977 documentary lifts the lid on the strange and competitive world of professional bodybuilding in the run up to the Mr Universe and Mr Olympia competitions, and is credited with helping kick-start the '80s fitness boom.

That would be interesting enough in itself, but it also features a young man called Arnold Schwarzenegger. This was where his acting career began, and the film is a fascinating look at the man before he found success as an actor and politician.

Mission Blue

Oceanographer and eco-activist Sylvia Earle presents this Netflix original film, which exposes the numerous dire threats to the health of Earth's oceans.

The gripping documentary reveals how pollution, overfishing, acidification and other man-made disasters pose a danger not just to marine creatures but to all life across the globe.

West of Memphis

The West Memphis Three - a group of young men controversially convicted of killing three 8-year-olds from the Arkansas city - have inspired several films and documentaries with their infamous tale of public hysteria and miscarriages of justice.

Produced by Lord of the Rings' Peter Jackson and scored by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, West of Memphis is a particularly engrossing account that weaves in alternate theories about the murders with the lives of the three convicts.

The Queen of Versailles

Jackie and David Siegel - billionaire owners of timeshare resort firm Westgate Resorts - apparently named their sprawling mansion 'Versailles' without any sense of irony. And so it is probably inevitable that this film transforms from a Real Housewives-style outing into a study of the effects of the global recession.

The Siegels prove to be far more fascinating and likeable characters than might immediately be apparent in this story of 'riches to rags'.

Hank: 5 Years from the Brink

In 2008, US Secretary of the Treasury (and former Goldman Sachs CEO) Hank Paulson was handed the unenviable task of trying to keep the world economy afloat during the disastrous credit crisis.

Netflix original documentary Hank: 5 Years from the Brink is an informative and engaging look into this chaotic period in modern world history, revealing not just the facts of the crisis but also the personal conflicts faced by the man tasked with pushing through an incredible $1 trillion rescue package.

Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia

Gore Vidal was one of the most fascinating and controversial figures of the 20th century - a writer and commentator of enormous wit and venom who despite his wealthy origins dedicated himself to confronting the hypocrisy and corruption that he saw in the establishment.

Made with the help of Vidal himself, The United States of Amnesia shines a light on the life of the man who refused to conform or keep quiet.