Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you’re probably at least aware of the TV mega hit that has been The Bear. The award-winning series follows renowned Chicago-born chef Carmen Berzatto (played by Jeremy Allen White) as he endeavours to transform his late brother’s sandwich shop into a high-end restaurant, and has proved to be a near-universal winner amongst both foodies and TV fans. Most of this is of course down to the brilliant script, wonderful performances and its accurate representation of a working kitchen, but the countless shots of delicious-looking dishes and ingredients certainly help!

As fans of The Bear will likely already be more than aware of, season 3 is set to land on Disney+ on 27th June (it’s also been confirmed that a fourth season is in the works). So, to get you excited for what’s to come, we’ve taken inspiration from the show and collected some of our favourite recipes that you may just recognise from the first two seasons. We’ve got everything from an elevated alternative to Sydney’s famous pre-service omelette to a spaghetti dish that would be wolfed down at any family meal. Why not try cooking these in the build up to the new season, or even have them on your lap whilst you watch?

*CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM SERIES 1 & 2 OF THE BEAR*

One of the few start-to-finish cookery scenes that we saw in The Bear came in season two when Sydney prepared Natalie an omelette amidst the madness of the days leading up to opening. The addition of Boursin cheese to her omelette may be untraditional, but it was the topping of crumbled crisps that really split opinions! If you are team crisp (we certainly are), this recipe from chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias is bound to be a winner. His tortilla recipe involves, in effect, making your own crisps by frying potatoes at two different temperatures, before incorporating them into your egg mixture. Perhaps a little more time consuming than Sydney’s omelette, but well worth the effort!

We had to include a nod to a beef sandwich given the importance it plays the very first episode of The Bear as The Original Beef’s signature offering. These pulled beef rolls aren’t quite the same as the roast beef and vegetable subs on offer from Carmy’s crew but they’re still a winner, especially when combined with the cola barbecue sauce. Cola and beef sound like a familiar combo? That might just be because Sydney actually cooks up a dish of cola-braised short rib with risotto in The Bear too!

In possibly one of the most memorable scenes of the show so far at the end of season one, Carmy cooks his late-brother Mikey’s family meal spaghetti recipe (which he finds on the back of a letter), for the whole of the team. That recipe used ten garlic cloves, while this one from Valeria Necchio incorporates a mere six, but both are centred around beautiful tinned tomatoes. If you’re wanting to stay faithful to The Bear, make sure you specifically seek out San Marzano tomatoes - but any will do. Valeria also replaces spaghetti with pici, one of the simplest shapes of pasta to make fresh as it doesn’t require a machine.

There are too many drool-worth moments in The Bear to mention, but the assembly of pastry chef Marcus’ irresistible chocolate cake has to be up there with the highlights. His three layer cake sees chocolate mousse sandwiched between fudgy layers, then topped with a chocolate frosting. If three layers feels too intimidating, we suggest giving this chocolate mousse cake recipe from Skye Gyngell a try. Elevated with a stunning liquorice ganache and served with a sweetened cream, this is a cake that’s sure to satisfy any hunger pangs which may stem from watching season 3.

We finish with this unusual sweet dish combining smoked caviar with rich and creamy frozen zabaglione (an Italian sabayon made with egg yolks and caster sugar). One of the stand-out episodes of season 2 of The Bear saw Marcus (of chocolate cake fame) travel to Copenhagen to stage at a Noma-like restaurant under the watchful eye of pastry chef Luca (played by Will Poulter). There he’s taught to prepare a dessert that’s topped with caviar. Inspired by this, he begins to develop an ice cream dish for Carmy's restaurant’s opening menu, also finished with a quenelle of caviar. Luckily this recipe by Giancarlo Perbellini doesn’t require the pastry skills of Marcus but it hangs on a very similar sweet-meets-salty combination.

Watch season 3 of The Bear on Disney+ from June 27, 2024. Seasons 1 & 2 of The Bear are available to watch on Disney+ now.