It’s time to take a bite of something new
Bon Appétit is an American food magazine that has branched out and built a wildly popular YouTube channel under the same name. Viewers adore its almost sitcom-like approach to video food content: one week Claire Saffitz is attempting to create gourmet versions of fast food, and the next Brad Leone is experimenting with making brussels sprout kimchi. The chefs featured on the channel became familiar faces, adopting their own spin-off series and interacting with one another apparently over the course of a regular workday.
However, Bon Appétit and its parent company, Condé Nast, have been seriously criticized in the past few months, with allegations of racism and a toxic work environment brought against them by staff and contributors. The internet was taken by storm after a photo resurfaced of former editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport in brownface that led to senior staff opening up about the company’s mistreatment and underpayment of people of colour — especially regarding the YouTube channel. Since these allegations, there has yet to be another Bon Appétit video aired, and many well-known faces have resigned or refused to appear in future videos.
Instead of bingeing the content that’s already available on the channel and supporting a company that has yet to rectify its mistakes, it’s time the people turn to greener pastures. As a self-professed foodie who admittedly watches too much food content on YouTube, use my humble guide as a juicy starting point. Binging with Babish is a food channel that’s practically already a staple on YouTube, so prepare for some lesser-known nuggets to sink your teeth into.
Right off the bat, the mom who runs this channel, Emmy, is a delight. She’s a hobby cook who likes to experiment in the kitchen (sometimes with her kids) and share new and unconventional recipes. Emmy makes and taste-tests your standard internet food trends like whipped coffee and frog bread, but she also doesn’t shy away from foods that sound less appetizing, like lamb testicles and ranch gummy bears.
Emmy also makes a point of showcasing cultural and historical dishes, and does so respectfully. Even if she’s trying a dish that doesn’t appeal to an American palette, like Haitian dirt cookies or balut duck eggs, Emmy always offers insightful observations about the taste, origins, and history of the meal. Her love of science also comes through on the channel in a casual but endearing way. When she manages to make sunbutter cookies (which involve a chemical reaction that turns their insides bright green without dye), you can hear unbridled joy in her voice as she shows them off.
Emmymadeinjapan offers a quirky, bubbly personality to distract you from all things Condé Nasty. Bingeing her videos is the next best thing to eating the dishes yourself. (Although sometimes that’s for the best.)
Have you ever lost sleep thinking about the genealogy of lasagna or pondered what medieval cheesecake looked like? Wrack your brain no more! Max Miller is the host of this delectable history-focused channel, and his background in acting truly shows. Miller is both animated and entertaining, giving viewers bite-sized videos where he explains the origins of dishes and parses together recipes from ancient cookbooks.
Let me paint the scene: a strapping gentleman in an apron is seated in front of a kitchen, doused in warm lighting. A videogame plushie sits to his left and is often swapped out between videos. He laments over century-old cookbooks with steps that simply say “Make a crust,” and sprinkles in jokes as he tries to eat his recreated dish with an era-accurate stick. If you infused a wine mom into a male Starbucks barista gone YouTuber, that might come close to capturing the laid-back and chuckle-inducing energy of Miller in his videos. Tasting History is only six months old at this point and, much like a dough put into a preheated oven, is definitely a channel to watch for as it grows and expands.
Food Wishes is a recipe channel at its heart, although with a lot of funk. While more focused on the food than the person behind the camera, this channel absolutely deserves a shout-out — if solely for the fact that each of Chef John’s sentences lilts like he’s climbing and descending a flight of stairs. His characteristic way of speaking is almost hypnotic.
Chef John infuses his personality and humorous flair into videos. If he’s showing viewers how to prepare a crispy dish, prepare for a lengthy audio bite of him scrapping it with a fork. He’s no stranger to poking fun at himself in his voice-overs when he doesn’t follow the recipe or has an accident in the kitchen. Chef John also has a recurring, dorky tagline that rhymes, often heard in phrases where he encourages viewers to experiment with the recipe: “You are the Dwight Schrute of your vegetables and fruit” and “You are the Sylvester Stallone of your provolone.” These tender, human moments nestled between straightforward cooking instruction make the viewing experience recreational rather than purely education. Besides, who doesn’t love a corny dad joke once in a while?
Whether you’re a seasoned home chef looking for something new to try or an anxious beginner trying to follow along with each step, Food Wishes has some amazing recipes and knowledge bombs. For example, did you know that State Fair lemonade is made with only a few lemons, the flavour instead coming from the oil extracted from the peels? Chef John truly serves us food content on a silver platter.
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.