In the wake of Bon Appétit’s week from hell, and with some people there going on strike, the Bon Appétit Youtube channel has stopped posting new content since two weeks ago, which has left me with one thing less to do on the daily.
I’m not totally heartbroken. To be honest I don’t know if I ever really needed to learn eight ways to make box brownies. These days I find myself using valuable screen time on other, arguably better, food channels.
I’ve been on a deep binge of Mythical Kitchen, led by former food journalist Josh Scherrer, and where “dreams become food.” Again, I don’t know if I’d ever want to make Gatorade muffins or Ruffles Snickers, but it’s ridiculous and I love it. That’s not to say that there’s nothing useful here. The “Cook Food Good” series teaches you how to turn the otherwise unexciting prospect of cooking chicken breast or French fries into a meal you’d actually look forward to. One of the things I like most about Mythical Chef Josh, apart from being chaotic AF and the Sex and the City references, is that he’s not a food snob. He unironically enjoys a measly Filet-o-Fish and lauds American cheese for its stablizers. If a guy can be as ripped as he is Mountain Dew-gobbling, I say there is hope for us all.
On the dessert side of things, I love Preppy Kitchen. I make sure to watch a video before I sleep, just so I get cream puff dreams. Farm-dwelling John at Preppy Kitchen somehow makes baking a lot less intimidating, notwithstanding his insane piping skills and never-doming cake layers. I think it’s no secret that John is a student of the cultural school of Martha Stewart, to whom he makes the occasional nod. Martha’s spirit is all over Preppy Kitchen, from the glistening copper pots to that inimitably unapologetic sense of pro-level pride. Anyway, it’s a bit difficult to get the right supplies now in lockdown-not-lockdown, but I’m itching to make his lemon squares.
Finally, there’s Alex, a.k.a. French Guy Cooking, who recently hacked his home oven so that it could reach high enough temperatures to cook a perfectly puffed Neapolitan pizza. There are many more episodes like this, where Alex, also an electrical engineer, delves into his food obsessions with a devotion that is nothing short of religious fervour, from making croissant to engineering the perfect insulated, reusable food shopping bag. Alex paints food not only as a universe of ingredients, but a life adventure.
I guess it will be a while until we see the Test Kitchen again. Sohla El-Waylly told Sporkful that they’re currently cleaning up house at Condé. I know for sure that I’m more curious to see how that turns out, than seeing another way to make a grilled cheese sandwich.
