Cooking shows are always fun to watch. Viewers follow the struggles of newbie and experienced chefs alike, or the stubbornness of restaurant owners who refuse to embrace change, even at the edge of losing their years-old businesses. But they also watch the cool techniques chefs employ as they make great dishes even better and more appealing and salivate with the food presentation, wishing they could just reach out and have a bite through the screen.
Learning is also what a lot of viewers look for when they’re watching those shows. Anyone can pick up the techniques and systems chefs use when they’re cooking, whether this was an expected outcome or not. When it comes to learning, it’s not the TV but rather YouTube the platform of choice most people go to actually understand the cooking methods and to watch the steps they need to take to prepare the food they want to cook.
The problem is that, just like with TV cooking shows, most cooking videos on YouTube just go through the recipe too quickly—although it’s always possible to replay the video—so they tend to feel just like a copy of their TV counterparts, just a tutorial of a recipe. Not much care is put to actually explain the whole process of cooking and preparing a meal, or to explain why those ingredients were used, or the intention in using one spice or over another. Some other videos, especially with pro chefs, can be a bit too intimidating to the viewer, relying too much upon knowledge or skill they may not have, which pro chefs might take for granted.
The food being prepared in the video may be delicious, exactly what the viewer was looking for, but if making that dish seems intimidating or lacking explanation, viewers are likely to give up, passing up the opportunity to make great food and also having fun while at it. Yet, somewhere within the world that is YouTube and its algorithms, there are some channels dedicating more time into explaining the recipe, the techniques used, and the choice of ingredients. Hosts, pro-chefs or self-made ones, that actually care about guiding viewers in exploring new flavors, having fun cooking, and breaking the cycle of eating the same thing all the time. So, here are five cooking channels on YouTube, in no particular order, to get started:
Cooking shows are always fun to watch. Viewers follow the struggles of newbie and experienced chefs alike, or the stubbornness of restaurant owners who refuse to embrace change, even at the edge of losing their years-old businesses. But they also watch the cool techniques chefs employ as they make great dishes even better and more appealing and salivate with the food presentation, wishing they could just reach out and have a bite through the screen.
Learning is also what a lot of viewers look for when they’re watching those shows. Anyone can pick up the techniques and systems chefs use when they’re cooking, whether this was an expected outcome or not. When it comes to learning, it’s not the TV but rather YouTube the platform of choice most people go to actually understand the cooking methods and to watch the steps they need to take to prepare the food they want to cook.
The problem is that, just like with TV cooking shows, most cooking videos on YouTube just go through the recipe too quickly—although it’s always possible to replay the video—so they tend to feel just like a copy of their TV counterparts, just a tutorial of a recipe. Not much care is put to actually explain the whole process of cooking and preparing a meal, or to explain why those ingredients were used, or the intention in using one spice or over another. Some other videos, especially with pro chefs, can be a bit too intimidating to the viewer, relying too much that they already have some expertise or knowledge of how the techniques work—which pro chefs can take for granted.
The food being made may be delicious, exactly what the viewer was looking for, but if preparing that dish seems intimidating or lacking more explanation, viewers are likely to give up and pass up the opportunity to make and eat great food, but also having fun while at it. Yet, somewhere within the world that is YouTube and its algorithms, there are some channels dedicating more time into explaining the recipe, the techniques used, and the choice of ingredients. Hosts, pro-chefs or self made ones, that actually care about guiding viewers in exploring new flavors, having fun cooking, and breaking the cycle of eating the same thing all the time. So, here are five cooking channels on YouTube, in no particular order, to get started:
Binging with Babish
The channel was created by Andrew Rea—filmmaker and self-taught chef—in 2016. He started the channel recreating recipes from movies, TV shows, cartoons, and even video games, which helped him reach over 4 million subscribers. Besides the making of real-life fictional food—and his own take on that same dish—Andrew’s torso also teaches cooking techniques (such as cooking sous-vide or making pasta from scratch) he learned by himself by trial and error.
Sam the Cooking Guy
After a ten-year career as a television chef, Sam Zien started his YouTube channel in 2011 reaching over 600 thousand subscribers. Sam throws out the window all the big words pro chefs use on cooking shows and gives a walkthrough of the dishes he’s preparing with a cool vibe and passion. He’s very authentic and honest in what he’s doing and showing; he makes small mistakes, as we all do, and even cuts himself a couple of time while cooking, as we all do.
Food Wishes
Chef John (John Armand Mitzewich) is a trained chef, graduated from Paul Smith’s College in New York, and was also a Chef Instructor at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. He became a youtuber before ‘youtuber’ became a thing. His channel went live in 2007 and it has gathered over 2.8 million subscribers and over half of a billion views. In his videos he keeps himself out of the frame, explaining the recipes and cooking process only with his hands, utensils, and ingredients, always with a great mood and the ever-present pinch of cayenne.
All Things BBQ
Chef Tom hosts the videos for cooking show The Sauce, which is part of the channel—they also review barbecue equipment. His show is all about barbecue as uncomplicated as it can possibly be. Besides the great barbecue recipes, viewers also get tips on how to get the most out of their barbecue grills or smokers, depending on the purpose and the recipe itself, and the most out of the preparation. The channel started in 2010 and so far they have close to 300 thousand subscribers.
French Cooking Academy
Stephane, a self-taught French cook based in Australia, is the host. His channel is all about classic French cuisine, and if you’re thinking tiny portions of boring food, you’re in for a wild ride. French cuisine is actually very rich and full of big, hearty meals, and Stephane is all about the traditional French recipes using traditional techniques. It’s a discovery and exploration process for the viewers as much as it is for him, as he researches and tests the recipes before making the video. He joined YouTube at the end of 2014 and currently has close to 200 K subscribers.
After delighting in the delicious recipes and mouthwatering food from the channels above, here are some other YouTube channels related to food and drinks that are worthy of mention:
AlmazanKitchen
Ever wanted to try cooking dishes over a fire in the wild? This channel might help you answer that question.
The Whiskey Vault
“Whisk(e)y and Shenanigans”, as they say on the channel description. In each episode, they review whiskeys, with some episodes dedicated to specific types of whiskeys, like bourbon and scotch.
Seven Plums
A channel from China, no knowledge of Chinese required. This girl, or Disney princess if you like, cooks and builds things, from clay ovens to a number of recipes with a slew of exotic ingredients.
Whether making your own food is your thing, watching those channels will definitely get you inspired to cook. With a resource like YouTube it’s easy to learn new skills for free, and cooking great food can also be one of those skills. Bon appetit!
Scribblings of Mine 