I love food. And I hate explaining that to people.
Like when people ask if I have any hobbies, and I simply cannot explain how much I love food. I’m obsessed. I get it: everyone has to eat, and most people love to eat food too. But most people don’t have four food podcasts downloaded on their phones, fill their Instagram feds with chef and restaurant accounts, own more cookbooks than any other 20-year-old they know, pay for two food magazine subscriptions, get lost in kitchen-supply stores for hours and edit for their university’s Spoon University chapter. That’s usually just me.
I would never go so far to say that I am a foodie, but I would say I am a decent cook for a college kid and learning to cook things is my greatest hobby. And my most recent obsession of the food world? Bon Appetit videos.
In recent years, Bon Appetit Magazine has released a ton of videos on their website about the people in their test kitchen and their journeys of cooking. Whether you’re learning to cook or just in it for a laugh, BA videos are totally worth your time.
Gourmet Makes
There are recipes you can make, and there are recipes that really ought not to be attempted in the everyday kitchen. Claire Saffitz is the pastry chef-host of Gourmet Makes. In this series, Claire does not show how to make perfect bread loaves or warm, toffee cookies, but she re-creates gourmet dishes of American junk food.
Bon Appetite gives this pro quite the challenge to produce Pringles, Fruit Gushers, Lucky Charms cereal and Cheetos with high quality ingredients and without industrial production. Other members of the test kitchen push her to perfect these iconic treats on taste and appearance. I, for one, will stick to getting my Doritos fix from the grocery store, but it is fascinating to see Claire take on these challenges!
From the Test Kitchen
This show is exactly what you would think. The professional chefs of the Bon Appetit Magazine kitchen show the process of making BA’s prized recipes. Along the way, the test kitchen staff offer stories on perfecting the dish or the inspiration that fueled the recipe’s creation.
I personally think that some recipes from Bon Appetit can sound a little intimidating–especially for a 20-year-old, lacking proper equipment, who doesn’t live in New York where incredible ingredients are always available. Yet, the test kitchen staff explaining the process (especially Carla Lalli Music) makes all those worries melt away. The test kitchen team makes mistakes too and always reassures that it’s all part of the cooking process.
Alex Eats it All
Alex Delany is a 20-something associate web editor at Bon Appetit. I am not sure who decided to give this man a show were he ultimately eats a lot of food in a short period of time to rank them, but I am glad they did. Let me explain. Alex goes to (usually) American cities and tries that city’s famous dish. A lot.
Like the time he ate 26 different breakfast tacos around Austin in 10 hours. Or when he ate 14 Chicago-style hot dogs in 12 hours in the windy city. The goal of the show is the exploration for the city’s very best dish. Honestly, the best part isn’t hearing Alex’s winning dish, but rather watching him comically describe his journey.
It’s Alive!
Two words: Brad Leone. It’s Alive is one of the longer series from the Bon Appetit test kitchen, with over 50 episodes and counting. It focuses on fermentation of foods, with spotlights on staples like Kombutcha or sauerkraut. With a last name like mine and strong German heritage, I am all for making a batch of sauerkraut. But honestly? I was a little skeptical about It’s Alive at first.
The show’s host, Brad Leone, wasn’t making any traditional Latin-American dishes or perfecting scone recipes (my preferred content), but he is incredibly entertaining. Brad’s friendly, goofy attitude and genuine curiosity about how some of his favorite foods are created (and a team of sarcastic video editors) make the show worth your time.
Making Perfect
This series is new to Bon Appetit and only has one season so far. Yet, it is awfully ambitious. All of the staffers in the test kitchen came together to create a *perfect* dish. In the case of season one, that dish is pizza. With all the styles and possible ingredients, BA comes together to make perfect pizza dough, with perfect sauce, homemade cheese and toppings.
The episodes are admittedly, much longer than any other series. But trying out nearly every pizza option takes time (heck, staffers Molly and Carla go to Italy to figure out the correct cheese-making technique). It’s entertaining. It’s educational. It’s perfect.