This might surprise you, but TV cooking shows might have been around longer than you might think. Since 1946, when Philip Harben became the first television chef, people have been turning to cooking shows to entertain and inform themselves in the ways of food. After the invention of YouTube, it was inevitable that people would use the platform to broadcast their own or someone else’s cooking. As I became more interested in cooking for myself I started turning to YouTube channels featuring great chefs for inspiration. So, I’ve compiled a list of some of the best channels I’ve found.
1. Chicago Reader’s “Key Ingredient” series
Strictly speaking the “Chicago Reader” and its corresponding YouTube channel isn’t all about cooking. It’s actually a newspaper that writes and produces videos on a number of subjects including food, but the concept of this video series is so original that I felt it should be on this list.
The video series started in 2010 when Grant Achatz of Alinea Restaurant was asked to make a dish using Kluwak. He uses the ingredient to make a cocktail that looks like a really delicious cup of hot chocolate. Each video in this series features a different chef making a dish with an ingredient that someone else challenged them to use.
2. Staff Canteen
Though he is who most people think of when they think of a great British chef, Gordon ramsey is far from the only great chef the U.K. has produced. Staff Canteen YouTube channel features tons of short videos from chefs in the United Kingdom. There are tutorials, demonstrations of a dish, and interviews. All of these videos are pretty entertaining.
3. WBP Stars
WBP stars is a YouTube channel that features short videos that give people a glimpse into some of the world’s finest hotels and restaurants. This channel conducts interviews with the people who are in charge of these world class establishments as well as demonstrations of individual dishes. The coolest feature about this channel is the videos they shoot of kitchens during dinner service at nice restaurants. It’s pretty neat to see these skilled craftsman at work in their own kitchens.
4. Tokyo Gastronomy
This channel is a bit different than the others. This is Nihonryori Ryugin’s channel, a chef whose restaurant ranks as #31 out of 50 on the 2016 list of the Worlds Best Restaurants. This channel lets you see the process of some of the worlds finest cooking from beginning to end. Because these videos are in Japanese, you probably aren’t going to understand much of what’s going on… But sometimes you don’t need to in order to appreciate something.
5. JunsKitchen
If you’re a dog person, you may not get the full effect of how awesome these videos are. Jun’sKitchen is a youtube channel that features a man named Jun cooking Japanese food in his home kitchen. His two cats can often be seen doing cat stuff in the background of his videos, which I think makes the videos that much more endearing. What’s really impressive about Jun is just how much skill he has with a knife. In this video he cuts a leaf in half in a bowl of water, I didn’t realize a knife could be that sharp before I saw the video.
6. Almazan Kitchen
Almazan Kitchen combined the interests of survivalism and delicious food. These videos feature Aleksandar Almazan cooking in almost complete silence over a bonfire. There is no background music or talking only the sounds of cooking. This channel will probably be pretty relaxing but also pretty hunger-inducing for you. Every video is shot in 4K so the picturesque scenery is always crystal clear.
These channels are pretty different from each other but what they all have in common is that they all showcase a pretty high level of skill. When cooking shows first started the demands of production pretty much meant the featured chef was confined to a studio kitchen. With new technology people can film cooking shows almost anywhere. After 70+ years, its great to see that the spirit of cooking shows is still alive with people broadcasting their talents for the whole world to see.