Have you ever decided to take a quick study break by going on Youtube to watch the newest Beyoncé music video, only to find yourself learning to catch a kangaroo disguised as an emu five hours later? No, only me? Okay.
Well one such day, I happened to stumble upon videos of a Youtuber who performs operations such as laparotomies and spinal implantations on food.
As a pre-med student, I was totally pumped to see two of my interests, food and medicine, combined in a unique and creative way. However, when I showed the videos to my hall mates, they were thoroughly creeped out by the way juice bled out of the gummy incision or the squishing noise made from cutting chocolate with a scalpel.
Nonetheless, whether you find him creepy or hilarious, The Food Surgeon has become a youtube sensation with over 75,000 subscribers and millions of views within a few short months.
Although he is very busy with the high volume of Girl Scout cookies and fruit snacks seeking a surgical consultation, Spoon University had the honor to sneak in an interview with the man behind the scalpel.
GIF courtesy of The Food Surgeon via youtube.com/thefoodsurgeon
Spoon University (SU): I thought I had seen everything the Internet has to offer, until I stumbled upon a video of a guy operating on food. How did you come up with the idea of food surgeries?
The Food Surgeon (TFS): The idea came to me while I was on a late night binge of one of my favorite YouTube channels, Food Wishes. I was watching Chef John prep the ingredients, and I thought to myself, “this is by far my favorite part.” With that in mind, I decided to take food preparation to the clinical extreme.
Photo courtesy of The Food Surgeon via youtube.com/thefoodsurgeon
SU: What prompted you to make a YouTube channel/website for your procedures?
TFS: The Food Surgeon only exists for YouTube. I’m not performing surgeries for my own benefit or to satisfy some sort of weird curiosity. Rather, I’m doing it as a form of entertainment for others.
Photo courtesy of The Food Surgeon via youtube.com/thefoodsurgeon
SU: What are you hoping for people’s reaction to be towards your channel?
TFS: I just want people to find my work entertaining. What’s really surprising to me is that there’s such a wide spectrum of reactions, which are surprisingly strong across the entire gamut.
Some people find my videos very relaxing; the ASMR community has embraced me for this. Some people find my videos dark and disturbing, and seem revolted by what I’m doing. Others laugh and embrace it as comedy. The one thing they all have in common is that they’re entertained.
SU: How many times do you practice each procedure before you are camera ready?
TFS: Zero. But, I do write out a plan for the operations beforehand. It also takes a couple of tries for most scenes to get them just right. I’m only working with one camera, which greatly complicates the process.
Photo courtesy of The Food Surgeon via youtube.com/thefoodsurgeon
SU: Do you have any medical training or background?
TFS: Other than watching my fair share of House and Grey’s Anatomy, I have no medical background.
SU: Is there a reason you choose not to show your face or play music in the background of your videos?
TFS: I don’t show my face, talk, or add background music because it would take away from the atmosphere that I try to create. The focus is not on the surgeon or any outside stimulus; it’s on the food, the tools and the gloved hands.
GIF courtesy of The Food Surgeon via youtube.com/thefoodsurgeon
SU: Which “procedure” was the most difficult for you to perform?
TFS: Probably the Strawberry/Nutella operation. The smooth flesh of the seedless strawberry was incredibly slippery.
SU: Which “procedure” was the most delicious/fun to do?
TFS: My favorite operation so far was the Cookie Reassignment Surgery, but mostly because I got to eat all of my botched cookie-patients. I also think it features some of the coolest shots that I’ve filmed, thanks to the smoking soldering iron.
Photo courtesy of The Food Surgeon via youtube.com/thefoodsurgeon
SU: How/Where do you find inspiration for your procedures?
TFS: Most of my inspiration comes from walking through the grocery store. It’s only fun dissecting things that have a lot of internal variation. For instance, a block of fudge would make for an awful dissection because it offers nothing interesting to look at.
SU: Can you give us a sneak peak of a possible new video?
TFS: Due to doctor-patient confidentiality, I can’t say much. What I can say is that I have some new, delicious operations coming your way.
Photo courtesy of The Food Surgeon via youtube.com/thefoodsurgeon
SU: Do you eat your patients after you operate on them?
TFS: Of course! What kind of Doctor would I be if I didn’t?
SU: As Spoon University we must ask, what is your favorite food?
TFS: Pho.