Just ask Nick DiGiovanni, who finished third in the 10th season of the reality cooking show MasterChef. He, along with the two other contestants, were informed that one of them would be eliminated based on the entrée they prepared, while the other two would continue on to show off their respective dessert dishes.

DiGiovanni never got to create that dessert on TV. So he took to YouTube to post a video of himself creating that would-be treat. As isolation during COVID boosted the popularity of apps like YouTube and TikTok, DiGiovanni began posting more and more content online.

Now, DiGiovanni’s YouTube channel boasts a whopping 15 million subscribers, and he’s intent on his goal to surpass Gordon Ramsay’s (mainstay judge on MasterChef) channel in followers.

But make no mistake: It’s not DiGiovanni’s time on MasterChef that’s propelled this popularity. Instead, it’s the food and personality he showcases on his channel. And whether you’re a seasoned chef, or your skills in the culinary world are a bit raw, you might just feel right at home in DiGiovanni’s kitchen.

POSITIVE CONTENT

DiGiovanni talks viewers through his recipes as he prepares them, providing both measurements as well as explanations of what effect his cooking methods will have on the final dish. Likewise, he warns about the negative results that may occur when using improper techniques.

A number of DiGiovanni’s videos also teach his audience how to do specific kitchen-based tasks, including cooking various types of steak as well as cooking essentials like chopping or plating.

DiGiovanni collaborates with many other famous YouTubers and celebrities, challenging himself with their suggestions and providing his audience with other viewpoints. In one video where DiGiovanni rates the food-based products of other YouTubers, he gives honest assessments about the quality of what he’s evaluating, rather than simply giving a good review just to maintain a relationship.

CONTENT CONCERNS

We hear God’s name taken in vain and Jesus used as an expletive. Likewise, we occasionally hear “d–n.” Heavier profanities, such as  the f- and s-words, are censored.

Some videos contain the occasional sexual quip or reference, such as pixelated blurring to make a nonsexual thing appear as crude.

CHANNEL SUMMARY

Nick DiGiovanni is a bit like cooking in a kitchen. You’ll find a lot of tasty treats and recipes that you may want to use to impress your family (or maybe just your own taste buds).

But just like a real kitchen, there are a couple things you’ll need to exercise caution about here: namely, the occasional swearing and sexual joke.

In other words, you may walk away with something delicious, but be careful that you don’t get burned in the process.

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For Jet Bent-Lee, he doesn’t have to imagine it. It’s what he does with his father, Susur Lee, every time they upload a video to Iron Chef Dad.

You just might recognize the name, Susur Lee. He was one of the judges on MasterChef Asia. He also appeared as a contestant in the second season of Top Chef: Masters. And he was one of the Iron Chefs on Iron Chef Canada.

And on Iron Chef Dad, he’s teaming up with his son and face some of the biggest challenges of his culinary life: In some videos, Susur must take TV dinners or military-style MREs (“Meal, Ready-to-Eat”) and turn them into a gourmet dish. In others, Susur ranks fast food on a tier list and reacts to food-centric short videos.

And, sometimes, Susur will simply show us how to make some tasty treats.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Susur and Jet have good chemistry on camera, and it’s evident that father and son love each other deeply. They enjoy discussing food, with Susur often providing guidance to Jet on why certain methods or ingredients are used over others.

Additionally, though Susur is a professional chef and doesn’t have much experience with lower-brow culinary offerings such as fast food, he often provides compliments on what he thinks each chain did right. Similarly, Susur will explain what he likes about another culture’s cuisine, and even if he doesn’t personally like something, he’ll accept the validity of someone enjoying it.

CONTENT CONCERNS

The f-word is partially censored. Other swears, including the s-word, “d–n,” “b–ch” and “h—” are often heard in their entirety. God’s name is used in vain occasionally. In one reaction video to Masterchef, Gordon Ramsay references masturbation.

CHANNEL SUMMARY

It’s fun to watch Jet and Susur bond over food and for Jet to learn some culinary skills at the same time. Perhaps Iron Chef Dad will encourage more families to get together to make food—regardless of how well it turns out. But that’s only if viewers can digest the occasional swearing present on the channel.

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Well, maybe, unless you watched the YouTube channel Joshua Weissman, on which Weissman has a playlist full of videos where he shows you how to make food faster than said restaurants.

Fair, but isn’t food made at a restaurant generally tastier than homemade stuff?

You might think so, unless you then watched Weissman’s playlist. He shows you how to recreate and improve upon famous fast-food recipes.

Alright, alright, you got me. But what about cost? Does Josh also show you how to create meals for much cheaper?

I’m glad you asked. Yes, he does.

To summarize, Joshua Weissman helps you learn how to make faster, tastier and cheaper meals than you can get from your local drive-thru fast-food service joint, all from the comfort of your own kitchen.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Weissman often breaks down why he does the things he does to educate viewers on the cooking process, and he sprinkles humor into his videos too. Even if you’ve never touched a frying pan in your life, you’ll likely still feel a boost of confidence through the channel.

Though he is a good cook, Weissman isn’t a culinary snob. He appreciates the taste and value of things like instant ramen and fast food, though he personally prefers to spruce them up a bit. And to that end, on videos where he ranks items from various fast-food restaurants, he often sprinkles in as many compliments as he does criticisms.

Finally, Weissman often talks his friends into trying many of his creations. He’ll cook a steak several different ways, for instance, and add a variety of sauces to the menu, too. Then he’ll have his friends taste and rank how tasty each method is, using the data to learn how to make the meal even more appetizing.

CONTENT CONCERNS

While the f-word and s-word are used, they are censored. However, swears like “a–,” “h—” and “b–tard” are not. Additionally, God’s name, including in the form of “g-dd–n,” is not censored.

We also hear the very occasional sexual quip. In one video, the camera briefly focuses on a fridge magnet that’s in the shape of male genitalia that’s on a college man’s fridge. And in a video about eating spicy food, we hear a couple jokes about defecation. In one video, he briefly wears feminine clothing for a joke.

CHANNEL SUMMARY

In some ways, when a cooking channel brings on a professional chef in a white jacket, viewers can be confident that they’re getting good advice—but it can also make some of their cooking methods feel out of reach.

Weissman is a professional chef, just as those white-jacketed cooks are. But his demeanor, humor and casual videos help to bridge that experience gap, reassuring viewers that his videos aren’t just for those with a few perfectly cooked pork chops under their belt. Furthermore, in making videos that appeal to cost and speed rather than just flavor, Weissman helps to address two often unaddressed factors that might discourage people from cooking.

That’s all great news for both new and…ahem…seasoned home cooks alike. But parents will also want to be aware of some swear words and a couple sexual jokes that are uttered in Weissman’s videos, too.

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The channel was part of Jon’s way to help out with his father’s business, Jas. Townsend & Son Inc., which sells all sorts of 18^th-century items. Jon felt that the videos helped explain usage of the company’s products easier than it’d be over the phone. Soon, however, the channel began to branch into teaching history, primarily through cooking historical meals in a way similar to Tasting History with Max Miller. But now, the channel has branched into all aspects of living in that time period.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Townsends teaches history in a fun, engaging way. In fact, it’s so engaged with the culture that everyone on the channel dresses in historical garb (Jon himself is a reenactor).

“History is really, really important,” Jon says in a video. “It gives us perspective…it’s one thing to study it in a book, but it’s totally different to put on the funny clothes, and to get out the tools or get the food together and start cooking it. That’s learning.”

The channel readily admits that many of the projects they work on are a learning process. Jon approaches each video with an air of humility, explaining when things his crew thought would work didn’t go as planned. And through all the videos we reviewed, we didn’t hear a single swear word, censored or otherwise.

Jon frequently tells his viewers how much he appreciates their interest and input.

CONTENT CONCERNS

There’s not much here to be concerned about. In one video, a man smokes from a pipe, and in another, someone drinks beer.

CHANNEL SUMMARY

Townsends is a relaxing channel that will resonate with visual learners looking for a way to learn about 18^th-century history. Parents will be pleased to hear that the channel is quite tame, and those who decide to watch will certainly learn something about how people lived 300 years ago.

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As it turns out, there’s more than one way to crack an egg—and no, we’re not talking in the literal sense (though that’s true, too). Take our review for You Suck at Cooking, whose video style vastly contrasts that of Bon Appétit videos. Not only do we write reviews for channels that are popular and likely to appear on your homepage, but we also look for unique channels which are more likely to gain viewers because of their ingenuity. (If you were wondering, that latter point is why you don’t see many reviews for the thousands of toy unboxing channels.)

Epicurious offers a plethora of video genres for its viewers—all centered around food. You could almost think of it as the supermarket of YouTube cooking channels—with plenty of variety down every aisle.

Some Epicurious videos feature comparisons between amateur cooks and professional chefs. In Pro Chef vs. Home Cook, for instance, the two swap their (vastly different) ingredients—the pro chef must work with grocery store products, and the home cook must cook with fancy ingredients. Meanwhile, the 4 Levels series shows how three people of varying skill levels make the same food, and a “4^th level” food scientist to review each cook’s work scientifically.

Other series are made to help people learn basic skills in the kitchen. The humorous Basic Skills Challenge asks 50 average people to perform a food-related task, such as chopping an onion or breaking open a coconut (to varying results). Each video ends with a professional instructor teaching the proper way to accomplish the task. Method Mastery teaches viewers how to work with entire food groups, such as “How to Fillet Every Fish” or How to Grind Every Spice.” Similarly, The Big Guide takes its audience through how to effectively use foods from a food group in their cooking, such as in “Picking The Right Mushroom For Every Recipe.”

Another set of video groups centers on listening to expert opinion. In Price Points, experts discuss how to tell cheaper products from more expensive products, and they use their knowledge to determine which of two similar items is more expensive. In Well Equipped, a design expert tests out kitchen products and rates their effectiveness and usability. He also draws concept sketches on how to improve each product. Epicurious 101 videos teach the best and worst ways to do a variety of things around the kitchen—from making pancakes to cleaning a cast-iron skillet.

And if you’re just looking for a bit of fun, Kids Try offers a variety of foods to children to gobble up and watch their reactions, such as in “Kids Try 100 Years of Candy From 1900 to 2000.”

Positive Content

The channel offers many informative videos on just about anything you could want to know about working with food. While some videos are made to help guide viewers through making a dish, others are simply for fun or to help explain why cooking-related things may or may not work.

Some videos show how even the cheaper ingredients from your local grocery store can be turned into delicious meals. And many of the featured experts admit that sometimes, the cheaper stuff can be better, whether it’s for practical reasons or just because the fancy stuff isn’t worth the price.

Content Concerns

Epicurious is evidently a play on “Epicurius,” a Greek philosopher whose philosophy insisted that pleasure is the “chief good in life.” This was especially true for its adherents in regards to food and drink. While the channel doesn’t make any reference to the philosophy apart from its name, we still felt it worth a mention.

There are some language issues on the channel. Through our viewings, the primary swears were “h—” and misuses of God’s name. Jesus’ name was abused once. We also heard someone say that they were going to “F up,” and one use of the s-word was censored. In “$250 vs $25 Pasta Bolognese,” the home cook makes a couple suggestive remarks about the meat before commenting on how it sounded dirty to say. And in one video where 50 people identify cuts of meat, one woman comments that she thinks a section of meat might’ve been the cow’s genitalia.

As a cooking channel, some videos center around alcoholic beverages. And some videos pertaining to cutting and filleting meat may contain a bit of blood.

Channel Summary

Like many YouTube channels, Epicurious remains generally educational and fun but suffers from the occasional bit of crude language. If you sit down to watch this food channel, just be ready to expect a little sour content.

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“By the way, spaghetti gets its name because you put it in the ‘spa’ to cook it.”

“Today, we’re making pizza, also known as single-layer lasagna.”

There’s something about those quotes by YouTube channel You Suck At Cooking that doesn’t sound quite right. But, hey, what do we know? We’re not the owner of a cooking channel with three million subscribers.

Who is? Who knows? But the mysterious owner (he of the sardonic voice and dexterous hands) specializes in serving up a variety of how-to recipes in a cynically comedic format. “Whisking” becomes “wang-jangling.” “The oven at 400 degrees” becomes “The undo at four hundo.” “Lettuce” becomes “crispy water.”

And if you can’t understand the recipe through all the jokes and terminology changes, you can always take the boring way out by finding the actual recipe in the video description.

POSITIVE CONTENT

The channel’s title might feel like an immediate affront to your cooking ability. But fear not, because the channel doesn’t leave you to wallow in the insult. The channel will teach you hundreds of recipes of varying difficulty. So whether you’re learning how to cook bacon for the first time or are looking to create a chocolate lava cake, there will be a video for you.

Additionally, the humor in the video will provide a fun watching experience whether you actually plant to follow the recipe or not.

CONTENT CONCERNS

However, many of the jokes on the channel, including occasional sensual ones, may not be appropriate for younger audiences. The hostmakes references to drug use, and a ramen recipe veers into trying to treat a hangover. Another recipe shows how to make various cocktails, and the channel pours ashes from an urn to mix the drinks with it. Finally, foul language is often wang-jangled into videos, and while the f-word and s-word are censored, words like “b–tard” and “a–” are not. God’s name is also misused, and Jesus’ name is inappropriately used.

CHANNEL SUMMARY

You’ll likely leave You Suck At Cooking with a laugh and a full stomach, but the cynical humor and language might be a bit too inappropriate for your children.

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One of the most popular channels for such home cooks is Bon Appétit, named after its decades-old magazine. With its hundreds of videos, viewers can start searing, sautéing or simply salivating to their heart’s content.

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In “Hot Ones,” we watch as celebrities are interviewed while eating progressively hotter chicken wings. The series has had countless famous people from a variety of walks of life appear on it, including Gordon Ramsay, Bear Grylls and Kevin Bacon. A subgame of “Hot Ones” is also featured, titled “Truth or Dab,” in which contestants must reveal a truth about themselves or face the heat of a hot wing. In fact, the concept is so popular that Focus on the Family’s Live It made a similar video while teaching about the term “Spiritual Quotient.”

“Tacos Con Todo” takes viewers on a journey around Southern California to find the best tacos while conversing with famous comedians.

In “Pizza Wars,” pizzaiola Nicole Russell battles it out against (typically) famous contestants in a pizza-themed competition. She and her opponent are judged by a third party, and one of them is declared the winner.

And still the offerings go on. “Snacked” lets viewers learn about the favorite snacks of various celebrities. “Burger Scholar Sessions” teaches us all about burgers—how they’re made, their history, different techniques and styles and more.

There’s many other segments that are or have been featured on the channel, including “The Burger Show,” “Cone Heads” and “Sean in the Wild,” but the general theme of food and celebrities remains constant through nearly every upload.

POSITIVE CONTENT

The primary purpose of the channel is, of course, to learn more about various celebrities through the food they make, eat and sometimes love. Those tuning into First We Feast will learn a lot about these stars on a more personal level. This will remind viewers that, though celebrities are often idolized, they’re regular people like the rest of us.

In many of the segments (and particularly in “Burger Scholar Sessions”), viewers will learn a lot about the food the respective segments center around. We’ll also see a bit of spirited competition, such as in “Pizza Wars.”

CONTENT CONCERNS

The channel comes with a bit of the same heat its “Hot Ones” segment is known for. Viewers can expect to hear a large amount of heavy swearing, both from hosts of the segments and from the various guests they bring on. It’s not uncommon to hear God’s name taken in vain as well as instances of “f—,” “s—” and even the c-word.

We’ll also hear similar amounts of sexual references, whether it’s simply references to anatomy, sensual jokes or more serious talks on sexual harassment. There’s also reference to pornography and stripping in a “Hot Ones” interview we watched, and there’s a reference to masturbation and drug use in a “Tacos Con Todo” interview.

We’ll also hear very occasional discussions on theology and atheism. In a “Hot Ones” interview with Ricky Gervais, Gervais gives an argument for atheism (though it should be noted that his argument is based on a false presupposition about Christianity and the existence of God in general).

An older segment (which seems to be discontinued) called “That’s Odd, Let’s Drink It” centers around drinking various kinds of beer. We’ll also occasionally hear references to drinking or intoxication.

CHANNEL SUMMARY

For those who want to know more about their favorite celebrities and also have a hankering for culinary treats, First We Feast provides an original outlet for that unique desire. However, with the channel’s massive amount of celebrity guests and its unrestrictive nature, viewers should be aware that they’ll be subjected to heavy swearing and a large amount of sexual talk.

Readers should additionally be aware that, because of the channel’s hundreds of interviews, even the content concerns listed in this review may not cover the questionable things that interviewees may bring up.

The post First We Feast appeared first on Plugged In.

But what if you’re simply curious about what pirates, ancient Egyptians or those aboard the Titanic ate?

Fortunately, Tasting History with Max Miller is there to create these dishes once again, using authentic (or as close as possible) recipes to those used during that time period. Not only does Max create, explain and taste these historical foods, but he also gives the historical backing for each of the recipes in his Time for History sections.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Tasting History is similar to many cooking channels on YouTube. Miller will tell you the list of ingredients, show you video of each of the steps of the cooking process and give you a general idea of how it’ll likely taste. However, part of the channel’s uniqueness is found in his unique recipes—all of which are historical, and many of which have fallen out of our modern-day fashion (either due to lack of interest, a loss of the recipe list or other factors).

What may surprise viewers is that Miller focuses less on the recipe, and more on the history of the dish. He’ll often provide historical insight into many of his ingredients. The largest sections of Miller’s videos are his Time for History portions, where Max gives a brief history of whichever dish he is making, be it ice cream, tacos or pizza. Viewers will gain an informative understanding of many foods along with the opportunity to cook the historical dishes themselves.

CONTENT CONCERNS

Some of the recipes Miller will prepare are alcoholic, such as spiced wine and Captain Kidd’s Punch. Additionally, in a couple of Max’s history sections, he briefly shows a painting which contains a nude woman or man (for example: In a video on the history of figs, he shows a painting of the nude Adam and Eve). In the recipe “Farts of Portingale,” Max tells of various recipes that have crude names, including “Farts of a Wh-re.” Another video titled “What did WWII Soldiers Eat?” references a crude dish that contains the s-word in its title (though it should be noted that Max censors his uses of the word).

Additionally, Max is openly gay and married to another man. Though Max’s videos are generally content-free, he does casually reference his relationship in a small number of his videos and his comment section, such as on a video regarding wedding cakes.

CHANNEL SUMMARY

Tasting History with Max Miller provides an educational understanding of every dish made on the channel. Viewers could learn the historical background of pizza or the doughnut, see what the Roman gladiator or Templar knight ate, and even see a recipe from 1789 for Parmesan ice cream. The channel offers educational videos that many will be interested in. However, as with many history channels, this one comes with the chance for images of historic nude sculptures or paintings.

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It’s a ridiculous question. And yet … 5-Minute Crafts—the ninth-most-popular channel on YouTube with a staggering 74 million subscribers and 21 billion page views—has definitely managed to stir up its fair share of critics.

The channel, which is a part of the Cypress-based TheSoul Publishing, features videos demonstrating all manner of creative,fun crafts and “life hacks.” A few minutes scrolling through the videos on the channel reveals a myriad of fun, cheap and often ingenious ways to repurpose common household items.

Stressed out? Fill a balloon up with toothpaste. Voilà! Instant stress ball! Going camping? You might paint some fingernail polish on a cotton makeup pad, let it dry, then use it to help start a campfire. Need cheap party games for a birthday celebration? 5-Minute Crafts shows you how to take something as simple as paper cups, balloons and ping-pong balls and turn it into a great kids game.

So what about that controversy? Well, there’s been more than one. This channel is understandably popular among kids; but some crafts involve combining household substances in ways that could be dangerous if done wrong. Other hacks don’t work. And still other critics have noted that some of the suggested projects are just plain weird, like soaking an egg in vinegar, maple syrup and blue dye to make it big and blue.

That said, the majority of ideas offered here are cheap and fun.

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