Media More on Bon Appétit

[Michi]

I just stumbled across this on YouTube. (I'm following on from a previous thread, which is now closed for some reason).



I find myself agreeing with some of what he has to say. Probably not all of it. It's difficult for me to be sure as to what I agree with and disagree with—it's a complex and multi-faceted issue.

One thing that struck me strongly though is the similarity of Bon Appétit to reality TV shows such as Big Brother. There is definitely something in the concept that has little to do with cooking, and a lot to do with voyeurism and deliberately fostering a fan base that likes to watch personalities.

One thing I have always thought is that Bon Appétit is a channel I watched for entertainment more than to learn something new about cooking.

 

[Kgp]

I never watched their videos, but i tried the magazine for a year on a $10 subscription. Wasn't impressed. Pretty pictures, a few interesting recipes, but most were things that I would never cook or used ingredients that were not readily available in my small town. I let it expire, not because of all the drama concerning their hiring and promotion practices, which look pretty bad, but the renewal rate was over $30 for ten issues, and I saw no value in that proposition.

 

[Michi]

the renewal rate was over $30 for ten issues, and I saw no value in that proposition.

Signal-to-noise ratio was always poor on that channel. Interesting personalities, and less interesting recipes and techniques. If you are into cooking and into entertainment, it was a good channel. If you are into cooking and learning something, it was only a so-so channel.

 

[AT5760]

My annual renewal is only about $10. I use some of the recipes and get inspiration from others. While I could probably get the same (or better) content for free from the internet, I enjoy reading a physical magazine once a month. Never bothered with any of their video content.

 

[lemeneid]

At this point, I think we can consider Bon Appetit dead. Same goes for Epicurious as a related channel.

If I want entertaining cooking, I'll just watch Matty Matheson, and if I want to learn something, I'll check out Serious Eats or Chef Steps.

 

[Michi]

I'll just watch Matty Matheson, and if I want to learn something, I'll check out Serious Eats or Chef Steps.

All good channels. For Asian cooking, I really like Adam Liaw. Down to earth, non-pretentious, and really good at explaining the cultural background as well as why a particular technique works.

 

[juice]

For Asian cooking, I really like Adam Liaw

He's excellent, which is why he's not a MasterChef judge.

 

[Don Nguyen]

They had such great potential and threw it in the burning dumpster.

I like watching Kenji Lopez nowadays, and I've been pretty obsessed with Eater's Omakase series.

 

[Colin]

All good channels. For Asian cooking, I really like Adam Liaw. Down to earth, non-pretentious, and really good at explaining the cultural background as well as why a particular technique works.

A couple of other good Asian cooking sources are Mark Weins and Chinese Cooking Demystified.

 

[Byphy]

That Bon Appetit commentary was a good watch.

I 2nd Mark Weins, mentioned before but he has the most annoying "eating face" but man does he provide excellent content. Coming from pro kitchens I watch a lot of Josh Weissman, Justin Khanna and "A Cook Named Matt" as well. They definitely have "YouTube" personalities, but again, their content is legit

 

[timebard]

I like watching Kenji Lopez nowadays, and I've been pretty obsessed with Eater's Omakase series.

Big second to Kenji's channel. As someone who's never cooked professionally, the first-person, mostly real time perspective is the most helpful online cooking resource I've found in a long time for learning how to coordinate different elements of a dish in a time efficient manner and bring them all together successfully. Also what certain techniques should look like in practice and why they work or don't.

His taste in knives may be a bit suspect but the man is a natural teacher.

 

[Michi]

His taste in knives may be a bit suspect but the man is a natural teacher.

I recently watched an episode of his where he used a Kan Core knife. Kenji endorsed that knife for its Kickstarter campaign. That knife was actually my first foray into Japanese knives. I ended up returning the knife for a refund. It wasn't bad, but not quite what was promised in the campaign video.

Kenji has done a lot of writing over the years that is clear and approachable. I definitely learned a few things from him.

 

[lemeneid]

I love Kenji but his YouTube channel can be a little annoying with that first person POV way of presentation.

 

[timebard]

I love Kenji but his YouTube channel can be a little annoying with that first person POV way of presentation.

Seems like some people can't stand that style. For me it's much more instructive than watching someone cook from across the counter and the jerky first person perspective doesn't bother me at all. My better half gets motion sick if she watches more than a minute or two.

 

[bingo]

If I want entertaining cooking, I'll just watch Matty Matheson, and if I want to learn something, I'll check out Serious Eats or Chef Steps.

The Matty Matheson Bon Appétit episodes where they’re catching catfish are some of the most entertaining internet content of the last year or so.

One of the best things about Kenji’s channel is that it doesn’t seem like he’s expressing a really exaggerated personality for the camera. Those channels have their place, but most Tuesday nights I’m not gonna be making some flavor bomb recipe that will take 5 pots/pans and was presented by an over-the-top ca

 

[Luftmensch]

Interesting video. Thanks! I hadn't noticed there were no new videos from Bon Appetit! I think the video makes a compelling point about the intersection between profitability and apathy towards racism.

As for education vs entertainment.... I am not at all bothered. I was only introduced to Bon Appetit a year ago (due to this forum!). I don't know what it used to be... but it has been nothing but "infotainment" for me... 90% personalities and production values, 10% actual information. I really enjoyed watching Brad... it is a shame that may disappear!

 

[zizirex]

If I want entertaining cooking, I'll just watch Matty Matheson

MIICCHEEEEEEELLEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

 

[lemeneid]

The Matty Matheson Bon Appétit episodes where they’re catching catfish are some of the most entertaining internet content of the last year or so.

One of the best things about Kenji’s channel is that it doesn’t seem like he’s expressing a really exaggerated personality for the camera. Those channels have their place, but most Tuesday nights I’m not gonna be making some flavor bomb recipe that will take 5 pots/pans and was presented by an over-the-top ca

I totally dislike Brad and avoid all his videos. He’s the epitome of dull as a knife in a dishwasher. I’m a fan of Matty but those Catfish episodes were ruined by Brad. My faves are still Carla, Molly and Rick. At least they still attempted to cook “food”.

Also I don’t see the appeal of Claire’s videos, am I the only one?

 

[Lars]

...

 

[Colin]

Bon Appetit finally came out with new content. Three videos today. Does anyone have some thoughts on the new cast members? Or Conde Nast's response to the situation. I like the new cast members but refuse to watch due to Conde Nast.

 

[Don Nguyen]

Bon Appetit finally came out with new content. Three videos today. Does anyone have some thoughts on the new cast members? Or Conde Nast's response to the situation. I like the new cast members but refuse to watch due to Conde Nast.

I won't watch. Maybe that'll change, but as of now I have no idea if they've made any real changes. My current understanding is they made a severe disservice to their cast and guests of color (to say the least), ignored the audience demanding they right their wrongs, and tried to sweep everything under the rug.

They haven't been transparent about any of their updates. Their former cast did not get recompensated fairly, and they got new staff. I know nothing about what's going on, and that doesn't sit right with me. I have nothing against the new members and the members that stayed (I mean damnit, I love their videos and content, and times are hard as hell right now - I can't imagine trying to balance those kinds of decisions), but I'm not comfortable watching and supporting a corporation that does shady **** like this.

 

[tchan001]

I'd rather watch the French guy on YT.

 

[MowgFace]

Solah jumped on the Babish Train.

 

[lemeneid]

They still got Chris, Andy and Brad in their new team. So they retained the 3 most boring personalities for their new run.

Should have retained Molly, Carla, Rick and Amiel.

Don’t know much about the other new cast but I’ll give them a chance. But it does feel like they are doing BIPOC just for the sake of diversity.

 

[labor of love]

The only time I look at any of this crap is if I forgot a ratio and need one on the fly.

 

[Michi]

I can see why they revived the channel. It's worth a lot of revenue. In a year or two, hardly anyone will remember the original reason for the outage, and it'll be business as usual. The grass always grows over things eventually…

 

[Iggy]

@lemeneid Funny, I see it the other way around. Chris and Brads videos where the only ones worth watching IMHO . But this is of course a question of personal taste.

Couldn't stand most of the videos by Molly and Carla. Not liked their receipes and found them to be really
unsympathetic. Can't stand their hipster abbreviations-heavy language ("pep" "parm".... )


But this aside... not looking forward to the new content. For me they lost their "flair". Pitty...

Maybe I will watch new videos of Brad but besides that, there are other channels for cooking on YT.

PS: Not a fan of the newer videos of Babish. Really like his "classic Binging with Babish" content though

 

[lemeneid]

I can see why they revived the channel. It's worth a lot of revenue. In a year or two, hardly anyone will remember the original reason for the outage, and it'll be business as usual. The grass always grows over things eventually…

It’s difficult to say. Floyd was killed 6 months back and people still are raging about it. If you look at comments on BA’s social media, they’re still harping about Sola not getting paid. Race issues are sensitive and I don’t see them moving forward until they formally address them instead of sweeping them under the carpet.

At this point, it’s still very much a gamble.

On a side note, pretty bummed they sorta changed their cast too on Epicurious. Frank, Lorenzo and team really ran the show.

 

[Michi]

It’s difficult to say. Floyd was killed 6 months back and people still are raging about it. If you look at comments on BA’s social media, they’re still harping about Sola not getting paid.

We'll have to wait and see. But the incident at Conde Nast was somewhat less extreme than Floyd, I would say.

On a side note, pretty bummed they sorta changed their cast too on Epicurious. Frank, Lorenzo and team really ran the show.

I haven't watched that channel. Is it worth it in terms of learning something?

 

[zizirex]

Well, Just A Dash is back now, it's much better news than Bon Appetit coming back.