Food has never been out of fashion. However, this ancient art leaves few clues for archaeologists to trace its long history and the reason is simple: the more successfully cooking is achieved, the fewer the leftovers there are to find.
The same is true of recipes in the sense that the more they are copied, the harder it is to identify their author. Hardly ever does anyone attempt to patent a dish; if a recipe doesn’t go viral, it isn’t really a success. Like music, cooking is a living art that only exists in the moment of its creation.
The drawback for arts enmeshed in the here-and-now is the difficulty of communicating them. The phonograph came to the rescue of composers and audiophiles, and it is the video blog that bestows a similar blessing on chefs and gastronomes. Neither the music nor the food industry makes it easy for its artists, however. Recording involves a host of technical challenges and there is no guarantee that genius in the kitchen will transfer onto video.
A generation of inspired chefs
Online food recipe videos are credited with inspiring a worldwide surge in students seeking vocational training (for example, http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/02/02/2016020200726.html), but successful video blogging, or “vlogging”, is something special. Only a few muster enduring popular applause. Fortunately, there are excellent online guides to help us find them, like (see http://food-tales.com/online-food-videos/).
Five cookery vlogs worth checking out
SortedFood has two million followers. The four friends who produce it now travel across North America in search of new flavours and techniques.
FoodWishes is one of the largest collections with over a thousand videos and a million subscribers. Chef John is appreciated both for providing creatively novel recipes but also because the videos are professionally produced and easy to follow.
OnePotChefShow provides a selection of playlists dedicated to different types of dishes. It takes a pride in its practicality, providing quick help to cooks with limited time and resources who just want to get something good onto the table without a big mess.
One that specialises in Japanese ingredients and meticulous techniques is Runnyrunny999. It has maintained its success for no less than nine years and shows every sign of enduring another nine.
There’s always room for pudding, so check out Lovelyladycakes. Dessert is a luxury, so surprise and variety are important elements.
