# Weird genre of bogus YouTube cooking videos **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2023, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167 "2023-02-22T02:15:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/1 "2023-02-22T02:15:08Z")
Help me find something I remember seeing several of, several years back. Not fake, as such – not those videos that show how to bake a perfect 7-layer wedding cake all at once in the microwave, and they’ve blatantly faked the result. The videos I’m thinking of seemed real enough, but were surreal in their complexity. No narration, minimal captioning if any. Production values looked like any cooking video of the 5-Minute Crafts / Best Cooking Hacks genre. They’d show a complex series of processes which no sane person would ever do to food, a seemingly endless sequence of ingredients and preparations mostly involving putting things inside of other things. Like, you start with making a cookie dough. Then you stuff that inside a different cookie dough. Then you roll it all out and roll it up again and cut it into pieces, Then you make some cake batter and dip in the pieces, then fry them. Then you make a double pie crust and bake it all in. Then you make cake layers and layer in the pie. Or the savory version, you put (say) hot dogs inside hamburgers on top of pizzas baked into a tenderloin roast, carved up and served on waffles with a 30-ingredient sauce. I’m making this up, but you get the idea. The videos would end up a half hour long - just mind-boggling. And now I can’t find a single one. Did I dream up this genre? If this topic is less than compelling, feel free to mention any weird, stupid or gross food videos you like. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/2 "2023-02-22T02:26:40Z")
I saw a video debunking one of those fake videos. No idea why anyone would bother. If they think it’s a prank then it’s a very lame one. If it’s just to generate hits then it doesn’t sound very productive. Someone could make very entertaining fake cooking videos if they wanted to but I think YouTube is no place for truly creative works and I don’t see why they would bother. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/3 "2023-02-22T02:27:47Z")
Ann Reardon does a lot of debunking videos. > **[How To Cook That](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsP7Bpw36J666Fct5M8u-ZA)** > > Hi I'm Ann Reardon welcome to How To Cook That > Have fun with me making creative dessert, cake and chocolate > New video every second Friday. > Subscribe: http://bit.ly/SUBSCRIBE2\_how\_to\_cook\_that > Support: https://patreon.com/h2ct > My Cookbook:... ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/4 "2023-02-22T02:32:27Z")
Yes, Ann Reardon is great. Watching her led me to think of this other overly-complex type of video. They’re all going after clicks, but in slightly different ways. The kind I described weren’t fake, as such – not trying to fool anyone, I don’t think – but they were compelling in their strangeness, impossible to stop watching because you had to see what insane/inane thing they would do next. They were kind of like the cooking-video equivalent of [Too Many Cooks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrGrOK8oZG8). ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/5 "2023-02-22T05:06:01Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > The videos would end up a half hour long - just mind-boggling. And now I can’t find a single one. Did I dream up this genre? The only video that’s coming to mind is one where some guy made some kind of ludicrous meat wad with 37 woven layers of bacon (with the intermediate layers being different kinds of cheese or meat). I’m not sure how to search for it on Youtube, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/6 "2023-02-22T05:37:47Z")
Sorry, nothing comes to mind. But for classic fake (or rather fictional) YouTube cooking videos, I used to find Henry’s Kitchen hilarious: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GFjstQ30RI8/hqdefault.jpg "Henry's Kitchen 2 - How to Make Henry's Anytime Chili for One") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFjstQ30RI8) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/7 "2023-02-22T06:25:47Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > And now I can’t find a single one. Did I dream up this genre? Maybe _some_ stuff on the [scrumdiddlyuptious](https://www.youtube.com/c/scrumdiddlyumptious) channel? They’re not _all_ like that, but some approach it. Not recalling any that are that long, though. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/8 "2023-02-22T06:49:46Z")
I know what you’re referring to, though I don’t know of a name for it other than “annoying”. One I saw recently had a woman making a pineapple upside down cake, but it was clearly designed to be idiotic and/or infuriating. She basically dropped a bag of cake mix into a frying pan, broke some eggs over it, put a lid on it, set the flame to high and acted like that was a sane course of events. The video was about 7 minutes long, but I made it about a minute and a half into it before realizing it was just nonsense. The only thing I can think of is that they’re meant to generate engagement by compelling people to discuss how dumb the method is, share it with friends to commiserate about how dumb it is, etc. Engagement is money on social media, even (or possibly especially?) when it’s negative. Here’s a shorter variation on TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@gettishow/video/7200880940409703726](https://www.tiktok.com/@gettishow/video/7200880940409703726) Edit: Found an example on YouTube: [Aunt Myrna's Party Cheese Salad - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf_W7As6xbk) Guh, they’re so annoying even scrubbing through it to confirm it was what I thought it was made me mad. One more edit: Apparently the term is “rage bait” which is absolutely perfect. Here’s an article I found. [Why the worst recipes imaginable are blowing up on TikTok - The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/24/23471033/tiktok-thanksgiving-food-recipes-ragebait-chefs-elis-kitchen-jane-brain) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/9 "2023-02-22T08:59:45Z")
HowToBasic is a channel that’s been around for awhile that parodies these type of fake recipe videos by turning the ridiculousness up to eleven. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vOYq2dcu9uI/maxresdefault.jpg "How To Correctly Make a Stir Fry") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOYq2dcu9uI) I shudder to imagine how long it takes to clean up the set after one of these productions, though there’s also a distinct possibility that this type of thing is someone’s fetish. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/10 "2023-02-22T12:01:09Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > If this topic is less than compelling, feel free to mention any weird, stupid or gross food videos you like. Glad you said this part! 😆 The one I was thinking of is pretty similar to what you described, only it wasn’t 30 minutes long: it’s the infamous Counter Spaghetti video. > **[ULTIMATE SPAGHETTI TRICK!! 🤯😍 | ULTIMATE SPAGHETTI TRICK!! 🤯😍 | By The Flom...](https://www.facebook.com/theflomfamily/videos/276088210828074/)** > > ULTIMATE SPAGHETTI TRICK!! 🤯😍 ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/11 "2023-02-22T12:09:42Z")
Just a pic, not a video. But behold the burger+fries baked into a pizza, [![](https://www.svenskbladet.se/uploaded_images/calskrove440x300.jpg) ](https://www.svenskbladet.se/uploaded_images/calskrove440x300.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/12 "2023-02-22T12:29:03Z")
I couldn’t find the bacon meatwad video I was thinking of. It was like all of the meatwad recipes in the video below, but combined. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1bSDtlARvPI/maxresdefault.jpg "Ultimate Bacon Recipes") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bSDtlARvPI) ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/13 "2023-02-22T12:29:21Z")
Omigod, I laughed nonstop throughout that video. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/14 "2023-02-22T12:51:37Z")
This guy, > **[KingCobraJFS](https://www.youtube.com/@KingCobraJFS/videos)** > > I am a musician I play Guitar both Electric and Acoustic I sing I have cds available I'm trying to get my musical career off the ground > hears a link for my public page for my music http://www.tunecore.com/music/king\_cobra My artist name is King Cobra... is the literal king of bad/weird cooking. Like deep frying… stuff in a combination of oil and . . . beer. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/15 "2023-02-22T12:52:46Z")
I call this video Why I Became Vegan. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/16 "2023-02-22T15:25:06Z")
It wasn’t bogus, but it was definitely weird. Atomic Shrimp did a video a couple of weeks ago on cooking breakfast in a 4 inch frying pan. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MV5hud3c48o/maxresdefault.jpg "'Fun' Size Full English Breakfast - Cooking in the Tiny Pan") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV5hud3c48o) ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/17 "2023-02-22T15:30:34Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > Atomic Shrimp aka @Mangetout. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/18 "2023-02-22T15:34:58Z")
I am aware. ---
**Author:** ![fordgt100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fordgt100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fordgt100)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2023, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/19 "2023-02-24T23:40:08Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Ann Reardon does a lot of debunking videos. A video on debunking a video. I’m glad someone is doing this, but it just sounds a little odd. When is the interplanetary shuttle going to be flying? If it includes humans, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167/20 "2023-02-24T23:44:41Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Omigod, I laughed nonstop throughout that video It would have been fine if he’d remembered to divide the salt by 7! And maybe divide the 6 hours of cook time also… and added the vegetables, and… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-genre-of-bogus-youtube-cooking-videos/980167.md?page=2)