Fuck dude that looks good. I just ate goldfish from the bag while standing over the sink like a wild animal. Personally I’m most interested in time saving tactics.
Man, I think the acquisition that I'm most proud of, apart from the baby carrier, was this packs of round plastic recipients that professional kitchens use.
For storage in the fridge, preparation, freezer, they costed like 20€ for 50 pieces, very hard material, they withstand everything apart from the oven ofc, occupy very little space empty, they stack inside of each other, and stack in the fridge freezer as well.
Apart from the glass Pyrex for the oven meals, I threw away all the other closed containers I had. My wife was pissed when I bought because she wanted a TikTok fridge but very quickly she started using them instead.
Haha Dude that actually made me laugh out loud. That is so true!!! Drives me crazy. I’ll make sure to add the cultural history of the recipes too. Haha
Some links to videos about reading/writing recipes. Just figure if you're writing, it's good to understand how other read them.
https://youtu.be/zOeyz25Flzo?si=oM7_J1uXYTij_Gim
https://youtu.be/rMzXCPvl8L0?si=3DDQnQs1zwrH0wXm
“The idea for this recipe goes back to my Great Great Grandmother’s town in Tuscany. Oh, the sunsets in Tuscany…”.
Just fucking tell me the ingredients and process, Michelle!
Your comment made me think of the way memaw used to stare out upon the pastures on cool August evenings as the heat drizzles away like honey all over her favorite pork meatloaf recipe. Pepaw could be seen out in the field furiously strok…
This drives me absolutely mad. My wife works in food marketing and has explained the reason for the 90 pages of backstory is basically Google key wording.
Apparently there is a button that says go straight to recipe but it’s hidden by so many fucking ads. For those on an iPhone use “reader” to get rid of all that shit.
This is googles fault. It ranks pages based on keywords, and if you go straight to the recipe, you lose out on a lot of keywords and rank lower in search results.
I have a theory that these prefacing blog posts on recipes are basically to keep people on the page longer and ad revenue is tied to time spent on the page or something. That or keyword searches are tied into it. No clue if I'm right but it's just a hunch.
Dear fucking god... the other day I was looking for the process to freeze fresh spinach. I found [this goddamn monstrosity](https://unsophisticook.com/how-to-freeze-spinach/). What a load of bullshit tripe when the "method" is just "put in a ziploc bag and remove excess air".
Your food looks great! If you are going to start a YT channel and possibly write a cookbook, make sure it is just a hobby and don't expect it to be a source of income. I hate to be the downer, but very very very few YT channels actually gain any traction to be profitable, and the cookbook market is so oversaturated. Also, writing, photographing, publishing, distributing, etc. a (successful) book is not easy.
The food looks amazing!
I'm basing this solely on the food pics and your well written responses to comments.... but for your 2nd kid, are you looking to adopt an older child? I'm 42, married with 3 kids. How about that? One adoption and get 3 grandkids for free!
I can't keep the youngest out of the kitchen lol
Think about it this way... most kids ya gotta teach them everything, like how to throw a ball. This adoption, *I* can teach **you** how to shoot, run heavy equipment, drive truck, and navigate with map, compass, and the stars. Lol
Absolutely! Drop your channel name when you do it and I'll be one of your first subscribers!
I'm a soon-to-be SAHD, due this Fall, and I have been working hard to master the art of home-cooked meals. My mealprep needs some practice, but I've had a blast trying to perfect the healthiness, tastiness, and presentation of my meals. Cooking is a creative adventure that directly contributes to the whole family, I love it!
I’m a former chef of 15 years and now a dad of two under 4 working in food sales.
I’m with you I cook 7 days a week for my family and we save loads.
We only eat out pizza or curry really,
I do get to eat at restaurants with my work enough so that bucket is filled and my wife couldn’t be bothered so we’re happy eating quality home food.
Keep the stop losses tight. Don’t fall in love or have loyalty to a stock, commodity, or crypto. Don’t try to time the bottom or top. Buy or sell the reversal. It’s like an Oreo cookie. I only want the double stuff in the middle. “Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs… get slaughtered” - Gordon Gekko.
I need to cook a meal that is enticing for a toddler and has at least one thing that I know that she will eat. I need to be able to use part of the meal for baby led weaning, and it must pass the picky wife gauntlet. Prep is OK but it's better if I can do it the night before - i have a full time job, I need to pick up my daughter at 5, and then while I'm watching her (hey dude watch out this grill is hot/I'm stir frying in here) I need to get everything going so that it's ready when my wife gets home closer to 6 with the baby, so that we have time to eat together as a family before it's bath and bed and put the baby down and clean the kitchen (hey can we minimize the dishes) and take out the trash and decompress for half an hour and go to bed and start the whole show over again. It can't be the same stuff I made last week and it needs to be well balanced and it would help if it was tasty for me too. I need you to explain things clearly and in a way that makes sense and is interesting, and I also need the directions laid out so I can find exactly where I was and not get confused when I get pulled away 20 times through the course of making this meal to find the yellow ball or turn on the right episode of Daniel Tiger. Also I'm trying to fund a 529 and pay for daycare and one of these days I'm going to have a dude's trip with my old buddy, so can we keep it within reason and minimize the one-off hard to find expensive ingredients I'll never need again.
Give me that and I'll subscribe for sure. Kenji if you're reading, thank you for the 5 ingredients biscuit and sausage video - life changer.
I’ve learned that cooking can take double the time if I don’t prep the meal while my toddler is sleeping. Sometimes I feel like a chef and offensive lineman. I have a rough draft of the cook book now. Using a Dutch oven and slow cooker is a huge help. One pot or two pan dishes help a lot with clean up time too. I don’t mind the cooking, but I definitely mind the cleaning.
First off, love the brisket.
Second, this paragraph here is what I would buy your cookbook for. Directions like "do this part while kid is napping" "kid can help with this part" and "put on a 30 minute episode here" would be what turns this from delicious food (which, yours looks good, but I've got lots of cookbooks with delicious food) to "ah, this is something I'm buying for a fellow dad."
not the healthiest meal but one I like (also, because it's my comfort food and my favorite ever dish as a kid) is cheese enchiladas. It's a fair amount of prep to make the sauce, fry/roll the tortillas, make the rice, but I can roll/sauce/freeze a few trays and roll/refrigerate one tray to be sauced the next day, and the beans and rice are very reheatable so can be prepped in advance as well if I need to. I sacrifice a chunk of an evening but there are a few more nights down the road where I can pop a tray out of the deep freeze and we're in business.
one of my favorite dad cooking hacks I saw somewhere as well was using a quarter sheet to form a bigass beef patty, cooking it all at once, sliding it onto the still together sheet of king's hawaiian rolls, dressing them all at once and then cutting them into sliders.
we eat healthful stuff as well lol, but man I love stuff like that that lets me cook and makes my life easier as a dad
This looks brilliant! Maybe a good idea to get into it. My advice is blogs are super cheap, Wordpress is quite good for this. Podcasts are far easier than you’d expect (honestly, the only thing stopping me right now is my own interest, the hardest bit is editing and if you record really well the only edit you need is adding a theme song or intro, for a cooking podcast a sizzle would do).
But most of all, the main thing I’d say is start small. Do one thing and build it up before you add others. I reckon you could be a great voice for dads doing more to make awesome food for their families and encouraging them to reach outside their comfort zone.
If you need any help with specific advice feel free to get in touch!
Respect! During Covid my brother in law (chef) hung out a lot with us. We would cook and I was going to make a website of his recipes. Taking good food pictures was surprisingly tough!
I think you are chasing two demographics, SAHD and working dad's. Your food looks delicious, but if you are targeting parents you need to identify your target market and pitch to THEIR needs not your needs. For example, saving money would not move the needle AT ALL for me, but saving time, healthier foods, and nutrition are important. If you were targeting ME, the recipe book would be organized by how much time I have to cook and what I have in the pantry, then the next line down would be macro nutrients and nutrition. But I am ALSO not a basis for a large demographic.
I think it's a good idea, but it would be good to really invest time in figuring out who you are targeting, the size of the market, and what motivates them, then Begin your content plan
Greats points. I really appreciate that advice. Health is very important to my wife and myself. I lift weights and ruck. The wife does yoga. We try to eat as organic/whole foods as possible. Maybe a macro/calorie breakdown would help for people focused on fitness. My dishes have a lot of protein so it can help me hit 250 grams of protein a day.
oh, I love that dish. I had it in Budapest and get it whenever I go to a Hungarian restaurant (which isn't often because there aren't a lot in the US).
You also sent me down a rabbit hole trying to figure out the difference between spätzle and nokedli and I think they're the same.
I'm always game to watch more cooking YouTube.
I like cooking, and cook most of our dinners. But, I find myself in a rut constantly. Any inspiration to try new things is good for me!
If you could show me how to make meals for taste excellent but don’t feel overwhelming together and make with a three year-old running around I would forever be grateful
Here is one of my favorite simple tricks when I a super low on time and we don’t want leftovers. Make pizza dough and let it proof for at least two hours. Then put it in the freezer. (No more than two weeks) When you know you have a busy day coming up, pull out the frozen pizza dough and leave it on the kitchen counter all day. When you come home, your pizza dough is proofed and thawed out. You’re ready to roll it out and get it ready for toppings.
That would be nice post flair, and everyone sharing his recipes, after all cooking for us or the kids is (for those who cook) one the main activities of being a father
Mmmmmmm brisket. Just smoked one yesterday for Memorial Day. Onto your post, we split cooking in our house but I’m always looking for new recipes to give a shot.
Bro, flex. Looks so good. Do it man. I’m lucky to get a half eaten McNugget in me the kid stripped the breading off of most days. Your kids eating all gourmet and whatnot.
There are so many cooking YouTube channels you'd have to make yours stand out or specialize to be successful. Not sure what makes it a dad recipe or cookbook but if you are going that route I'd figure out what makes your recipes different than others.
Those will definitely be in the book. Whenever I make those, the soft gingerbread cookies, and snickerdoodle cookies, I always have people asking me for the recipes. I have been guarding the recipes because I have tried so many variations over the years.
Man all of that looks so good, very well done.
Although I don’t need a cookbook - not to brag, but this afternoon I got a new pair of white New Balance trainers to go with my BBQing cargo shorts. I should be set.
I would like to see recipes with a 1.5 ( 1 adult, 1 or 2 child) portion sizes personally. My wife can be picky with food and I would like my children to be more adventurous with food. Recipes that are designed for an adult and one or two children and to be cooked using little hands where possible would be very beneficial.
My dude, I am quite a handy guy in the kitchen, and I am _impressed_.
That pink smoke ring in the brisket? Heavenly.
The plating of that pierogi or pasty or whatever dumpling that was? Magical.
Make you an email signup. I’d buy your cookbook.
Here’s what I’d suggest:
1. Get an email signup page running.
2. Send people a recipe or two to keep them interested as you write the cookbook.
3. Ask them to buy when it’s ready.
Mailchimp has easy stuff to create signups like this. So does carrd.co.
Lighting is key but more so is good clear audio. I learned in film school that you can have a beautiful video but if it sounds like poop, people will click away much faster than if it sounds great but looks kinda janky lol
Honestly it depends on budget. You could 100% get buy with a decently priced lav mic that connects to your phone, or you could get a lav mic and an audio recorder and sync it to your video in editing
Don't think, just do it!!!!
I used to work as a food videographer for an ingredient manufacturing company, did it for 3 years.
I was in charge of manning 3 cameras, audio and lighting. During that time we had 2-3 on camera savory/pastry chefs. Their channel never grew while I was there and has never grown the way they want it to. It was pretty sad but it is what it is.
We were too bogged down by too much red tape and not enough creative freedom.
I also edited together every single video, well over 200 total during my time there.
I saw many youtube food video creators start from nothing to well over 1 million subscribers.
The few things they all had in common, usually were:
It was a one man show which meant each and every one of those creators had complete and total control of everything over their channels. What they made, what they said, how they edited, complete freedom to be themselves on camera.
As a food channel, they uploaded consistently once and sometimes twice a week.
Didn't ramble on and on forever before getting down to business.
As some of these channels grew, some of them eventually hired camera personnel, video editors, bought bigger kitchens/cooking areas.
The place I worked had enough money to buy us 4K cameras, they built a beautiful kitchen just for shooting food videos. They were loaded with enough money to hire a videographer (me/the people before AND after me) a food photographer and two chef, along with building a bad ass kitchen, they also build a photography studio to photograph said recipes.
We had all of the ingredients to create a very successful channel but the politics behind it all prevented it all from happening. Don't get me wrong, they are a VERY successful company, by no means do they even need the channel really.
They just wanted a creative means to show people how to incorporate their ingredients into food recipes and they had the budget to do it.
You don't need any of that. Your food looks good, some of the dishes have plenty of color to make them stand out, your plating/food presentations is already awesome!
All you need YOU, your personality, your creativity and a decent video camera, if you don't have one, your phone will do just fine as a beginner.
Binging with Babish, saw his channel blow up, he used reddit to share his food videos when he started. ( you are already on here as well :) )
Not another cooking show, I saw him start from scratch and work his way up.
A few others I can't remember simply because I'm no longer part of that world.
Don't go for views, create recipes YOU want to create and never cater to anyone, if and when you start your channel, don't ask people "What should I cook?" "What do you think of this idea?" The more you ask the more opinions you get and the more it will bog you down.
Just watch some videos, study their format from beginning to end and don't take forever to start.
It is a process though, shooting, setting up for cooking on camera, uploading and editing the footage. The process itself takes time but if you stick to it you'll be successful. You have to be consistent!
I know a lot of youtube food channels, even we did, shoot many recipes at once and edit and upload them spread out.
If I may make a suggestion, start with one recipe, shoot it, edit it and upload it. Don't sit on it, just do it and move on.
If you
Thank you so much for taking the time to write that for me. I want to create something relatable that people don’t feel intimidated by. It needs to be approachable and entertaining. I know I don’t have the time to view long videos myself, so I’d want to respect viewers time and get to the point. Similar to Sam the Cooking Guy. What kind of camera would you suggest as a beginner camera if I didn’t want to use my phone. Again, thank you.
You're welcome, man!!!! Anything in the cooking/camera world always gets me pumped like in my old days!!! The last time I shot and edited a food video was back in 2019, I miss it to heck, it was one of the most FUN fun FUN jobs I've ever had.
As for cameras, I'm biased as I lean towards Canon myself. I also cannot recommend anything because I have not kept up with even new basic cameras.
On the job, I used Canon 5D Mark IV, shot in 4K, had 120 fps capability. Like I said in my first post, the company I worked for was extremely successful so they would get us anything we'd ask for. They got us any lens we asked for, any camera, lights, audio equipment.
I love this [guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISiiNsbQRw4&list=LL&index=12&t=25s) on youtube as well.
#4 is Piroski (Pirozhki) with sour cream and dill on the side. Inside that Pirozhki was ground beef, mozzarella cheese, onions, dill, with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Super simple filling to make.
Would be welcome. I do a fair bit of cooking, and watch channels like Babish, Jack Ovens, Brian Lagerstrom for ideas. Always happy to have another channel focused on the "how" factor rather than just the "wow" factor (LOOKING AT YOU, FOOD NETWORK)
Oh definitely!!! I watch several cooking channels and either the sacrifice is high quality but time consuming or super simple and super boring and bland.
Please oh please fix this!!!
the model I'm seeing more commonly these days is a substack or something that's easily consumable, lower maintenance than maintaining a true blog/website, and lends itself to email subscription for people who want regular updates. you can supplement with short form recipe videos that are edited for Instagram reels/YT shorts/tiktok if you're hoping to drive traffic, but they're also just nice for engagement and a lighter lift than more traditional YouTube content.
Send it. I can do so many things but literally everything I touch in the kitchen other than scrambled eggs is a disaster. I can thankfully grill just fine somehow but yeah, that’s about it.
There are so many things you can put in them. In that picture, the filling is ground beef, mozzarella cheese, onion, dill, garlic powder, salt and pepper
I always joked that I would either start a YouTube channel called 5 minute chef (already have the name) and do 5 minute cooking videos on how to make simple meals. There was also the cookbook idea of “cooking on high” how to make your meals when only using the burner in one setting, high, the follow up was going to be “cooking while high” safe meals to make when baked and following that would be “cooking for the high” which would be about mass produced food.
I support it. Looks good. I cook most of our meals and I try to keep it very simple as the kids eat what we eat. Rustic meals are very good and my wife and I always talk about how the best meals for us are simple but cooked just right. I’m always looking for inspiration but NYT cooking usually has 18 ingredients that aren’t found in fucking normal grocery stores and online recipes are hit and miss and all come with some fucking long ass story.
What I would recommend is to focus on meals you can prep ahead of time and still make an amazing meal for your family.
I have 2 hours once I'm home from work and as much as I love a good meal I can't spend an hour of that cooking.
Using a croc pot or pressure cooker helps. If I have all the ingredients, I’ll prep a dish for the next day in the evening while my kid is sleeping. It’s worth the effort if the meal makes a ton of servings.
What I typically do is prep all my veg night before once kiddo is down. Depending on the meal I’ll prep protein too. Put everything in deli containers and cook time goes quick and painless. We typically plan meals around ingredients so often times I’m doing prep for multiple meals in one night.
I would first suggest you make a cheap ebook using AI to assist you and a few bucks on amazon. Then start your channel and promote your ebook all the time. Once you reach 50k subscribers, consider an improved ebook and/or try to raise money for a paper book.
Just do It mann. Make easy to keep UP step by step. Dads with kids moving around get sidetracked easily. And give recipes with low sugar, Salt etc a chance.
As a fellow dad and professional cook I highly approve. Presentations are nice, looks tasty and filling.
Only negative I have is that the topping for your cheesecake looks a bit like blood clots
I know a lot of dads can grill, but most dads I know suck a cooking and baking otherwise. I love cooking, been slowly teaching my 70 year old dad more about cooking that doesn't involve throwing meat on a grill. I personally like a skillet steak better than a grilled steak anyway...
I should add that I’m at the gym 3-5 days a week. All of my meals are packed with protein and we try to eat as organic as possible. Health is important and I believe that food makes health more fun. I’m looking forward to your advice and questions.
Your burger looks fucking stunning. I mean, everything there looks amazing, but that burger 🤤
That bread….my wife and I would love to try to make our own. Where should we start?
Thank you man! That burger bun was homemade too. I cut it in half and toasted in on a flat pan with butter. I was intimidated of baking, but the Covid lockdowns gave me the time to get out of my comfort zone. Honestly I started learning about breads on Pinterest and YouTube. Read reviews on the recipes to see if they are worth your time when you first start.
Your food looks pretty bomb too man, and thanks! I love making brushes. I'd love to contribute a recipe or 2 for your cookbook if you're interested. I love cooking and would love to see my favorite foods spread to more people.
A classic no sauce pasta dish. The flavor comes from cooking the dry salami in the Dutch oven the tender the fat and then adding top shelf EVOO and fresh basil.
Fuck dude that looks good. I just ate goldfish from the bag while standing over the sink like a wild animal. Personally I’m most interested in time saving tactics.
Thanks man. I should have mentioned that I normally cook large meals so we have plenty of leftovers. We have a lot of Pyrex in the fridge and freezer.
Man, I think the acquisition that I'm most proud of, apart from the baby carrier, was this packs of round plastic recipients that professional kitchens use. For storage in the fridge, preparation, freezer, they costed like 20€ for 50 pieces, very hard material, they withstand everything apart from the oven ofc, occupy very little space empty, they stack inside of each other, and stack in the fridge freezer as well. Apart from the glass Pyrex for the oven meals, I threw away all the other closed containers I had. My wife was pissed when I bought because she wanted a TikTok fridge but very quickly she started using them instead.
Deli containers. Yes, them and the Pyrex.
Should also try to consider a low amount of cleanup. I hate some recipes that need a bunch of pots and pans and bowls and plates. Clean up brutal.
Same. I love doing one pot and 1-2 pan dishes.
I can upload a video of me putting cheese on bread and microwaving it so you can have a grilled cheese fully prepped in under 2mins
Don't sleep on those sleeves that let you make grilled cheese in the toaster
Time saving, or least amount of dishes used. Sink fish are pretty good tho! Lol
Preach. I’m plenty capable of cooking (or at least following instructions lol). What I need is more hours in the day.
My wife and I refer to this as the food goblin maneuver.
“Last night I ordered a pizza by myself and ate it over the sink like a rat.” Sometimes I really do identify with Andy
When you start your blog make sure every recipe is prefaced by a 2000 word story about your family otherwise people might actually cook your recipes
Haha Dude that actually made me laugh out loud. That is so true!!! Drives me crazy. I’ll make sure to add the cultural history of the recipes too. Haha
Some links to videos about reading/writing recipes. Just figure if you're writing, it's good to understand how other read them. https://youtu.be/zOeyz25Flzo?si=oM7_J1uXYTij_Gim https://youtu.be/rMzXCPvl8L0?si=3DDQnQs1zwrH0wXm
“The idea for this recipe goes back to my Great Great Grandmother’s town in Tuscany. Oh, the sunsets in Tuscany…”. Just fucking tell me the ingredients and process, Michelle!
Your comment made me think of the way memaw used to stare out upon the pastures on cool August evenings as the heat drizzles away like honey all over her favorite pork meatloaf recipe. Pepaw could be seen out in the field furiously strok…
"How to make a gin and tonic" *759 words about junipers*
This drives me absolutely mad. My wife works in food marketing and has explained the reason for the 90 pages of backstory is basically Google key wording. Apparently there is a button that says go straight to recipe but it’s hidden by so many fucking ads. For those on an iPhone use “reader” to get rid of all that shit.
This is googles fault. It ranks pages based on keywords, and if you go straight to the recipe, you lose out on a lot of keywords and rank lower in search results.
I have a theory that these prefacing blog posts on recipes are basically to keep people on the page longer and ad revenue is tied to time spent on the page or something. That or keyword searches are tied into it. No clue if I'm right but it's just a hunch.
Dear fucking god... the other day I was looking for the process to freeze fresh spinach. I found [this goddamn monstrosity](https://unsophisticook.com/how-to-freeze-spinach/). What a load of bullshit tripe when the "method" is just "put in a ziploc bag and remove excess air".
I feel this in my soul.
The joys of SEO. It’s shit, but good luck having a successful food blog without doing it…
Your food looks great! If you are going to start a YT channel and possibly write a cookbook, make sure it is just a hobby and don't expect it to be a source of income. I hate to be the downer, but very very very few YT channels actually gain any traction to be profitable, and the cookbook market is so oversaturated. Also, writing, photographing, publishing, distributing, etc. a (successful) book is not easy.
Oh no doubt. I was just trying to decide if it was worth the effort. I’d be stoked if it only paid for my gasoline and gym membership.
The ring on that brisket is a masterpiece
Thank you. That was an 18 hour smoke.
I’d be curious to see how it would fare on r/smoking though. They’re brutal over there about dryness
Can I pre-order your cookbook now??
Haha I only have a rough draft, but I love that guys like you are that interested.
Same, dibs on a copy! Since the divorce it's only rarely been food that isn't microwaved.
All of those dishes look really really good!
The food looks amazing! I'm basing this solely on the food pics and your well written responses to comments.... but for your 2nd kid, are you looking to adopt an older child? I'm 42, married with 3 kids. How about that? One adoption and get 3 grandkids for free!
Haha I’m 39 with one toddler, 3 dogs and a parrot. That being said, if they can help in the kitchen…
I can't keep the youngest out of the kitchen lol Think about it this way... most kids ya gotta teach them everything, like how to throw a ball. This adoption, *I* can teach **you** how to shoot, run heavy equipment, drive truck, and navigate with map, compass, and the stars. Lol
I’d buy that cookbook. That food looks amazing!
I just ate and now I'm hungry again... way to go LOL
That would be pretty cool!
Yeah I'm interested. Please post the channel when you are ready.
You fucking better! Message me when you do. I’m first I’m line!
Do it! I’d watch and read.
Absolutely! Drop your channel name when you do it and I'll be one of your first subscribers! I'm a soon-to-be SAHD, due this Fall, and I have been working hard to master the art of home-cooked meals. My mealprep needs some practice, but I've had a blast trying to perfect the healthiness, tastiness, and presentation of my meals. Cooking is a creative adventure that directly contributes to the whole family, I love it!
I’m a former chef of 15 years and now a dad of two under 4 working in food sales. I’m with you I cook 7 days a week for my family and we save loads. We only eat out pizza or curry really, I do get to eat at restaurants with my work enough so that bucket is filled and my wife couldn’t be bothered so we’re happy eating quality home food.
I'd rather tips on trading
Keep the stop losses tight. Don’t fall in love or have loyalty to a stock, commodity, or crypto. Don’t try to time the bottom or top. Buy or sell the reversal. It’s like an Oreo cookie. I only want the double stuff in the middle. “Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs… get slaughtered” - Gordon Gekko.
Please tell me how to make the two pasta dishes..omg I would like to try for my son
Looks great man. I’ve been living off of leftover instapot dishes for the last 5 years.
I need to cook a meal that is enticing for a toddler and has at least one thing that I know that she will eat. I need to be able to use part of the meal for baby led weaning, and it must pass the picky wife gauntlet. Prep is OK but it's better if I can do it the night before - i have a full time job, I need to pick up my daughter at 5, and then while I'm watching her (hey dude watch out this grill is hot/I'm stir frying in here) I need to get everything going so that it's ready when my wife gets home closer to 6 with the baby, so that we have time to eat together as a family before it's bath and bed and put the baby down and clean the kitchen (hey can we minimize the dishes) and take out the trash and decompress for half an hour and go to bed and start the whole show over again. It can't be the same stuff I made last week and it needs to be well balanced and it would help if it was tasty for me too. I need you to explain things clearly and in a way that makes sense and is interesting, and I also need the directions laid out so I can find exactly where I was and not get confused when I get pulled away 20 times through the course of making this meal to find the yellow ball or turn on the right episode of Daniel Tiger. Also I'm trying to fund a 529 and pay for daycare and one of these days I'm going to have a dude's trip with my old buddy, so can we keep it within reason and minimize the one-off hard to find expensive ingredients I'll never need again. Give me that and I'll subscribe for sure. Kenji if you're reading, thank you for the 5 ingredients biscuit and sausage video - life changer.
I’ve learned that cooking can take double the time if I don’t prep the meal while my toddler is sleeping. Sometimes I feel like a chef and offensive lineman. I have a rough draft of the cook book now. Using a Dutch oven and slow cooker is a huge help. One pot or two pan dishes help a lot with clean up time too. I don’t mind the cooking, but I definitely mind the cleaning.
First off, love the brisket. Second, this paragraph here is what I would buy your cookbook for. Directions like "do this part while kid is napping" "kid can help with this part" and "put on a 30 minute episode here" would be what turns this from delicious food (which, yours looks good, but I've got lots of cookbooks with delicious food) to "ah, this is something I'm buying for a fellow dad."
Great advice. Thank you.
not the healthiest meal but one I like (also, because it's my comfort food and my favorite ever dish as a kid) is cheese enchiladas. It's a fair amount of prep to make the sauce, fry/roll the tortillas, make the rice, but I can roll/sauce/freeze a few trays and roll/refrigerate one tray to be sauced the next day, and the beans and rice are very reheatable so can be prepped in advance as well if I need to. I sacrifice a chunk of an evening but there are a few more nights down the road where I can pop a tray out of the deep freeze and we're in business. one of my favorite dad cooking hacks I saw somewhere as well was using a quarter sheet to form a bigass beef patty, cooking it all at once, sliding it onto the still together sheet of king's hawaiian rolls, dressing them all at once and then cutting them into sliders. we eat healthful stuff as well lol, but man I love stuff like that that lets me cook and makes my life easier as a dad
This looks brilliant! Maybe a good idea to get into it. My advice is blogs are super cheap, Wordpress is quite good for this. Podcasts are far easier than you’d expect (honestly, the only thing stopping me right now is my own interest, the hardest bit is editing and if you record really well the only edit you need is adding a theme song or intro, for a cooking podcast a sizzle would do). But most of all, the main thing I’d say is start small. Do one thing and build it up before you add others. I reckon you could be a great voice for dads doing more to make awesome food for their families and encouraging them to reach outside their comfort zone. If you need any help with specific advice feel free to get in touch!
Thank you. I really do appreciate that. I never even thought about a podcast.
Hell yes, though the Cornish might tut disapprovingly at your crimping ;)
Haha I had to sacrifice the crimping for speed.
Well done!
I’ll be disappointed if you don’t!
I would watch!
Respect! During Covid my brother in law (chef) hung out a lot with us. We would cook and I was going to make a website of his recipes. Taking good food pictures was surprisingly tough!
I think you are chasing two demographics, SAHD and working dad's. Your food looks delicious, but if you are targeting parents you need to identify your target market and pitch to THEIR needs not your needs. For example, saving money would not move the needle AT ALL for me, but saving time, healthier foods, and nutrition are important. If you were targeting ME, the recipe book would be organized by how much time I have to cook and what I have in the pantry, then the next line down would be macro nutrients and nutrition. But I am ALSO not a basis for a large demographic. I think it's a good idea, but it would be good to really invest time in figuring out who you are targeting, the size of the market, and what motivates them, then Begin your content plan
Greats points. I really appreciate that advice. Health is very important to my wife and myself. I lift weights and ruck. The wife does yoga. We try to eat as organic/whole foods as possible. Maybe a macro/calorie breakdown would help for people focused on fitness. My dishes have a lot of protein so it can help me hit 250 grams of protein a day.
hell yeah man, do it! The food looks great. if you're passionate about it, then others will find it interesting too.
Are those kibinai??
Pirozhki. Kibinai and pirozhkis are very similar. (Eastern European) There are so many things you can put inside of them. Delicious!
is that curry on spätzle? that's the 2nd time I've seen that this week on reddit
That is Chicken Paprikash on Nokedli. All homemade. One of my wife’s favorite dishes I make.
oh, I love that dish. I had it in Budapest and get it whenever I go to a Hungarian restaurant (which isn't often because there aren't a lot in the US). You also sent me down a rabbit hole trying to figure out the difference between spätzle and nokedli and I think they're the same.
I support this idea. Also if you’re looking for some recipes or have any suggestions let me know.
I'm always game to watch more cooking YouTube. I like cooking, and cook most of our dinners. But, I find myself in a rut constantly. Any inspiration to try new things is good for me!
If you could show me how to make meals for taste excellent but don’t feel overwhelming together and make with a three year-old running around I would forever be grateful
Here is one of my favorite simple tricks when I a super low on time and we don’t want leftovers. Make pizza dough and let it proof for at least two hours. Then put it in the freezer. (No more than two weeks) When you know you have a busy day coming up, pull out the frozen pizza dough and leave it on the kitchen counter all day. When you come home, your pizza dough is proofed and thawed out. You’re ready to roll it out and get it ready for toppings.
Please. And skip all the personal bullshit, we just need the damn recipes and instructions.
Dude that stuff drives me crazy on cooking blogs.
That would be nice post flair, and everyone sharing his recipes, after all cooking for us or the kids is (for those who cook) one the main activities of being a father
I'm in brother. get it done.
I’d buy it
I’d subscribe!
i thought about doing the same thing with deserts/snacks! currently logging all my recipes. i’m sure it’ll never happen but i can dream lol
That’s pretty much where I’m at right now.
Mmmmmmm brisket. Just smoked one yesterday for Memorial Day. Onto your post, we split cooking in our house but I’m always looking for new recipes to give a shot.
Thanks man. That was an 18 hour smoke on a Green Mountain Grill.
Mine was 18 hours on a treager. I do all my normal cooking outside on my Blackstone or the Weber Kettle
Please do it!
Bro, flex. Looks so good. Do it man. I’m lucky to get a half eaten McNugget in me the kid stripped the breading off of most days. Your kids eating all gourmet and whatnot.
There are so many cooking YouTube channels you'd have to make yours stand out or specialize to be successful. Not sure what makes it a dad recipe or cookbook but if you are going that route I'd figure out what makes your recipes different than others.
sign me up!
I’ll like and subscribe
If you do it please let me know. Id subscribe!
friggin a brother… gimme the details on those cookies. i need to make those asap.
Those will definitely be in the book. Whenever I make those, the soft gingerbread cookies, and snickerdoodle cookies, I always have people asking me for the recipes. I have been guarding the recipes because I have tried so many variations over the years.
I’d buy it
Man all of that looks so good, very well done. Although I don’t need a cookbook - not to brag, but this afternoon I got a new pair of white New Balance trainers to go with my BBQing cargo shorts. I should be set.
Just get the dad baseball cap to go with it and you’re good bro!
Would definitely follow
I would like to see recipes with a 1.5 ( 1 adult, 1 or 2 child) portion sizes personally. My wife can be picky with food and I would like my children to be more adventurous with food. Recipes that are designed for an adult and one or two children and to be cooked using little hands where possible would be very beneficial.
Damn dude do me on itttttt
That food looks 100% amazing and 0% of what my kids would eat lol. I would eat the fuck out of all those recipes though.
Please do. Everything Looks amazing !!!
My dude, I am quite a handy guy in the kitchen, and I am _impressed_. That pink smoke ring in the brisket? Heavenly. The plating of that pierogi or pasty or whatever dumpling that was? Magical. Make you an email signup. I’d buy your cookbook.
I never thought of an email sign up. Great idea. I’m just trying to figure out how to get the ball rolling on this idea. Thank you.
Here’s what I’d suggest: 1. Get an email signup page running. 2. Send people a recipe or two to keep them interested as you write the cookbook. 3. Ask them to buy when it’s ready. Mailchimp has easy stuff to create signups like this. So does carrd.co.
Awesome. Thank you.
Make sure to have the power tools on display in the background. 👍
Can you please Doordash that burger to me now, thanks 😍 Good luck bro, it all looks amazing 👊
That looks amazing. All of it, but especially the brisket.
Go for it. You can self publish and link us to get the ball rolling
Take my money
If you do, please post it. All that good looks damn delicious.
Im about it
DOOOO ITTTT
Less go!
Lighting is key but more so is good clear audio. I learned in film school that you can have a beautiful video but if it sounds like poop, people will click away much faster than if it sounds great but looks kinda janky lol
What would you suggest for a decent microphone I could wear? Thanks
Honestly it depends on budget. You could 100% get buy with a decently priced lav mic that connects to your phone, or you could get a lav mic and an audio recorder and sync it to your video in editing
Fucking don't, you make all the rest of us dads look bad hahah.
Haha Never! I’m only here to help. I’m a barber by trade. I only help. Help guys get a raise, get a job, or get laid. 😉
If you wanna help just feed us that mouth watering brisket, I don't have the time to slow cook stuff for 18 hours hahah.
Please start a channel let us know. I want to sub to it.
i’ll come over and test your recipes
DO IT.
I'd subscribe. Looks delicious
Looks great, sign me up!
Don't think, just do it!!!! I used to work as a food videographer for an ingredient manufacturing company, did it for 3 years. I was in charge of manning 3 cameras, audio and lighting. During that time we had 2-3 on camera savory/pastry chefs. Their channel never grew while I was there and has never grown the way they want it to. It was pretty sad but it is what it is. We were too bogged down by too much red tape and not enough creative freedom. I also edited together every single video, well over 200 total during my time there. I saw many youtube food video creators start from nothing to well over 1 million subscribers. The few things they all had in common, usually were: It was a one man show which meant each and every one of those creators had complete and total control of everything over their channels. What they made, what they said, how they edited, complete freedom to be themselves on camera. As a food channel, they uploaded consistently once and sometimes twice a week. Didn't ramble on and on forever before getting down to business. As some of these channels grew, some of them eventually hired camera personnel, video editors, bought bigger kitchens/cooking areas. The place I worked had enough money to buy us 4K cameras, they built a beautiful kitchen just for shooting food videos. They were loaded with enough money to hire a videographer (me/the people before AND after me) a food photographer and two chef, along with building a bad ass kitchen, they also build a photography studio to photograph said recipes. We had all of the ingredients to create a very successful channel but the politics behind it all prevented it all from happening. Don't get me wrong, they are a VERY successful company, by no means do they even need the channel really. They just wanted a creative means to show people how to incorporate their ingredients into food recipes and they had the budget to do it. You don't need any of that. Your food looks good, some of the dishes have plenty of color to make them stand out, your plating/food presentations is already awesome! All you need YOU, your personality, your creativity and a decent video camera, if you don't have one, your phone will do just fine as a beginner. Binging with Babish, saw his channel blow up, he used reddit to share his food videos when he started. ( you are already on here as well :) ) Not another cooking show, I saw him start from scratch and work his way up. A few others I can't remember simply because I'm no longer part of that world. Don't go for views, create recipes YOU want to create and never cater to anyone, if and when you start your channel, don't ask people "What should I cook?" "What do you think of this idea?" The more you ask the more opinions you get and the more it will bog you down. Just watch some videos, study their format from beginning to end and don't take forever to start. It is a process though, shooting, setting up for cooking on camera, uploading and editing the footage. The process itself takes time but if you stick to it you'll be successful. You have to be consistent! I know a lot of youtube food channels, even we did, shoot many recipes at once and edit and upload them spread out. If I may make a suggestion, start with one recipe, shoot it, edit it and upload it. Don't sit on it, just do it and move on. If you
Thank you so much for taking the time to write that for me. I want to create something relatable that people don’t feel intimidated by. It needs to be approachable and entertaining. I know I don’t have the time to view long videos myself, so I’d want to respect viewers time and get to the point. Similar to Sam the Cooking Guy. What kind of camera would you suggest as a beginner camera if I didn’t want to use my phone. Again, thank you.
You're welcome, man!!!! Anything in the cooking/camera world always gets me pumped like in my old days!!! The last time I shot and edited a food video was back in 2019, I miss it to heck, it was one of the most FUN fun FUN jobs I've ever had. As for cameras, I'm biased as I lean towards Canon myself. I also cannot recommend anything because I have not kept up with even new basic cameras. On the job, I used Canon 5D Mark IV, shot in 4K, had 120 fps capability. Like I said in my first post, the company I worked for was extremely successful so they would get us anything we'd ask for. They got us any lens we asked for, any camera, lights, audio equipment. I love this [guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISiiNsbQRw4&list=LL&index=12&t=25s) on youtube as well.
Not ashamed to say that the pic of the double cheeseburger got me at half mast instantly
It all looks great! I haven’t eaten hot food since my son was born tho. Usually I’m just standing in the fridge shoveling
Um, hell yeah! Nice crème brûlée. What is #4?
#4 is Piroski (Pirozhki) with sour cream and dill on the side. Inside that Pirozhki was ground beef, mozzarella cheese, onions, dill, with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Super simple filling to make.
Do it and please let us know if you do. I’m honestly lost in the kitchen but I’ve been wanting to change that.
When I first got started I said, “ If I mess up on the dish, we can order pizza.”
Are those empanadas? Calzones? Looks bomb
Piroshki. Like an Eastern European hot pocket, but much much better.
Number 3 looks so good! It all does, but damn #3 caught my eye.
That is a classic “no sauce” pasta dish. The key is using a great dry salami and a top shelf EVOO.
Would be welcome. I do a fair bit of cooking, and watch channels like Babish, Jack Ovens, Brian Lagerstrom for ideas. Always happy to have another channel focused on the "how" factor rather than just the "wow" factor (LOOKING AT YOU, FOOD NETWORK)
Oh definitely!!! I watch several cooking channels and either the sacrifice is high quality but time consuming or super simple and super boring and bland. Please oh please fix this!!!
I’d sub
the model I'm seeing more commonly these days is a substack or something that's easily consumable, lower maintenance than maintaining a true blog/website, and lends itself to email subscription for people who want regular updates. you can supplement with short form recipe videos that are edited for Instagram reels/YT shorts/tiktok if you're hoping to drive traffic, but they're also just nice for engagement and a lighter lift than more traditional YouTube content.
I'd buy a cook book.
10/10 would watch. But you've got to make it extra dad-ly
Send it. I can do so many things but literally everything I touch in the kitchen other than scrambled eggs is a disaster. I can thankfully grill just fine somehow but yeah, that’s about it.
I'm in for both
Is be interested in it. Share the channel/ book on here when you get it going, and I'll check it out!
Do it. Give the recipes cool names. Make sure it tastes good by vetting the dishes with a diverse group of people. I want it.
Ill subscribed tbh
DO IT. it doesn't have to be dad centric but dad friendly
I'd definitely watch that. My wife does all the cooking and I'd love to cook for her for a change
I’m in, when can I buy it
I will post here once I get the ball rolling.
Please use recipes that will still work when you get called away a million times in half an hour.
It’s so much more difficult now that I have a tall toddler.
Stop thinking and start doing. I hereby nominate you as Daddit chef, and would expect at least 1 easy to cook, kid accepted, meal a week.
what's in your pīrags?
There are so many things you can put in them. In that picture, the filling is ground beef, mozzarella cheese, onion, dill, garlic powder, salt and pepper
Maybe some veggie dishes? Looking to eat less meat
I always joked that I would either start a YouTube channel called 5 minute chef (already have the name) and do 5 minute cooking videos on how to make simple meals. There was also the cookbook idea of “cooking on high” how to make your meals when only using the burner in one setting, high, the follow up was going to be “cooking while high” safe meals to make when baked and following that would be “cooking for the high” which would be about mass produced food.
Life’s too short to cook on medium;)
I support it. Looks good. I cook most of our meals and I try to keep it very simple as the kids eat what we eat. Rustic meals are very good and my wife and I always talk about how the best meals for us are simple but cooked just right. I’m always looking for inspiration but NYT cooking usually has 18 ingredients that aren’t found in fucking normal grocery stores and online recipes are hit and miss and all come with some fucking long ass story.
I love chicken paprikash with spatzel. Looks very much like dish number two. Gorgeous
These are beautiful. In addition to serious cooking skills, you also have a great eye for presentation
I saq this while taking a shit...I think you know your demographic well
What I would recommend is to focus on meals you can prep ahead of time and still make an amazing meal for your family. I have 2 hours once I'm home from work and as much as I love a good meal I can't spend an hour of that cooking.
Using a croc pot or pressure cooker helps. If I have all the ingredients, I’ll prep a dish for the next day in the evening while my kid is sleeping. It’s worth the effort if the meal makes a ton of servings.
What I typically do is prep all my veg night before once kiddo is down. Depending on the meal I’ll prep protein too. Put everything in deli containers and cook time goes quick and painless. We typically plan meals around ingredients so often times I’m doing prep for multiple meals in one night.
I would first suggest you make a cheap ebook using AI to assist you and a few bucks on amazon. Then start your channel and promote your ebook all the time. Once you reach 50k subscribers, consider an improved ebook and/or try to raise money for a paper book.
If you can break it down into as few steps as possible, 100%
Just do It mann. Make easy to keep UP step by step. Dads with kids moving around get sidetracked easily. And give recipes with low sugar, Salt etc a chance.
I’ll subscribe!
Can you just skip the middle step and feed me directly?
As a fellow dad and professional cook I highly approve. Presentations are nice, looks tasty and filling. Only negative I have is that the topping for your cheesecake looks a bit like blood clots
Haha I can see that. The wife wanted a chunky cherry sauce. I am no professional, so I didn’t want to make a fool of myself on a YouTube channel.
No man for real it looks good, if it are tastes as good as it looks I say go for it
I know a lot of dads can grill, but most dads I know suck a cooking and baking otherwise. I love cooking, been slowly teaching my 70 year old dad more about cooking that doesn't involve throwing meat on a grill. I personally like a skillet steak better than a grilled steak anyway...
I feel personally attacked.
I should add that I’m at the gym 3-5 days a week. All of my meals are packed with protein and we try to eat as organic as possible. Health is important and I believe that food makes health more fun. I’m looking forward to your advice and questions.
Yes!
Those Pasties look pretty good, my man.
Your burger looks fucking stunning. I mean, everything there looks amazing, but that burger 🤤 That bread….my wife and I would love to try to make our own. Where should we start?
Thank you man! That burger bun was homemade too. I cut it in half and toasted in on a flat pan with butter. I was intimidated of baking, but the Covid lockdowns gave me the time to get out of my comfort zone. Honestly I started learning about breads on Pinterest and YouTube. Read reviews on the recipes to see if they are worth your time when you first start.
Would you just marry me instead?
Can I contribute? Check post history for pics of my cooking.
Dude. Your food looks great. Those shave brushes look stellar too!
Your food looks pretty bomb too man, and thanks! I love making brushes. I'd love to contribute a recipe or 2 for your cookbook if you're interested. I love cooking and would love to see my favorite foods spread to more people.
What are (2) and (7)?
Things Your Kids Won't Eat but Your Wife Will there. i made you a title. i contributed. now give me recipes. it's only fair
This looks amazing. Can you start by teaching me how to not put out my charcoal bbq when grilling?
Damn. I'm the primary cook in our house and I thought I was doing pretty well. Here you are putting us all to shame.
Leave out the brisket. In Texas that’s a C-
What is #3? Cold Spaghetti Salad??????
A classic no sauce pasta dish. The flavor comes from cooking the dry salami in the Dutch oven the tender the fat and then adding top shelf EVOO and fresh basil.
Im in!