In this new age of television and media, there are many breakout tv shows and social media superstars. Binging with Babish is a Youtube channel that combines both of those things, recreating foods from popular TV shows and movies like The Office, Friends, Harry Potter, and Matilda.

Binging with Babish was created by Andrew Rea, a New York based cook, as a way to showcase his cinematography skills while doing what he loves: cooking. No, his name is not really Babish, it’s taken from a character from the TV show The West Wing. Having learned how to cook from his mom, he uses the channel as a way to better his skills. As someone who admires cinematography, and enjoys both cooking and pop culture references, I was intrigued by his channel.

When recreating recipes, Rea tries to follow as closely as possible to the way it was portrayed on the screen, like the Matilda chocolate cake, which calls for blood, sweat, and tears. Recipes that are too simple or simply horrible are still shown on the channel, but Rea also presents a modified recipe that is more edible, like the Milksteak from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, which is just as it sounds: a steak cooked in milk. Since his start in early 2017, he has gained almost 2 million subscribers and has recieved millions of views.

Throughout the show, Rea presents the recipes through his astounding dry humor and catchy background music. He never shows his face but instead focuses on the food. In fact, the camera never moves, and if he needs to show something being cooked, he will just use an induction cooktop. It provides for a very simple presentation of the recipe without a million things going on all at once. One thing that drew me to his channel was the intricacy of the recipes. He can turn something like Eleven’s waffle stack from Stranger Things into a five star dish.

Perhaps my favorite part of Rea’s videos is just how relaxing they are to watch. The beautiful cinematography and amazing recipes together make for a great experience. Among his most popular videos include The Krabby Patty from Spongebob, the Fifteen Flavor Taco from Taco Town, and The Szechuan Sauce from Rick and Morty. However, my favorite video of his is the New York Style Pizza episode, one of his simpler videos, but one that I always come back to. The recipe is one of his more tame ones and features one of my favorite foods: pizza. To be completely honest, the majority of the time that I go to watch his videos is because I’m hungry.

Part of Rea’s fame came through the endorsement of his followers who support him through Reddit and other social media platforms. In his newfound fame, Rea has started a new series on his channel called Basics with Babish in which he teaches basic cooking skills like cooking chicken breasts and grilling up the perfect steak. This spin-off show provides good insight to those looking to learn how to cook and shows proper techniques.

Overall, I believe that Binging with Babish is a channel that everyone can find a common interest in, whether it be cinematography, cooking, or pop culture. Rea’s convergence of cinema and social media is something like no other, and definitely worth checking out on YouTube.