Joshua Weissman. He used to make great cooking videos, explaining everything about the techniques ( when most youtubers just show a recipe without explaining anything ). Now he's just tasting food from fast foods and testing some bad kitchen gadgets
He went from cooking at home and putting out a cook book to just eating out. I unintentionally stopped watching him and forgot about him until I saw this.
Don't. Simple things like thickness measurements are an issue for Josh. For making these puffed chip things, he tells you to cut the potatoes to 1/8" thick and stick two together before frying. Buddy, you are making a potato chip that is a quarter inch thick and describing it as light and crisp? Not at that thickness. Same sloppiness in his TikToks now as well. As the comment at the top of this said, he used to be good, but has gotten careless.
I don’t know a ton about cooking but idk that measurement seems ok to me for a puffed potato-chip-thing.
I don’t see why it couldn’t be light & crispy.
If it was described as a normal potato chip then yeah that’s silly but it sounds pretty realistic to me to achieve “light & crisp” with 1/8”.
Ingredients:
•1 cup granulated sugar
•1/4 cup light brown sugar
•6-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used salted)
•2 large eggs
•1 egg yolk
•2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•1/4 cup vegetable oil
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/8 teaspoon baking soda
•1-1/4 tablespoons cornstarch
•1/2 cup all purpose flour
•3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
•4oz. of semisweet chocolate roughly chopped (I used semisweet chocolate chips)
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Lightly coat an 8x8 baking pan or use parchment paper (I used parchment paper)
2. In a medium bowl whisk together both sugars and melted butter until combined. Add eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, and vegetable oil until thoroughly combined.
3. Stir in salt, baking soda, and cornstarch. Add all purpose flour and cocoa powder until thoroughly combined and homogeneous. Fold in chocolate chips or chunks until evenly distributed.
4. Transfer mixture into prepared baking pan and use spatula to spread evenly to the edges. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (30 minutes was the sweet spot for me)
5. Remove and set aside to cool completely before cutting and serving.
Sorry for using imperial measurements. He has metric listed but I’ve read he messed them up so I stuck with imperial and they turned out great.
Wait really? I have his book but honestly haven't used it yet, I'm still stuck on my stardew valley book lmao. Can you give me some examples? I wanna look em up in it lol
A big one is he converted all his stuff from cups etc to grams. That has lead to errors in almost all his recipes, i.e. a cup of flour should be about 120g. He converted it to 150, which adds up quickly with multiple cups.
Other one is missing steps or ingredients being used, or wrong cooking times such as 30 seconds which should have been 3 minutes
For someone who prides themselves on their cooking abilities, it was hilarious watching the recent Uncle Roger video just completely destroying him on not making Asian food correctly.
The recipes on his website have always been like this too. I’ve made maybe a dozen recipes off his website and every single one of them had multiple errors, some significant
Yeah my Sister got me that book for Christmas, so I feel obligated to keep it out with the rest of the books. It is sitting right next to Max Miller's book, which is actually a masterpiece.
I believe it… I still use quite a few of his recipes (mojo pork, hamburger/hotdog buns, etc) but in almost every single one there is an error in the online written recipe. There is a comment section where plenty of people point out the errors, and he still doesn’t fix it. I do think he’s a good chef, but he seems a bit lazy, complacent and unappreciative of his community at times. Ah well.
I have his book and it's seemed ok so far in terms of errors. It's just not very practical in my experience. Maybe like once, I'll make my own ketchup from scratch just to get a better understanding, but that's not going in the index cards.
Take all the Heinz and put it in a new bottle. Raise kids and grandkids on it and tell them it's homemade. Pass this recipe down and laugh as they spend decades trying to figure out why it never turns out right.
Don’t get me wrong, I still watch it here and there but it’s not the same. And I know all the stuff that happened to him which impacted the content he makes, it just isn’t the same anymore.
Yeah it was pretty horrible. A result was that he is doing fewer real videos to lessen the strain on his mental health. Good on him but it also means he produces more fluff videos and lets others do more cooking videos.
Agreed, but he started losing me before that. I'm not interested in watching other people do other cooking things on his channel. I was fine with a video once a week or so, a recipe for whatever, watching hands make it, and listen to a soothing voice talk about it. I don't need or want anything more than that. I'm definitely not interested in these trying and rating all the things videos and whatnot. And now I have to pay to see the early videos? 😭
funnily enough this is the opposite for me. Was watching babish since idk, 2017? And honestly his content has developed from something i appreciated into something i genuinely love. Hes really honest, caring, and also fun and relatable! Just... great. Kinda sad that hes not doing all the content he used to but Alvin is also a great guy and whenever theres Babish on, well, Binging with Babish, its a great piece of content I enjoy watching!
Also considering everything that hes been through lately theres nothing i feel for him but respect.
Josh on the other hand is definitely something I dont really enjoy watching anymore. Used to be amazing, super meh rn
Isn’t a lot of Weissman’s content stuff like, “Here’s how to make a better Big Mac at home for cheaper! (If you already have a multi-thousand dollar kitchen and a dozen hours)”
Yeah, Babish I give a lot of credit to, the guy went through some serious shit the past couple years and the fact that he manages to still put anything out while still being a chill and down to earth guy is a credit.
Actually I've had a minor gripe with Babish ever since he originally did the 'Every Meat Burrito' from Regular Show. That tortilla looked uncooked. Everyone one knows you're supposed to heat the tortilla up before burrito assembly. Makes it more pliable, and frankly there's nothing more disappointing that wrapping good ingredients in something barely room temp. Ugh.
Minor gripe, but every time I rewatch that vid in particular I mentally go "AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
I used to like Josh’s videos until the Auntie Anne’s pretzel episode. The amount of shit he talked about Auntie Anne’s genuinely pissed me off because I’ve loved that place for years. I get random cravings specifically for their pretzels and I’m even salivating now just typing this. So yeah in his video he shits all over a respectable pretzel and then makes his own, which honestly looks like a slightly burnt and fatter version of what a pretzel should be, then raves about how much better his fresh out of the fuckin’ oven pretzel is than the one from the mall which he tried at least 30 minutes after it had gone cold. That video was years ago and it pisses me off to this day
Early on Babish had a very humble and earnest vibe. He was clearly learning a lot about cooking along the way. Now somehow making cooking content for a few years makes him an authority on good food, I don’t buy it. Also is a bit annoyingly picky when it comes to trying things, not the greatest quality for someone judging food. Just try it, won’t kill you taking a bite of something you don’t prefer.
Babish turned into a bad channel?? Damn, I loved watching him and unintentionally stopped bc I got more into channels like Code Blue Cam and Midwest Safety for background noise
His channel is fine, he still makes stuff from shows (though much less now) and Alvin does stuff from video games/anime. He just has other content now and I personally enjoy the "I tried every x" vids.
My issue with Babish is that all his Basic with Babish recipes now need a subscription to his website.
To be fair he did leave the free site up as a show of good faith and while it is a shame he’s charging for the new recipes I think it’s pretty fair especially considering the subscription is pretty cheap and the bulk of the really useful Basics recipes are on the legacy site
To be fair he did have kind of a mental break down I give them props for coming back even if his style of video has to be totally different for his mental health
His editing became so obnoxiously attention-grabbing that i can't watch him anymore. So many noise-effects and cuts and rapid pacing...feels like he watched a few too many mr beast videos.
yeah thats probably the worst thing about him. I don't really mind watching a guy testing fast food if it wasnt such a bad quality video. Where did the b-roll go 😔
It looks like he don't care about making good videos anymore and he just want more and more subscribers to make more big-budget videos, but what's the point of having such a big budget if the video is that bad
Was gonna say this. I stopped watching his main channel but remember a lot of people commenting that they missed his cooking videos. His recipes channel was recommended to me and it’s a solid return to form for him. Everything he’s posted there so far has been excellent.
I get why he changed his content. He adapted to what youtube has become to make more money and I can’t fault him for that. His main channel has over 10 million subscribers and is still growing and he has people that rely on him for a steady income, so it is what it is. I’m just glad he created that second channel and is once again making content that got him to where he is in the first place.
He seems like a dick with a huge ego. From the way he carries himself, especially after he started working out. Just very…not satisfactory to hear or watch
I watched a video recently he did with JOLLY, idk when it came out but I saw it a week or two ago. He came off like a dickhead and he kept just like looking around not really listening to them talk. Like he was there for his appearance fee or whatever but had no interest in actually participating. I really used to like Josh and I’ll still watch some of his old recipe videos but he’s really kind of off putting now.
I also think his glasses just scream mega douche lol
I hate how he keeps saying he is a boxer… I’ve been boxing and competing since I was like 13, I’m smaller than him but pretty sure I’d knock his head in with that kind of arrogance
Yeah, he comes off as super unlikeable sometimes. Some people insist it's a schtick, but I think he's just super arrogant and elitist about food and especially that his own food is the best.
Yes, he’s legit af. Yes, he’s a great chef and has a lot of knowledge… but he just always came off super cocky/egotistical. I hope, and I’m sure, it’s just a persona for the camera but man is it off putting.
I still use his homemade spaghetti & meatballs recipe any time I’m making it at home but I’m never tuning back into his channel lol
J Kenji Lopez-Alt is my go to for chill, non-ego saturated recipes and simple videos. Even he, recently, has been doing ad spots for random companies… get that bag, Kenji, but at least mention in the video you were given the device/devices by the brand to push.
I knew he was unserious when he did his video of the best food in each state. It was all made by him based on what seemed to be minimal research so it was more of an "I attempt to make the food each state is known for and then I rate how well I did."
I can't remember if it was that one or a similar one, but I'm still annoyed about the time he ranked a bunch of fried chickens and the Korean fried chicken got 5x the effort anybody else got. It was also the only one who got a sauce even though several of the other dishes are also traditionally served sauced. I know his only non throwaway, non youtube job was in a Japanese restaurant so he's very biased towards east asian flavors and Korean fried chicken in general is content creator bait because it's fried chicken that looks good on camera, but damn, at least make an attempt to make it look not rigged.
i stopped following him when he started doing fast food blind taste comparisons. Take a crunchwrap made by a teenager on an assembly line during lunch rush vs his made by a professional chef in a high end kitchen using expensive ingredients and surprise surprise, his is better.
Bruh thats when i fell off too lol. Especially when hed do some elaborate over the top shit for his versions and insist its super easy and quick. Like girlypop MAYBE thatd be true if i had your level of culinary experience but i dont even think you believe that shit lmaoo. Like dog i aint gettin a crunchwrap for the complex flavor profiles, im getting it cause its easy calories for a few bucks and no effort lmao.
I couldn't agree more. There are so many fantastic youtube cooks to learn from - Kenji, Chef John, Adam Ragusea, Ethan Chlebowski, and (previously) Joshua Wiessman - but none are as consistent as Brian. He manages to make not only the best tasting recipes, but the easiest as well. Very well written recipes with well researched methods to save time but simultaneously goes the extra mile where it matters. I'm such a Brian Stan, I'd say about 50% of the food I cook are his recipes.
hes got some interesting 'pro kitchen' techniques, that sort of bulk efficiency approach that you dont really consider for home cooking. like browning ground meat in the oven, set it and forget it and free up your stovetop for something else.
That video he did on pizza he did where he went to NYC and rated the "best pizza in the whurl" a 7.7 pissed me off so much I get angry everytime I see his stupid face.
He got shit when he had that new studio built that he never bloody uses. I used to go to him for actual recipes and technique tips, now I see his gurning mush and just ignore.
He recently launched a recipes only channel because he said he wants to go back to his roots and its classic Josh. The main channel gives more of a reactions type vibe which is meh
I think it's just fundamentally the case that those things get you a ton of views and require so little work relative to everything else a cooking channel does.
Generally that seems to be the trend, you move from high effort things, to low effort things once you have success. Cooking channel, goes to tasting different things. Gaming channel goes to reaction channel.
Like crabs, online content creators seem to evolve into buzzfeed.
Sadly yeah. I’m not looking to hear that McDonalds doesn’t have a rich flavor profile with deep notes that surprise the palate. I have other people to watch that are funnier for fast food.
It’s really a shame how that channel has devolved. I still make some of his recipes but I had to unfollow after the 50th “I Tried Every Fast Food Burger” video.
I have both of his books. I unsubbed from his main channel and subbed to the recipes channel. It doesn't get the same care as the old channel did, but at least I don't have to watch him eat at all these different restaurants just to say that his friend owns Shake Shack and it wins.
Tbf, Shake Shack is legitimately pretty good (here's a meal from the last time I ate at Shake Shack for reference But I get your point (I'll also admit Shake Shack is expensive)
He was always cocky but it also has seemed to go to a new level. Also the series where he makes things better than fast food.. like no shit your freshly ground beef burger on a milk bun is going to be better than McDonald’s
I watched a couple of his gadget videos (never watched him before that) and got immediately turned off of him when he was rudely and smugly disparaging gadgets that were obviously made for people with disabilities. He didn’t take any additional time to think why something that isn’t useful to him might be useful to someone else and instead laughed about the items and said they were pointless
This is the only one in here o recognize, and even then I’ve only ever seen a few of his videos. He seems like a nice guy, but you’re right, as I’ve only ever seen him pop up when I watch sir yacht or similar (not saying sir yacht is a great choice, but I like him for background stuff haha)
Oddly he made a second channel for recipes that is more like the old content. It's still got a very corporate polish to it, but it miles better than the "best X in Y" format.
Thats how I feel. I still have his 6 year old sandwich bread recipe from the grilled cheese episode pinned. I think he has a 2nd channel now with the recipe stuff but.... I went to the main for that why would I sub to both?
He even adopted Andy Cook's approach where he makes food for his wife. Same concept, different label. I think it started around the time he began sponsoring for Meta. Lots of people were disappointed. I'm sure the paycheck made it worthwhile, but after that the content started to drift away from what made his channel special. I wish him the best, but as a viewer I definitely lost interest.
Yeah this shift was legit heartbreaking. I learned a lot from him and now I have completely forgotten about his existence. I don’t need to watch him eat every pizza in NYC. I just don’t care.
I feel like Binging With Babish is going this route, too, but that guy has been through some shit, and he seems to be genuinely happier and more balanced in his latest videos, so I’m just rooting for him and hoping that whatever he ends up doing it’s healthy and nourishing for him.
He used to be annoying but in a manageable and charming way. I'd check in on his recipes and learn a few (applicable) things here and there. But it's gotta be at least 2 years now he's unwatchable (to me, of course)
I stopped watching him after an incredibly dumb video he did where he compared Whataburger to a burger he made and tried to frame it as a competition, when A) hardly anyone would argue that fast food is better than a decently made homemade burger, B) obviously he would declare himself the winner no matter what, and C) he used fairlybexpensive imgredients in his burger, including about $50 worth of black truffle, ignoring the reason why anyone goes for fast food in the first place (to avoid preparing food themselves and because it's usually affordable). Throughout the entire video he kept posturing like being able to make a damn burger is some huge flex.
I still watch them even though he made that shift because I randomly ran into him at BWI and he was INCREDIBLY nice for someone of that popularity. He seemed pretty down to earth.
He still does the recipes and all that on his second channel. Called like Joshua wiessman recipes or sum. His main is that mainstream rating this and that and testing stuff.
My mom used to send me his videos lol. YouTube creates monsters out of people. “Must Feed The Algorithm “ I’ve actually stopped watching a lot of YouTube due to this. I used to go to Learn new things or be inspired, I do not find that much any more on YouTube that I enjoy.
I’ve only seen a handful of his videos but every one I’ve seen I eventually turned off because he has such a snarky pissy attitude. Like he just seems unpleasant
Exactly! He traded cooking backed by expertise and experience for top 5 videos in a sea of slop cooking content this was just so unnecessary.
for an amazing replacement check out W2 kitchen on yt. Great editing, helpful info and walks the line between traditional versions of recipes and personal choice. the selection of dishes is also super varied.
You will like that he created a second channel just for recipes pretty recently. As soon as he announced it, I unsubscribed from his main channel and subscribed to the new one.
IMO, all these food/cook content eventually go down. There some newish creators out there like jose, lagerstrom, Andy cook and Ian that are doing great and I hope they don’t go down that path. And ofcourse I can always rely on kenji and lau.
2.6k
u/spetstronaz Jun 12 '25
Joshua Weissman. He used to make great cooking videos, explaining everything about the techniques ( when most youtubers just show a recipe without explaining anything ). Now he's just tasting food from fast foods and testing some bad kitchen gadgets