The rise of bad cooking influencers: why does bad cooking disgust but simultaneously appeal?

When a cooking TikTok goes viral, you probably expect it to be a delicious and beautiful dish, not painfully horrid. Yet, TikTokers such as @myjanebrain, have discovered that by cooking in ludicrous ways, such as microwaving a steak or creating nauseating food combinations, they can get just as many views. Even if people are aware these videos are often satire, why do they gain so much attention?

Curiosity entices people. What happens when you deep fry a frozen paella? As we would predict, the outcome is horrendous, yet we persist in watching to see how it turns out. Much like the appeal of true crime shows where we know we are about to hear grisly details, this morbid curiosity entices us in the same way to watch people utterly ruin well-loved recipes. We like to push the limits of horror and enjoy the sheer shock that comes with it. In particular, the fear that the bad TikTok chefs sometimes eat their rancid dishes often makes us feel sick. It is a type of grotesque horror that disgusts but simultaneously entices us to keep watching.

Bad cooking also invokes a certain type of anger that can be enjoyable and almost cathartic. The viewers, especially foodies, cannot bear to see ingredients become mistreated and are quick to voice their frustration in the comments. In an interview with Emma Beddington, Eli Betchik of @elis_kitchen believes that “sometimes people get happy when they’re upset in the right way”. It makes social media users unite in anger and protest against intentionally dreadful cooking skills and wasted food. Perhaps there is also a comfort in seeing other people agree with and validate your feelings of disgust and anger, which these videos are designed to provoke. Whilst criticism on social media is typically distressing for content creators, these bad cooking videos feed off criticism. Thus, criticism is encouraged by their creators and fuels more content.

I believe there is entertainment value in seeing how shockingly foul these TikTokers’ cooking is, and the resulting comments

This anger and criticism can often be comedic. Often, people watch cooking shows for the harsh but funny reactions of judges. For example, in Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsey shouts insults like “My gran could do better! And she’s dead!”. Similarly, we may look in the comments section for the entertaining criticism people have left about the cooking videos. Many TikTok users comment that they will call the police to report a food crime or call notorious food critics Uncle Roger or Ramsey. Ramsey has even made a TikTok reacting to @joshandmomma’s cooking. His description of Momma’s bananas wrapped in ham and mustard and then baked with hollandaise sauce as “fifty-shades of banana” can add further entertainment value. This highlights how bad-chef TikTokers are often successful at gaining views by prompting such comedic comments.

Even though we are disgusted by these videos, we can’t stop watching them because of our morbid curiosity, shock, and entertainment

I believe there is entertainment value in seeing how shockingly foul these TikTokers cook and its resulting comments. Although the satire is clear to me, it does not alleviate the absurdity of the food combinations, despite the impressive creativity used in their cooking. However, being half-Chinese, it was particularly heartbreaking to see @cookingkatee deep-fry a frozen “traditional homemade Chinese Chow Mein”. Seeing such a beloved dish be so mistreated unleashed in me an Uncle Roger-level type of rage. Similar to other social media users, these videos completely horrify me, yet I am still curious to watch them.

What concerns me is the food wasted for the sake of a TikTok video. This disgusts me more than the bad cooking itself. Although TikTokers like @elis_kitchen claim to use expired foods, if this trend becomes more popular, there is no guarantee that the same ethics will be followed. For example, viral videos of pranks involving food are often incredibly wasteful. This demonstrates how videos can go viral for the wrong reasons and that people are willing to discard any ethics about food waste to gain popularity.

Overall, bad cooking videos, if created ethically, are fairly harmless. They are satirical and are fuelled by people’s angry criticism. Even though we are disgusted by these videos, we can’t stop watching them because of our morbid curiosity, shock, and entertainment.