When people are stressed, they often talk about the many methods they find useful in eliminating their stress. De-stressing methods range from meditation, yoga, reading, walking, petting dogs, or just about any calming activity. My method of de-stressing lies in the Bon Appétit test kitchen, where professional pastry chef Claire Saffitz recreates popular snack foods, sometimes unsuccessfully, through a lot of pain and suffering.
Now you might wonder how watching someone struggle and labor over recreating highly processed unhealthy snacks could help anyone de-stress or be calm. The fact is I don’t have an answer, BUT this mystery has helped me through many moments of deep frustration and sadness.
Since its debut in 2017 on the Bon Appétit Youtube channel, Gourmet Makes has garnered a huge online following. The web series shows Saffitz in her attempt to recreate some of the most iconic junk foods through reverse engineering. Whether it be Twinkies, Snickers, Hot Pockets or Doritos, the series has tested Saffitz skill as a pastry chef and most notably her mental health. With over 37 episodes under her belt of the series, Saffitz has become a beloved character of what has been dubbed the Bon Appétit Cinematic Universe.
One of the defining aspects of the series is watching Saffitz struggle, succeed, fail, and struggle some more in making these snacks. Not every episode is a success, and her frustration is palpable, but it is part of what makes Gourmet Makes so enjoyable.
There have been many times where I have felt deep frustration, whether it be in my school life or personal life. I can’t seem to find the perfect remedy to getting rid of it. But in watching Gourmet Makes, I have found some reprieve from the stress of my own life. I think my enjoyment stems from the simple fact that watching Claire work and stress over how to make a Ferrero Rocher (one of the best episodes FYI), allows me to detach myself from whatever might be plaguing my brain.
Following the series since its inception, I get excited whenever I receive a notification that a new video has been uploaded. I can sit back and turn off my brain for about 30 minutes and worry about Claire’s struggles for the time being.
I am certainly not a psychologist, and my ability to de-stress with these videos could simply be explained by schadenfreude, but quite frankly I don’t need a professional explanation. All you and I need to know is that Gourmet Makes is one of my favorite forms of escapism and one of the many ways one can de-stress from our reality.