I remember sitting in the kitchen as a kid watching TV with my mom. She’d put on HGTV or Food Network, and I’d stew internally, wondering why we couldn’t put on something more interesting, like Disney Channel or Nickelodeon. Fast forward a decade or so, and home and food contents are basically all I watch. I blame the Bon Appetit test kitchen (pre-June 2020, of course) for sparking this interest. Since then, I’ve binge-watched an impressive amount of Top Chef, spent a concerning amount of time browsing houses on Zillow that I’ll never be able to afford, and tried new recipes as I expand my knowledge of cooking. I find home and food content to be comforting and personal, and I think this genre has the perfect amount of coziness to be the ideal winter break go-to. YouTube is one of the main ways I find videos like this, so here are a few of my favorites to watch when I’m bundled up and winding down from the day.
- TheSorryGirls
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Kelsey and Becky are two women from Toronto, Canada that upload renovation and decor DIY videos. I love their content because they break their overarching projects into multiple videos, but within those, each time a different DIY is completed, so you still get the satisfaction of seeing a finished product even if they don’t renovate a whole house in one video. They’ve designed their studio on their channel, and in my favorite of their series, Making Home, Kelsey buys a house and documents the renovation process.
- Food52
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The Food52 channel has a variety of lovely hosts that you should absolutely watch. One of my favorites is Erin McDowell, author of The Book on Pie and The Fearless Baker. Scratch Magazine describes her as “the baking version of a fairy godmother,” and I couldn’t agree more. Sohla El-Waylly is also one of my favorites, and her “Off-Script with Sohla” videos are a delight.
- Architectural Digest
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The AD YouTube channel has a host of fun videos and series, but my favorite by far is the “Open Door” series, where high-profile celebrities give tours of their homes. The decor ranges from humble to outrageous, but it’s always fun to get a bit more of a personal look inside of the homes of the rich and famous. One of the absolute must-watch videos is of Daveed Diggs and Emmy Raver-Lampman’s home, which has just as cool of a vibe as you would expect from the couple.
- SORTEDfood
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Sorted is another channel that has such a wide range of content, but I especially love their “Pass It On” series, where both the professional chefs and the amateur food lovers of the group (“Normals”) complete one collective dish in a relay, but none of them get to know what dish they’re trying to make or exactly what the previous person has done. It’s chaotic and silly but still educational. If you enjoy the “Without a Recipe” series from the Try Guys, Sorted’s “Pass It On” is a good next watch.
- Joshua Weissman
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Every single video that Josh posts makes me want to reach through my screen because his baking and cooking projects just look that good. I love the curiosity and excitement that he approaches each video with, and topics like “How to Make The Best Hot Chocolate Of All Time (4 ways)” and “Making The Popeyes Chicken Sandwich At Home, But Better” are engaging and creative ways to learn about cooking and baking. He also has a knack for cinematography that makes the food look. So. Good.
Now that you’re armed with a list of cozy home and food YouTube channels, you’re ready to brave the winter months and enjoy some comfort content while curled up on the couch under a thousand blankets.
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