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I am OliverBabish, the creator n' star of Binging with Babish - help me choose the next movie/tv food to recreate, and of course, AMA!
Hey /r/IAmA! I'm Andrew Rea, aka OliverBabish (Proof!). I have a little YouTube series called Binging with Babish, where I recreate the foods from movies and television. I'm super-grateful to the Reddit community for helping me gain an audience over the past couple months, and have always enjoyed interacting with viewers to evolve the show and come up with ideas for new episodes! Now I'm here to not only determine the subject of my next episode, but to answer any questions about my show, cooking, my deepest fears and regrets, Frasier trivia, the birds and the bees, beards, and going bald gracefully! AMA!
The highest-voted episode suggestion will be shot this weekend and posted next week! Subject to if I feel like doing it, of course.
EDIT 2PM EST: Holy wow, my inbox asplode!! I am a serial question-answerer, so if you don't hear back right away don't worry, I am still here and still answering questions!
EDIT 5:30PM EST: Oh my god my hands hurt. I'm still goin strong though! Do not hesitate to keep writing, I ain't going anywhere, and you guys are the friggin best with the suggestions, ideas, and kind words. Love you guys.
EDIT 6:15PM EST: Okay I'm starting to drink some, so expect the answers to become more interesting, and feel free to ask more personal, brutal questions.
EDIT 11:00PM EST: I'M NEVER STOPPING. Okay I'm running out of steam. But I'm still going!
EDIT 1:15AM EST: Okay that's it papa bear's crashing. I'm gonna keep answering questions tomorrow so please feel free to keep writing, but for now, thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the laughs, the insight, the incredible kindness. You guys, your comments and conversation are a huge motivator behind the show, and you've energized me for whatever comes next – I'm gonna call it early and say that Ratatouille wins the day for next episode with Freddy's Ribs in a close second. Luckily, next weekend I'll be headed to my dear friend's home in the burbs, and homeboy's got a smoker. So expect both in the coming two weeks! Night everybody.
EDIT 9AM EST: HHGNNHhhfff I'M UP I'm up. Jesus I wrote nearly 600 comments yesterday, what was in that drink you guys gave me? I see I'm still gettin questions, and I'll be answering them once I get out the shower!
OliverBabish1219 karma
Hey thanks man! That sounds really, truly disgusting haha - I'll look into it! Ratatouille is high on the to-do list, perhaps this weekend if y'all upvote it enough!
autranep106 karma
Hey dude have you ever thought of doing some dishes from Hannibal the TV show? Barring the human meat of course
Hapte1173 karma
Have you thought about doing a Bob's Burgers video with some of the specials from Bob's board?
OliverBabish1045 karma
Absolutely - Meatsiah and Baby You Can Chive My Car are high up on the list.
mr-underhill83 karma
A Bobs burger episode would be great! I hope you'll consider the "Bet it all on Black" garlic burger!
OliverBabish106 karma
Yeah that one did sound pretty tasty huh...I smelt it and now I want him to dealt it.
Rimshot19851064 karma
Why not a classic like Seinfeld? So many options to choose from!
Black and white cookies, jambalaya, marble rye, the big salad, calzones, muffins (from the muffin tops episode), frozen yogurt, eclairs (from the garbage), soup nazi soup, sausages, babka, bagels, Chinese flounder, gyros...
Or, just don't listen to me and keep doing what you're doing. Your channel is fantastic.
OliverBabish780 karma
A Seinfeld-stravaganza is definitely in the queue! This is the most complete list I've ever seen - thank you, gonna be consulting this!
OliverBabish85 karma
Pudding singles - you just made my day. I might just make those for myself.
thecoachtaylor894 karma
Babish, love your videos man! You and Chef John (Food Wishes) keep me inspired to cook and are by far the best youtube chefs out there.
Any chance you could give the Krabby Patty a try? I can only imagine how pissed Plankton would be if you nail the recipe.
OliverBabish576 karma
Thanks so much, I absolutely love hearing that these inspire you to cook!! And Chef John is my hero, so that's some high praise right there.
Krabby Patty is on the to-do list! Still trying to figure out which iteration to follow - the recipe is described differently in a bunch of different episodes. Don't want to piss off the ardent fans!
PatZaglich186 karma
While you're at it, you should give the Krusty Krab Pizza a go as well.
OliverBabish212 karma
Haha a pizza...made from a burger...actually that's pretty interesting.
Greyflag657 karma
Hey man, really enjoying the videos! How about something from Hannibal/Silence of the Lambs? Liver, fava beans, a nice chianti?
OliverBabish419 karma
Thanks very much!! Yes folks wanna see the food from Hannibal - I think the only thing I could recreate accurately (in lieu of human meat) would be the black silkie chicken soup - which looks pretty awesome anyway - so I'm into it!!
rrbm8287 karma
In the tv series, many of his recipe cards are written with animal organs as ingredients. I think mostly its chicken lamb pig or cow; Easy substitute if you were too busy to stalk, murder and surgically butcher another person. Cooking up a bunch of organs would make a good Halloween special.
crohnssucksass587 karma
After the sunny special, I'd be down to watch you get hammered for a bit. Maybe an episode of a bunch of different cocktails from different shows or movies? Or maybe some of bobs burgers specials?
OliverBabish484 karma
Would love to do a drinks special, I love drinks, how'd you know.
I've had my eye on the Meatsiah burger for some time now...been trying to go over the logistics of how to keep the beef tartare raw in the center of a medium-well patty in the center of a burger wellington...tricky!!
sb7611782 karma
Team up with Cocktail Chemistry and make awesome drinks to pair with awesome dishes!
CocktailChem11 karma
Sounds fun! I'll reach out with a couple ideas once your inbox is done exploding
MtnClimber544 karma
Have you seen Adventure Time? Jake's perfect sandwich could be fun to make.
OliverBabish517 karma
Have heard that one a few times - would love to give it a shot, still working out how I can incorporate 'lobster soul'...
OliverBabish430 karma
Take some bacon and I put it in a pancake! Easy and delicious, right up my alley.
Thuggled85 karma
You need to sing the song though. The making bacon pancakes song. It's important.
Mstrchapl541 karma
Is The West Wing your favorite Oliver Platt performance? And can we get a Paunch burger going from Parks and Rec?
OliverBabish300 karma
Lake Placid will always hold a special place in my heart as one of those movies I saw on TNT when I was 13, but yeah, West Wing is probably Platt's Pinnacle. Which is also the name of my forthcoming documentary about Oliver Platt.
Leeloo_Sebat-Dallas45 karma
I love that movie! "This could end up saving your life, which is meaningful to you, because the longer you live, the more sex you get to have with your sister!"
Although, I think we can agree that Oliver Platt didn't have the best line in that movie... "If I had a dick, this is where I would tell you to suck it." God love Betty White
thedonnieabides343 karma
what's up Babish! You're my new favorite youtube channel in the last few months. Loved the Aglio e Olio from Chef, but wondering if you could take a stab at some of the other stuff he does in that movie, like the Cuban sandwiches.
How about a mafia movie pasta special too? Godfather and Goodfellas both have classic cooking scenes - you already did prison sauce from Goodfellas, but they've got the cooking scene at the end as well as he's freaking out about being chased by the feds.
There's also Ally Sheedy's sandwich (plus all the other meals) in the Breakfast Club!
OliverBabish210 karma
Hey thanks man!! Have gotten a lot of requests for those Cubanos, definitely gonna take a stab at them in the near future, see if I can out-rub John Leguizamo. We're gonna have us a rub-off.
That's a good idea, never thought of the Breakfast Club!
nstern2333 karma
Please make homers Patented space age out of this world moon waffles. Most of the stuff he makes looks horrible, ala tom collins mix and cloves in a pie crust, but his waffles look delicious. With that out of the way I want to say your channel is high on my list of great youtube channels and I look forward to watching whatever you cook.
Edit:Don't forget the stick of butter.
Facepalms4Everyone267 karma
Hey man, love the vids. Picked them up early from here, and it's nice to see we share the same tastes in shows we like to have on as background filler.
On the dessert side of things, how about Rachel's trifle from "Friends" (let us know if it, indeed, tastes like FEET), or Chef's chocolate salted balls from "South Park"? The latter has a recipe in the lyrics.
OliverBabish127 karma
Thank you! Yeah that trifle gets a lot of requests - I gotta make a couple more tasty things before I do another gross-out episode :D
dumbguy5689169 karma
Hey, just subscribed this weekend. I'm dying to try the Big Kahuna Burger. Hop any more chillies recently?
OliverBabish139 karma
Hey thanks! Yeah dude give it a try - the most important thing to take away from that episode is smash-burger-making. Especially when you're drunk and too uncoordinated to cook a big ol' patty to perfect medium-rare, but coordinated enough not to burn your house down. There's a sweet spot.
dumbguy568942 karma
Well I was intrigued by your take on "Fight Juice"..... I"m thinking of trying the bread you made as well this weekend. The loaf you took out was very impressive.... that is a weird sentence to have wrote.
Keep up the good work!
OliverBabish62 karma
Give that a try, and use rum instead of Everclear. I'm glad you enjoyed my hot steaming loaf. I really recommend you try it - it's a great technique dreamt up by my favorite cooking resource, America's Test Kitchen. It comes out pretty consistently closed-textured, but for such an easy recipe, it produces a fragrant, flavorful loaf. Having fun saying that.
dparallax17 karma
Thank you for introducing me to smash burgers. They're perfect and my fiancee loves them. Maybe not the best idea but we have burgers on a weekly basis now
WiseGuySteve151 karma
Love your channel man. Kevin's Famous Chili is my favorite episode haha I love how you spilled it before you ate it. What made you want to start doing this type of thing?
How about ratatouille from Ratatouille, or some absurdly cheesey TMNT pizza!
OliverBabish75 karma
Thanks very much! Actually already did TMNT :D might not be available in your country, but poke around my channel! Ratatouille is high up on the list, I'm just scared to make it because it's so exacting and fussy!
EDIT: And to answer your other question, I actually started doing it as a food-lighting test in my apartment. Figured it'd be fun to do once, but people seemed to like it, so I kept going!
und3rw4t3rp00ps121 karma
How about some of Frasier's signature dishes? You ludicrous popinjay!
OliverBabish204 karma
Listen you little titmouse...
Believe it or not I've shot a whole Frasier episode where I recreated Frasier's Signature Pomegranate-Honey Sauce, along with cornish game hens, wild rice stuffing, beet carpaccio, and winter vegetables. You can see it here! I never ended up releasing the episode - I was hosting a dinner party so we could eat all the food, and we ended up getting a little too drunk and rowdy to finish shooting.
arharris2112 karma
Can you make the brownie that Leslie Knope is talking about here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMF9S68O780
OliverBabish99 karma
Ha! Been thinking about doing another P&R episode in honor of my 1-year anniversary of the first episode - will add this to the list of possible dishes!
OwensFriendLarry109 karma
Hey! Holy shit, I literally just got into your vids last night!
Do you think Carol's acorn cookies from The Walking Dead's season 6 would be a thing you would do? I'm pretty sure they had beets in them, too. Always wondered how they tasted. Also try Dirty Burgers from Trailer Park Boys. That would make my day.
OliverBabish69 karma
Woah interesting - I'm gonna have to look into that.
By dirty burgers do you mean the one Mr. Lahey makes for Randy out of a bird?
capitolcritter109 karma
How about that massive breakfast John Candy cooks up in "Uncle Buck"?
OliverBabish81 karma
Haha that giant griddle looks like a logistical nightmare...but anything for my craft.
TheHUD1835 karma
What did it taste like? Was it just like a mouthful of milk with soggy meat? I know you said it was the texture in the video.
Tomasfoolery79 karma
All these baseball movies, not one episode about hotdogs or popcorn or any of that.
Hmm. How about When Harry Met Sally's "I'll have what she's having" pastrami MADE FROM SCRATCH. Or is 14 days brining and then smoking too long to prep for an episode?
OliverBabish67 karma
Maybe for this weekend it is, but I am absolutely trying that - my buddy out in the 'burbs has a smoker and I plan on shooting that episode in his kitchen when I go out and visit him next!
Tomasfoolery21 karma
Man, it is super easy to make. You can even make corned beef with what you don't smoke. Make sure you keep the meat submerged! Such a fun thing to do.
Please consider calling it the above in honor of Estelle Reiner, the mother of the director of the movie, Rob Reiner. I mean, everyone does a knockoff Katz's deli sammich, but the secret? The secret is LAYERS OF MEAT.
edit: I am ashamed, I misspelled Katz.
OliverBabish18 karma
Well the thing is, I gotta try and be as accurate as possible - and Katz's brines, smokes, boils, and steams their pastrami.
That's a good idea!
Stouts77 karma
Surprisingly* he** doesn't. He has a pinched nerve in his shoulder that limits his range of motion, so that quirk of the actor became one of the character.
*: I was surprised to learn this, anyway
**: The actor, Martin Sheen
Smidge77773 karma
What is the most expensive dish you have made so far? I can only imagine that some of them can start to get a little pricey. Also thanks for making such a fun and interesting series!
OliverBabish178 karma
Thanks very much! Absolutely Eggs Woodhouse - costed well over $300 for everything. And I didn't end up eating 1/4 of it. Heartbreaking.
The Lovers' Delight sundae was a close second, but at least it was delicious.
queenbellevue69 karma
Maybe a dumb question, but how do you figure out the recipes from maybe a couple shots in the movie/episode??
OliverBabish163 karma
Not a dumb question at all! Really depends on the movie, sometimes they very clearly show all the steps and ingredients (pasta aglio e olio, Chef), and sometimes it's totally ambiguous and I need to fill in the blanks (Strudel, Inglourious Basterds). Whenever I need to fill in the blanks, I try to do so however I think they most likely would've done it in the context of the film/tv show. So for Strudel, I read a whole bunch of old Viennese/Austrian recipes for old-school strudel, and tried to come up with an amalgam of those.
djent_reznor_68 karma
So Andrew Rea is your real name? Where does the babish alias come from?
HiHoJufro59 karma
I was thinking "hey! That's the West Wing lawyer name! Who does this guy think he is?" So I respect your choice.
zombies8mybrain56 karma
My wife and I love your channel. How amazing was the Timpano because it looks amazing? If you wanted to make something, I'm a fan of sandwiches, make the Cuban sandwich from Chef or the Broodwich from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
OliverBabish50 karma
The timpano was totally amazing.
Hah I have not thought about that episode for years...they do pretty well describe what's in it! Going to be hard to source though...
keithmac2041 karma
Hey man, just want to say I love what you're doing! Just subscribed last night and I've been trying to space out my binge of your content. Some of the popular ideas have already been mentioned, but one that I thought might be fun would be to recreate the Simpson's pink donut from scratch? Freddie's ribs from House of Cards? Also, may need to wait on this one, but in the Lego Batman movie, Batman's favorite dish is lobster thermidor. Anyways keep up the great work and thanks for the great content!
OliverBabish24 karma
Hey thanks so much! All very solid ideas - I'll have to go see Lego Batman and see if there's enough info about the dish to make it! People tend not to like it when I take too much creative liberty with dishes :P
OliverBabish97 karma
Love it. Love beer. I'm partial to Belgian-style stuff, Tripels, golden strong's, etc - but also adore hoppy-as-fuck IPA's. Very proud to hail from upstate NY where some very exciting things are happening in craft beer making.
coolhand835 karma
If you like Belgian, try some Dubuisson 'Amber Bush'. Possibly found under the name Scaldis in the USA. Can be as strong as 12% and its an excellent flavour! Well worth a try if you can find it. That, and Delirium Tremens.
OliverBabish6 karma
Friggin love Delerium Tremens - I'll keep an eye out for that other jam!
MisterBumTheFirst2 karma
How do you feel about sours? And how would you feel about doing a beer trade with somebody from California?
OliverBabish4 karma
I'm just getting into sours! And I've never done a beer trade but it sounds intoxicating...PM me let's get this party started.
Astralwinks36 karma
I've been watching your channel from the get-go, love it!
How about a Twinkie Wiener Sandwich from UHF? I mean, it's definitely not enough to film a whole episode around, but maybe one day toss it in for fun? Perhaps a Weird Al themed episode, he has plenty of songs about food.
OliverBabish21 karma
Thanks very much! Interesting, I hadn't thought about that...added to my ever-growing spreadsheet of ideas!
MrTacoBro35 karma
Hey Mr. Babish!
I love your channel, you have a very Archer-esque voice that makes your videos hilarious (+ you have the jokes).
Wanted to ask, have you considered making basic cooking video tutorials for like making bread, pasta, other of your favourite home dishes? Would love to know your input on different recipes (not just fictional ones).
OliverBabish70 karma
Everytime someone says I have an Archer-esque voice, I grow another hair on my chest.
Definitely, I have a concept for a full-fledged cooking show I'm hoping to fund in the near future. Keep an eye out!
Somnambulist81532 karma
This may be prying too closely, but how the hell are you affording all these extravagant ingredients? Maybe its because all the independent filmmakers I know (myself included) subside on instant ramen and Criterion dvds, but surely these videos are causing more than just a dent?
Oh, and of course, I'm a big fan. I'm constantly sharing your videos. Keep up the good work!
OliverBabish68 karma
Hah well, I keep telling myself all the money I'm spending will come back to me someday in the form of innernette stardom...fingers crossed. But I'm really more of a freelance filmmaker, I'm lucky enough to have a steady day job in post production!
Thank you!!
VaqueroSucio21 karma
Oliver! You are the man. I have gotten SO many compliments every time I've made the aglio, and it's because of your amazing way of explaining your ways! Thank you so, so much. Now, I don't know if you've watched Hannibal the series, but he makes something called Apéritif in the first episode of season 1 that looked delicious! What are the chances of you making a dish like that? (Excluding the human meat of course). Thank for doing this AMA!
OliverBabish15 karma
Aw man that's so nice to hear!! Thank you!
I'm gonna have to revisit that episode, I don't remember the Apértif...thanks for letting me know!!
jawnbulljawn11 karma
Good call. I started watching Frasier and your videos separately around the same time and assumed the theme song was some common song that both used independently - was very happy when I realized that you're just an big Frasier fan. Love your videos and keep them coming
OliverBabish37 karma
Welcome, brother. To give you an idea of my dedication and love for Frasier, here's one of my more recent tattoos.
OliverBabish68 karma
Master. The. Basics. Most people starting out (myself included) are tryina make fusion-y miniaturized deconstructed whatever - make the best stew, the best plate of pasta you possibly can - figure out how food works before trying to fuck with it.
speedyguy100117 karma
Love your channel. Any breaking bad recipes coming up? Maybe Los polls Hermanos fried chicken or Gus' recipe for fish stew? Keep up the good work man!!
TGSICaptain15 karma
I really enjoy your videos.
I have always been fascinated by the fact that Rusty (Brad Pitts character) in Ocean's 11 is constantly eating. I think that could make for another really great compilation video a la what you did for Always Sunny.
I see you drinking whisky in a lot of your videos. What's your go-to/favorite bottle?
OliverBabish30 karma
Dude there is an absolutely BRILLIANT cookbook called "Fat Brad" that tries to recreate the foods he's constantly eating in movies. I am literally shaking with jealousy that I didn't come up with such a fucking amazing idea.
My favorite bourbon is Angel's Envy, favorite scotch is Lagavulin 16 (at the moment).
OliverBabish33 karma
Nope! I don't monetize my videos, so all that sweet sweet ad money goes directly to them!
Mymom42912 karma
Absolutely love your videos man. As someone who knows next to nothing when it comes to cooking but is eager to learn what would you recommend to get started? Also have you considered making anything from GoT? Frey pie seems good to me.
OliverBabish17 karma
Thank you! Definitely get a $35/yr subscription to America's Test Kitchen - I have never learned so much so quickly.
And yes GoT beef and bacon pie is high up on the to-do list - maybe when the next season premieres!
orangejulius11 karma
What's the tattoo on your arm? It looks interesting.
What was your least favorite item that you've made so far and why was it so terrible?
OliverBabish19 karma
Which'n? Outside right arm is a lens focal length diagram, inside right is the original Kodak logo, inside left is the logo of my fantasy pot bakery, Born & Bread.
PlayItSaxMan10 karma
Love your videos! Do you have any kind of formal cooking training/experience or was it just a hobby of yours?
OliverBabish26 karma
None training! My mom taught me to cook when I was very young - so I kept it up as a hobby in her honor. Grew to love it, and had to choose between film and culinary school - went to film school, super thrilled now to find a way to do 'em both at once!
Jimbabwe889 karma
I discovered your channel after your It's Always Sunny episode. I love that show and your taste-testing with their food was hilarious especially that milk steak! I don't have any suggestions, but I've seen many great ideas suggested. My question is how did you come to decide to make a YouTube channel making food from various movies and TV shows? Keep up that awesome work!!
OliverBabish13 karma
Thanks so much! Really it all started with that P&R episode - I really wanted to know if Chris' burger would actually taste good, or if the writers just threw a bunch of foodie bullshit buzzwords together. Turns out it tasted great!
skilledman1018 karma
Hey Babish! I love watching your videos! What's your favorite dish to make that isn't from a movie/TV show?
OliverBabish23 karma
Beouf Bourguignon! Though I guess that's featured in Julie & Julia...I really oughta do that one sometime.
OliverBabish16 karma
Sure! My hobbies include rollerskating and shuffleboard, and I'm allergic to nearly every single thing.
CowToes5 karma
When i clicked on your Proof, while it was loading i hoped and prayed that your head was cut off the screen. Thank you.
OliverBabish8 karma
Hah yeah I'm not trying super hard to remain anonymous or anything, I guess it's just kinda become part of my...brand?
dabrecque5 karma
I love your show and your personality. Do you still watch Frasier while you cook?
OliverBabish4 karma
Thanks so much! Lately I've been trying to watch the subject of the current episode while I'm shooting, but it generally just devolves back to Frasier, The West Wing, or Star Trek TNG.
JakeCow4 karma
My wife and I started watching "It's always sunny in Philadelphia " because of you.
We're on season 1. Does it get any better? We're finding it a little meh after 4 episodes. :)
Keep up the great work!
OliverBabish11 karma
Thanks!! People are gonna jump down my throat for this but yeah, the show doesn't really hit its stride for a few seasons. People are gonna jump even further down my throat for this, but maybe just start with Season 3, go back once you start to like the show.
Deruji3 karma
Hi, love watching your videos. Could you do the Pizza from the film 'Eat Pray Love' please?
OliverBabish2 karma
Thank you! I'll take a look, I haven't been forced by a girlfriend to watch that yet!
OliverBabish10 karma
Not at all delicious. It was cloyingly, sickeningly rich. And it desperately needed something like a shitton of toasted bread to make it halfway palatable.
OliverBabish3 karma
Nope :( even with the help of my roommate, it went 75% uneaten. Still heartbroken.
OliverBabish4 karma
Most of the episodes has "Cream on Chrome" by Ratatat in the background - but lately I've been incorporating Tycho, Ronald Jenkees, El Ten Eleven, and others.
DDog03522 karma
You have a great channel! Stumbled upon your episodes on a bored, hangry night at work.. preceded to binge watch them all!
How about some Ninja Turtles Pizza?!
Cowabunga!!!
CAKEDONTLIE2 karma
You often pour yourself a drink while cooking, as do many of us. What are your go-to drinks?
OliverBabish4 karma
Whiskey, baby. Been all about Angel's Envy at the moment for my day-to-day. Also not opposed to a cold beer or a glass of cabernet.
mfalsett1649 karma
Hello, love your videos, especially the one on Always Sunny foods!
Don't know how practical this one is... but in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle, Reese cooks the Thanksgiving Turkey inside a Monkfish. The episode name is "Thanksgiving", you can find it on Netflix season 5 episode 4. Could you cook that one?
Another option is the ratatouille from... well... ratatouille!
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