AMA | online recipes video

Am I crazy or did the title of the video change multiple times?

To what degree were the group calls in this video scripted skits vs candid? It felt like a combo, and worked well either way. Great work showing a variety of perspectives on this. I am an inexperienced (and uninterested) cook, so I appreciate it when recipes include tips and tricks, but I can also get easily confused when they use jargon or when the recipe page isn't clearly laid out. Once, I struggled with a recipe because there was an “ingredients” section with photos of every ingredient but not measurements—those were includedb much lower on the page. On the other hand, my wife is an experienced and enthusiastic cook and especially a baker, so tips and tricks are superfluous to her. What we can all agree is that ads and SEO slop ruin the experience. They're necessary for the creators to get paid, of course, but that just means the real solution for online recipes is to abolish capitalism.

Does Melissa have a catchphrase? Because Taha has "We live in a society" and Sabrina has "Have a lovely day" The only Melissa quote that comes to mind is "WHO IS CLIPPING THEIR TOENAILS?!"

i thought this was a really good video! im rly happy to see the focus on the dialogue between the three of yall (its giving the "unity" theme that yall talked abt in the patpod lol) and making it become a more involved part of the "journey" of the answer in progress video. genuinely so many bits of video hand me ROLLING bc of how funny yall's banter is. the sharktank/debate club format is hilarious truly. there was a yt comment of how this video was sth along the lines of "melissa & sabrina butt heads while taha just sits there" and i was like, Ok true😂 i also enjoyed the different style that melissa brought to this video too, with several short interview clips interspersed with melissa's thoughts/experience. also the bit at the end of sabrina&melissa making the curry and eating and talking was genuinely so heartwarming-- this is what makes the video story, to me. anyway, just a few questions-- 1) was this new kind of style of video a conscious decision on melissa's part? how did you develop that kind of documentary-ish style for this video? 2) whose decision was it to absolutely roast sabrina in the editing?? especially the "quote me on that" bit with the exposé of sabrina headshots from the present to the nerdyandquirky days lmaoo. that was hilarious lowkey 3) did anyone think it was a little unfair for sabrina to make the curry without tips/tricks given that her parents are chefs or something? that was my first thought at the segment. p.s. melissa's blogsite is super cool!!! the interface is extremely accessible and i think the idea to start with the recipe and /then/ the background is rly smart. i hope it catches on lmao. (also, did sabrina know that there's already a recipe cleaner website out there? just the recipe dot com has existed for a while now actually 💀) thanks guys!

Do you prefer written recipes? Or video recipes? Also, when we will see a collab with Glen and Friends? 😋

My main commentary is that, in regards to the non-recipe section, there are story time, technical aspects of the recipe and/or ingredient, and “others”. Different people come for different things; however, a lot of times, no differentiation is made regarding this and are bundled together as one, though it is not. The key detail I feel is that, once you reach certain level of cooking expertise, some parts are not as useful anymore. For example, as shown in the video, Sabrina struggled preparing the chicken, yet, as somebody who have prepared dozens of whole chickens, it is an easy task. That said, I do have questions/comments: 1. I appreciate Melissa provided measurements in metric! How do you feel when measurements are provided in imperial or non-exact amounts (as referenced by Jun). As a person with some cooking experience, I can manage non-exact measurements but I can imagine this is a hurdle for those who don’t. Except when it comes to making bread... 2. This was mostly a Melissa and Sabrina video. How about Taha’s cooking? Can we have a (Patreon exclusive?) video where he would cook the same recipe with only plain instructions? 3. This was discussed in the video: paywalled vs ad supported sites. Do note that, for ad supported sites, it is not only the cost of hosting it. There is also the cost of recipe development, editing and so on. Which is why, as long as it is not a pop-up banner, I am begrudgingly OK with ads. Melissa, given the layout of your site (lots of white space on both sides), would it be a labour of love or would you consider adding some ads, as it won’t add costs to you? 4. If you were looking for a recipe, what is your approach for looking for said recipe? Do you go for the first link a search yield; some professional site (Serious Eats, America’s Test Kitchen, etc.); social media/Reddit; or some other source?

I loved this video because this is something I encounter all the time. I think I have a pretty good base of cooking/baking knowledge so when I look for recipes, I don't necessarily need the tips and tricks and rejoice when there's a "jump to recipe" button to skip straight to the important stuff. That being said, especially in this age of AI where some people seem to want to strip art of anything personal (amongst other issues with AI), I do appreciate the importance of having all that background and the personal anecdotes present (even if I never actually read it). On another note though, I grew up in an Asian household where measurements are not really a thing at all and so the way I learned to cook is mainly based on intuition. I usually only think to use a recipe when baking or to look up basic ingredients for cooking and then eyeball the measurements myself because I find that, for me, actually following a recipe makes cooking much more time consuming and less enjoyable overall. All of that is to say, how often do you actually follow a recipe when you cook everyday meals and how faithfully do you follow it?

Did you all coordinate the turtlenecks for that melissa-website video call

You ended on what I want to happen. (I can handle a short paragraph before the recipe and the extra stuff after the recipe if the short paragraph includes like “here’s some safe substitutions for allergies or meat, look after the recipe for more!”) Sabrina strikes me as someone who likes good food but doesn’t love to cook (I see you) and Melissa is someone who loves all steps of the process. So for both of you, what kitchen tool/equipment do you consider most essential? (Other than like the stove and oven, of course.) Taha, based on previous videos your food experience seems so different from the other two’s. So when you look for a recipe what DO you look for in a recipe? Also, random question for all three of you because rice was mentioned during cooking. What is your preferred rice and preparation for the rice? Genuinely curious because I think I got a weird look from a friend for having strong rice preferences.

I like that first part sound like ad but it isn't

I loved this video format with how you split things up! I first saw the Melissa thumbnail, and then clicked on the video to Sabrina starting out the video, so I was like "oh, is this a Sabrina video after all? Or maybe it switches half way?" It made me wonder if putting both of you on the thumbnail was ever considered.

I enjoyed the way the video switched hands midway through and then joined forces after. I would like to know, was the Sharks part for the sponsor spot or a tool to show the extreme end of the recipes without the fluff? In my canon, Sabrina was going to ask why the recipes websites are bad, try and possibly fail to solve the problem by reducing them to the bare minimum while talking to recipe bloggers to get the answer, and then slowly come around to it. Melisa saw that idea and felt personally attacked and chose to answer the question herself on behalf of all food bloggers. Taha was a Shark who sat down to watch the competing presentations for the same product.

i loved how this video felt like the culmination of everything u guys u wanted to add to your videos this year. even the small parts with taha in it added a lot just seeing all three of you and enhanced what i think makes your channel really unique. perhaps sabrina could rewrite her recipe cleaner to shift around html elements to put the recipe first and then the background? instead of getting rid of it altogether

I absolutely enjoyed this video. So well-done. I really liked that it started as if it was going to be a Sabrina video and then pivoted into a Melissa video. And, I really liked the video it turned out to be. I also enjoy reading cookbooks for the stories about the food as much as I enjoy making and eating the food. So, I'm with you on the importance of the story and the added info that go along with the recipes I look up online. I look forward to diving into Third Culture Kitchen now.

I already know how to cook, if I'm looking for a recipe then I just want some quick guidance on amounts to use. The recipe should come first, leave the "background" for later. And take a tip from Adam Regusea and put measurements in metric as well as imperial.

Why is Sabrina on the thumbnail when it's primarily a Melissa video?