“Binging with Babish: 100 Recipes Recreated from Your Favorite Movies and TV Shows”, Andrew Rea
Published October 22, 2019
The internet cooking show Binging with Babish has taken YouTube by storm with an astounding 5 million fans and views as high as 12 million per episode. For each video, Andrew Rea, a self-proclaimed movie and TV buff, teaches a recipe based on a favorite TV show or film, such as the babka from the classic Seinfeld episode, the beef bourguignon from Julie & Julia, or the timpano from Big Night. This cookbook includes these and other fan-favorite recipes. Some are so delicious that you’ll want to make them for dinner right away, like Bubba's shrimp from Forrest Gump, while others can be saved for impressing a loved one—like the chocolate lava cake from Jon Favreau’s Chef, which the actor/director asked to make during a guest appearance on Rea’s show. Complete with behind-the-scenes stories and answers to frequently asked fan questions, Binging with Babish is a must-have companion to the wildly popular YouTube show.
I love watching Binging with Babish on YouTube. I think I found him around the golden age of cooking channels (RIP, Bon Appétit) in the early 2020s.
Binging with Babish is everything you’d want from Andrew Rea’s YouTube channel in book form: cinematic food nerdery, precise technique, and just enough humor to keep things fun while you’re elbow-deep in bread dough or cheese sauce. The book covers 100 recipes inspired by movies and TV shows—from Friends’ iconic Thanksgiving trifle (Custard, good. Jam, good. Meat, good.) to Ron Swanson–approved breakfast feats, all the way to complex culinary showstoppers like Ratatouille’s ratatouille. It’s a love letter to pop culture and food in equal measure, and Rea manages to balance nostalgia with genuine culinary craft.
What makes this cookbook stand out is that it’s not just novelty food or viral recipes thrown together for a gimmick. Babish gives you the impractical “screen-accurate” versions and the actually edible, elevated versions, so you can choose whether you want the chaos or the cuisine. The instructions are clear without being stiff, approachable without dumbing things down, and peppered with his signature wit. The photography is gorgeous too—glossy, drool-worthy shots that make even the most ridiculous recipes feel attainable.
Whether you’re a seasoned home chef, a casual fan of the Binging with Babish channel, or someone who just loves the intersection of pop culture and food, this book is a delight. It’s practical, playful, and will absolutely have you saying, “Maybe I can make Krabby Patties at home” before realizing you’re halfway through prepping caramelized onions for stew instead.
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Owned: Barnes & Noble hardcover