'The Mythical Cookbook' embraces Rhett & Link-style culinary chaos

Earlier this month, Josh Scherer cooked up a corned beef sandwich and some gelatin-covered shrimp in a nod to foods that have been to space. Earlier this year he served Gordon Ramsay a beef Wellington, a deep-fried Mars bar, an In-N-Out burger and everything else the chef decreed would be his ideal last meal on Earth. He's recreated McDonald's McRib sandwich using $456 worth of high-end ingredients, cured salmon so it tastes like Doritos, and cooked Terry Crews a skillet of turkey testicles (which Crews loved, much to his own surprise).

For his next trick, the face of the web cooking show “Mythical Kitchen” is coming to your house with a new cookbook and bringing some of his craziest recipes.

The journalist-turned-web series producer, chef and host can be found cooking, sometimes shirtless, sometimes shouting, but always indulging in his strangest concoctions, in various series and segments overseen by YouTube megastars and “Good Mythical Morning” hosts Rhett James McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln “Link” Neal III, known more colloquially as Rhett & Link.

After founding their web channel in 2006 and gaining millions of followers across multiple platforms, resulting in one of YouTube's most successful media companies, the duo turned their attention to food content and tapped Scherer to lead it. It's a decision that paid off, spurring millions of new subscribers and a handful of “Mythical Kitchen” covers like “Last Meals” and “Snack Smash.”

A big part of the appeal of “Cocina Mítica,” aside from its rotation of celebrity guests and attention-grabbing dishes, is its demystification of cuisine. Scherer spends a lot of time studying science and technique to figure out which rules to break, resulting in recipes that can save expenses for the home chef (see: Dutch blender) or eliminate food waste or make meals with minimal effort. are tastier (see: frozen fries and leftover hash, French onion ramen).

“I think a lot of us grew up in this era of the rock star chef, and we grew up with these authorities on the Food Network saying strict rules like 'never wash mushrooms because they'll get waterlogged,' and then you go to grandma's house and she washes the mushrooms.” mushrooms and their pasta is delicious,” Scherer said. “So how do you square those things? A big thing I'm trying to do is decentralize authority; “Great chefs are not the only people who know how to cook in the world.”

After nearly five years of planning, in March the team at Mythic released a cookbook written by Scherer and writer and cooking show host Noah Galuten, and while “The Mythical Cookbook” is so colorful, driven by personality and completely upset like your website. -The television counterpart, there are real culinary lessons to be learned, whether it's how to wash Japanese rice, how to prevent a cheese sauce from breaking down, or the benefits of letting breaded chicken rest before frying it.

Want to upgrade your ramen packages? Sherer says there's a good chance you already have everything you need for French onion ramen in your pantry.

Instant noodles and melted cheese melt into French onion ramen. (Torch not required, but highly recommended.) Enjoy French onion ramen indoors or, like Scherer, outdoors and be amazed by its rich, cheesy flavor.

There is a good reason for this. Scherer, an established food writer with his own cookbook of his, is far from the only cook in the kitchen; He regularly works alongside other culinary producers, or “mythical chefs,” such as Lily Cousins, a veteran of the Michelin-starred Kato (LA Times Best Restaurant of 2023). The team's pastry specialist, Trevor Evarts, came from Dominique Ansel Bakery.

When it comes to deciding what to cook, chefs tailor content to what the Internet seems to click and devour, balanced with whatever whims their own team can dream up for a pitch meeting.

In the realm of YouTube, where the Mythical team reigns, the algorithm is the law of the land. Sometimes Scherer and his colleagues start by conceptualizing recipes that are craveable and classic (that tend to be a good fit), like fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, or pizza. Then they turn it around, but even Scherer's strangest creations tend to educate, like macaroni and cheese mixed with Phuket-style crab curry in an ode to the signature dish of one of his favorite restaurants, Hollywood's. Luv2eat Thai Bistro.

“How do we teach them something I really love?” she wonders. “You're talking about the differences between southern Thai and northern Thai cuisine, all the different regions and [saying] “Actually, papaya salad is a Laotian dish.” You're talking about all of that in the context of macaroni and cheese. “Sometimes you want to wrap a pill in gelatin, so to speak.”

Some dishes, he says, are made to deliver pure impact (see: pumpkin spice pork shank). For Scherer, who grew up watching cooking shows on mainstream television and sees new media as the evolution of it, food is educational and exciting, but it's also another form of entertainment. The act and need to eat is, for him, secondary to the delight and joy of doing so. As a chef, it's equal parts fantasy and determination.

Scherer prepares bacon to serve as a cookie tip on his ice cream sandwiches. It's a lot of folding, but the result is pretty (and crispy).

“The Mythical Cookbook” Bacon Ice Cream Sandwiches are smoky and creamy, a sweet and savory dessert.

“Our process is: The worst way to make something go viral is to try to make it viral,” Scherer said. “It's almost an attempt to prove people wrong.”

When asked what would happen if someone changed the buns on an Uncrustables Peanut Butter and Jelly Fried Chicken Sandwich, they tried it and it was horrible. But Scherer was encouraged by the failure and saw promise: The savory peanuts, often found in Thai and West African cuisines, among others, could be made into a sauce that helps balance a sweet grape jelly glaze. and spicy. Thus the Peanut Butter and Jelly Fried Chicken Sandwich was born, and it's what Scherer thinks might be the best-tasting recipe in the cookbook.

Whether it's that, Nashville-style lamb brains, beef birria soup dumplings, or crab cake hot dogs, the chefs at Mythical have come up with something strange and strangely delicious for you, although there are no turkey testicles in macaroni and cheese. . (Sorry, Terry Crews.)

Find Josh Scherer at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday, April 20, making orange chicken parmesan from “The Mythical Cookbook” on the cooking stage at 2 p.m. See the full schedule of demonstrations, signings and Book Festival debates events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks.

The recipes