Epic Meal Time
| Epic Meal Time | |
|---|---|
 Epic Meal Time logo | |
| Genre | Cooking show, comedy, parody |
| Starring | Harley Morenstein Alex Perrault Tyler Lemco David Heuff Josh Elkin Ameer Atari |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Evan Rimer |
| Cinematography | Sterling Toth |
| Camera setup | Canon 7D digital single-lens reflex camera |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | YouTube (October 2010–present) Revision3 (April 2011–present) |
| Original airing | October 17, 2010 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
Epic Meal Time is a YouTube cooking show known for creating extremely high-calorie meals, generally out of meat products (with more emphasis on bacon) and including alcohol. It debuted in October 2010, and since then has started to release an episode every Tuesday. It is hosted by Harley Morenstein and a group of his friends. They are now represented by The Gersh Agency and Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, and have signed with Internet television network Revision3. Epic Meal Time won the 2011 Shorty Award in the Food Category.
History
The idea for Epic Meal Time was created when a friend filmed Morenstein eating a Wendy's hamburger that contained six beef patties and eighteen bacon strips to the theme song from The Terminator. They posted the footage on YouTube, where it gathered thousands of hits. They decided to film the first episode of Epic Meal Time, titled "The Worst Pizza Ever!". In the episode, they created a "fast food pizza" containing KFC popcorn chicken, a Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme (taco), a McDonald's Big Mac and chicken nuggets, a Wendy's Baconator and french fries, an A&W Teen Burger (bacon cheeseburger) and onion rings, and a cheese pizza. The entire meal totaled 5,210 calories and 286 grams of fat. It was posted on YouTube on October 17, 2010.
Morenstein admits the show is "Jackass in the kitchen", and Epic Meal Time's logo is closely modeled after the American stunt and prank show's own skull and crutches logo.
The group approached Comedy Central, Spike TV and the Discovery Channel about creating a television program out of the show. They are currently signed with Revision3, an Internet-based television network.
Format
Each episode features Morenstein as host. He uses hip hop slang frequently, constantly referring to viewers as 'haters'. His profanity is bleeped out by bird calls. The episodes are filmed with a Canon 7D digital single-lens reflex camera. The episode begins with Morenstein, other recurring Epic Meal Time members, and occasionally other guests, cooking the meal itself. Most of the meals are meat-based, with alcohol beverages and bacon strips often included. In most episodes, when they add more components to the meal, counters at the bottom right side of the video display the increasing number of calories and grams of fat. In "Maximum Protein Experience", the group also included a protein counter. Episodes end with a group of people eating the meal, often very messily and sometimes incorporating unusual serving utensils like wooden paddles, a chainsaw, and hockey sticks.
Cast and crew
The Epic Meal Time cast and crew is made up of a number of men in their twenties, some of Jewish faith despite the prominent use of bacon. The host, narrator, and co-creator is Harley Morenstein, a 25-year-old former substitute high school teacher from Montreal. He co-created the show with Sterling Toth, who acts as the cameraman. Also frequently involved is Alex Perrault, a personal trainer whose character, "Muscles Glasses", wears reflective aviator sunglasses in most of the episodes. Concordia University students David Heuff, Tyler Lemco, Josh Elkin, and Ameer Atari also appear frequently. Evan Rimer is their producing partner.
Others have made appearances in episodes, such as Canadian house musician Deadmau5 in the May 3, 2011 episode "Cheesy Grilled Cheese Tower".
Income
Epic Meal Time uses merchandising to raise money for the show, currently selling a line of branded t-shirts. In interviews, Morenstein and Toth have also discussed the creation of a cookbook and an iPhone app. The episodes also contain advertisements, generated by YouTube using Google AdSense. More recently, the group has participated in referral programs for other companies such as Netflix and Gamefly. Most of the referral codes are given through the Epic Meal Time website, though the group has occasionally directly mentioned them in videos.
Reception
The show has become extremely popular, receiving millions of views per episode, prompting Morenstein to quit his job as a teacher and Toth to quit his as a graphic designer. Morenstein explained the popularity by saying, "In this day and age, I feel like there's a big emphasis on organic foods or a lot of negative media in regards to obesity and stuff like that. We are there eating this, and [viewers] are eating vicariously through us."
In March 2011, Morenstein and Toth won a Shorty Award in the food category. The Shorty Awards recognizes social media and Twitter fan-favorites. Epic Meal Time won ahead of Twitter phenomenon Ruth Bourdain and shows like Food Network's Bitchin' Kitchen.
Parodies
The show has spawned several parodies. One parody was created by a group of vegans, in which a tofurkey meal is made with tofu, edible seaweed, spaghetti, soy sauce, and other vegan ingredients. The parody was posted on the blog of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who described Epic Meal Time as "nasty" and "gluttonous". A parody show entitled Regular Ordinary Swedish Meal Time shows a group of Swedish people preparing traditional Swedish cuisine in an over-the-top manner. Another parody, "Epic Meal Time - Kids Edition", shows a young boy creating a macaroni and cheese meat lasagna in a similar style as Epic Meal Time. Epic Kaukau Time is a parody show created by a group of Hawaiians. In "Manapua Man Manapua", which mimics the format of Epic Meal Time's videos, they create a manapua stuffed with bacon, lap cheong, ground pork, cha siu, onions, mushrooms, dried orange peels, soju, fried noodles, pork pot stickers, Spam musubi, steamed rice cakes, Funyuns, and a smaller manapua. The entire manapua is glazed with a mixture of Jones cream soda and ground haw flakes.
Appearances
Epic Meal Time appeared in their first late night interview with on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 17, 2011, where they created an "inside-out" shepherd's pie variation (made with mashed potatoes, Kraft Dinner, pastrami, prosciutto, Velveeta, bacon, and barbecue sauce) that was shaped like a car. Afterwards, actor Rainn Wilson, Leno's other guest that night, appeared to assist in eating it. The team has also appeared on other Youtube channels, including in a skit with Freddie Wong entitled "Epic VFX Time".
References
External links
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Meal_Time
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