“First We Feast” is the trademark and premise of the food digital magazine and YouTube channel that houses the “Hot Ones,” a series that (pardon the redundancy) is a hot commodity on the accessible video platform. Since its launch almost ten years ago, the advertising magnet and revenue-making series hosted, co-created, and co-produced by Chicagoan journalist/broadcaster Sean Evans has been a breath of fresh air in the world of predictable talk shows and structured and strategically rehearsed celebrity interviews. The rationale for the “Hot Ones” success perhaps could be explained by the medium chosen to publicize the show, which garnered on-the-loop views peaking to five hundred million and counting, or the layback style of interviewing that attracted personalities from all over the world to take the steep climb challenge of eating chicken wings covered in hot sauce that gets hotter with each bite, and each brand Scoville rating from Los Calientes Rojo Hot Sauce to Da’ Bomb Beyond Insanity Hot Sauce. Food brings people together with a simple idea carried on by Evans, who puts the guest at ease with his smooth and casual interviewing style and his ability to be simultaneously a supportive copilot for the guest’s daring ride and a reassuring leader through the journey of answering questions while having to chew a bite that seems to numb the notable visitor’s capability of spell cohesive sentences to match the host inquires. Each week since 2015, the personality of well-known entertainment household names shines through, aided by the unspoken camaraderie of Sean Evans, who welcomes them with a complete set of colorful, spicy bottles, jars of water and milk, and, of course, a cutting board displaying seemingly harmless chicken wings on a table covered in a black tablecloth. From Chef Gordon Ramsey to Conan O’Brien, from Ariana Grande to NSYNC, everyone wants to feast while sharing a raw, frightening moment with the audience, presenting themselves as vulnerable and ready to conquer or fail, struggling to survive the progressively unbearable task of trying the array of intense flavor to hot to handle while conversing in front of the camera. The formula continues to work as the viewership increases, bewitching all target demographics during lunch breaks or late-night screen scrolling. The trend of presenting bare gifts of a comfort dish to entice the guests and audiences has not been exclusive to this side of the Atlantic; across the pond, YouTube British personality Amelia Dimoldenberg, a guest feature in the ultimate crossover episode of season twenty-two of the “Hot Ones.” created a chatty sit-down show “Chicken Shop Date.” recorded and streamed from local shops in London were poultry is the main dish. Much like Sean Evans, Ms. Dimoldenberg’s millennial hosting style is unfiltered, reaching the top of the YouTube platform in the United Kingdom and going viral through clips reproduced on other social media platforms such as TikTok due to the unassuming, sarcastic style of Amelia Dimoldenberg who has captivated audiences since 2014.
If the “Hot Ones” is daring in its visceral physical unraveling of the guest’s digestive journey and tolerance, “Chicken Shop Date” is daring in its direct and awkward untangling and humorous style of the host, who promises a friendly yet no holds barred unlikely romantic date filled with the sensory display of sounds and fried scents of the authentic chicken shop that put the celebrities to play on an environment that is cheeky, welcoming and unpredictable as Ms. Dimoldenberg. Food is the perfect excused from making the public figures feel catered and understood while putting their wit to test. Some interviews’ popularity defies all expectations, which is the case with Andrew Garfield, a gifted actor and master of communication who gave Amelia a run for her money and made the viewers wish the banter and blurred lines between the candid complicity of Garfield and the interviewer were a palpable connection that was perceived as a romantic interaction more than a broadcasting session. To Garfield’s merit, his traits of being empathic and present visitor helped the spectator’s case while witnessing a unique and warm individual equipped with a toolbox of British banter sitting across a seasoned, caustic yet endearing leading lady displaying a sartorial ammunition of charm. Viral clips, growing view numbers, spellbound demographics, a casual style of interviewing, an on-the-go accessible platform, and an invitation to grab a bite while developing a pleasant conversation have put the “Hot Ones” and Chicken Shop Date” as triumphant creations across the pond to the delight of everyone that dare to show up to the invitation by pressing play on their YouTube tab.