Have you ever been eating your favorite snacks and thought, "Boy, I sure wish this thing I'm eating was INSIDE this other thing I'm eating, like Dexter-meets-flippin'-Frankenstein!"?
Well, there is someone who's happy to oblige. A mysterious YouTuber who simply calls himself "The Food Surgeon" takes a scalpel and tweezers to his favorite snacks (mostly candy) and performs acts of surgery as if on an operating table—replete with scrubs and gloves and dramatic, super-creepy lighting.
With videos like "Reese's Peanut-Butter-Ectomy with Oreo Cream Transplant" and "Strawberry Seed Extraction and Nutella Augmentation," he's definitely taking a page out of a plastic surgeon's playbook, attempting to modify, combine—and perhaps improve—the innate aspects of foods so many of us blindly accept as unmutable.
The videos are oddly fascinating, and funny, with a mildly ASMR feel. And with millions of views and almost 70,000 subscribers, this guy is certainly on to something.
His YouTube description reads, "A culinary practitioner not qualified to perform surgery of any kind." AdFreak caught up with the Food Surgeon via email to try to understand the man behind the scalpel.
AdFreak: So, you don't have a medical background, correct?
The Food Surgeon: Correct. I have no medical background, nor culinary background.
What inspires you? Do you watch other YouTubers—or medical dramas?
I'm definitely inspired by other quality YouTubers, including Chef John of Food Wishes. I love his focus on the food, and the way the food looks as opposed to the appearance of the person cooking the food. My film style is heavily influenced by PES, who makes amazing stop-motion films. Check them out!
You prefer to be anonymous. Why is that?
I think it adds to the aura of The Food Surgeon. The focus is on the food, the sounds and the sights. I want it to remain that way.
What is your method for selecting the foods you choose to perform surgery on?
I often find inspiration while browsing isles in the grocery store. To be considered for an operation, the food item must be dissectible in some form or another. Though delicious, a square of fudge would make for a boring operation for lack of internal variation. Though my most popular videos are candy related, I am the food surgeon and not the candy surgeon, so diversity is important.
The videos are executed quite nicely. How hard are they to make, and have you ever had to do several takes?
Every single video has required multiple takes. I'm only working with one camera, so I often reshoot the same scene multiple times from different angles. Each video takes about six to eight hours to create, which includes production and editing.
Have you ever attempted a food surgery that went horribly wrong?
Yes. For instance, during the Cookie Reassignment Surgery, one of my patients crumbled in my hands as I attempted to extract its raisins. When this happens, I simply eat the patient. Yum.
Do you get much feedback from the ASMR community?
I do get some, yes. I don't cater to the ASMR community, but I do realize that they make up a good portion of my fan base. Since that's the case, I often publish my videos to the ASMR subreddit forum and ask for feedback.
What does the future hold for you? Will you ever attempt to delve into savory foods?
Expect to see more dissections, more candy transplants, and more bizarre food creations. I have a couple of ideas for savory food surgeries, but it's hard to say when I'll have the time, or appetite, for them.