The Vegan Black Metal Chef

By Joshua Stacy

In what might be the only way to successfully sale it to Americans, Brian Manowitz has taken full advantage of the tools at his disposal (yay intarwebz!) and managed to make vegan cooking seem interesting (i.e. hysterically entertaining to watch for foodies, head-bangers, and everyone in between).

The Vegan Black Metal Chef has to be one of the most culturally aware people I have come across on the internet in a long time. Not because he appeals to any one particular group of people, but because he knows what works and what doesn’t in today’s ADD infected, Internet-whoring America. He knew that simply making a video that talked about or showed his interest in fine vegan cooking probably wouldn’t get very many hits. So what did he do? He created a gimmick, a hook, something that would grab the attention of not just those who are interested in vegan cooking, but everyone. How did he do it? In the most epic and intense way you can probably imagine. He created a cooking show that not only tells you how to make great food, but does so while listening to Black Metal music, with lyrics sung (spoken?) by him in Black Metal fashion that just so happen to be the instructions for making the food, all while dressed up in a way that would make your Bible-banging Christian mother shit her pants. The guy cuts his veggies up on a pentagram, uses a chalice to add ingredients to a pot in which he uses a mace to stir, has his kitchen decorated as an alter ready to receive a sacrifice, candles lit and all, and it’s pretty damn awesome.

So good job, Brian. I tip my hat to you for your ability to recognize how shit works in this country, what people want, and being aware enough to know that vegan cooking sucks so bad it requires you to dress up like a Slipknot roadie in order to get people interested.