Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
I’m a sucker for a good food YouTube channel. I like it when professional chefs take me into their home kitchens, where they show me the tricks they use to tackle dinner and reveal a bit more of their personalities. Which is why I’ve fallen fast and hard for Mystery Meal, NYT Cooking’s YouTube series starring culinary darling du jour Sohla El-Waylly and her husband Ham. The series started as a solo project for the uber-popular Sohla, but has since found its stride as a showcase for the married chef couple. Never before have I seen such easy collaboration, gentle criticism, and full on competency porn. As a food host duo, Sohla and Ham El-Waylly are literal couple goals.
Sohla El-Waylly shot to fame in foodie circles as a “background” character in the massively successful Bon Appetit YouTube videos of the late 2010s. The then assistant food editor was frequently called upon by the magazine’s chosen stars to help them with culinary know-how from how to temper chocolate to how to crack the creative side of a video challenge. It did not go unnoticed by fans.
When news broke in June 2020 that Bon Appetit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport had been photographed in brownface, a company-wide Zoom was held to address the situation. Sohla El-Waylly was the first person to call for Rapoport’s resignation and went on to accuse the publication of vastly underpaying its employees of color while promoting white talent on screen and in the magazine. Rapoport resigned that day and El-Waylly soon left the publication, too.
Sohla El-Waylly immediately became an in-demand personality in the food programming world, starring in everything from a Babbish Culinary Universe series to judging The Big Brunch. However her most delightful series yet might be Mystery Menu. The NYT Cooking series gives the chef a mystery ingredient and asks her to prepare a full course dinner and dessert in under an hour. The first run of episodes, where she worked solo in her home kitchen, felt like yet another fun food YouTube series. Since bringing her husband Ham in as partner, and not just observer, however, the series has become a next level triumph.
The thing that makes the “Sohla and Ham” partnership so appealing to watch is how different it is from our stereotypical idea of how talented chefs work alongside each other in a kitchen. There’s no yelling, no panicking, and no chants of “Yes, Chef!” The two approach each challenge with a confident sangfroid, bouncing ideas off each other as if they’re almost psychically reading the others’ thoughts. When they disagree with an idea, there’s no negging. Rather, they politely suggest a different take on a recipe. Their symbiosis transfers to the kitchen, where they cheer each other on and calmly pause to help the other out.
There’s something incredibly sexy watching two people share this level of creative and professional intimacy. Before she landed at Bon Appetit, Sohla worked alongside Ham in their Brooklyn restaurant Hail Mary. Through the Mystery Menu videos — where the couple tackle dinners made from everything from durian to coffee beans to Halloween candy — you see their rich history working alongside each other in a professional kitchen. There’s a shorthand they share that could only be forged from experience. The El-Wayllys are also obviously incredibly competent.
I think my favorite part of Mystery Menu is the competency porn of it all. Watching these two highly skilled chefs pull off what I would consider impossible is equal parts dazzling and inspiring. Maybe — maybe?? — I could make a banana polenta one day, but I’m more heartened to know that Ham and Sohla can do it in their sleep. In a world where chaos seems to reign more often than not thanks to simple incompetency, it’s nice to know that there are people who know what they’re doing.
Sohla and Ham El-Waylly don’t just know what they’re doing, but how to do it well. That is with superior communication skills, undying support, and sweet, loving rapport. All of which are ingredients to make what I imagine is a perfect partnership.
