“Peaceful Cuisine” Is the Most Relaxing Cooking Show You’ve Never Heard Of
What do you do when you need to unwind? Maybe you take a hot bath or get a massage. Maybe you make a double-batch of bolognese sauce or whip up a chocolate cake, frost it just so, and then eat it. My recharge routine? I binge-watch beautifully shot vegan cooking videos paired with gentle music.
If you’ve been on the hunt for a blissed-out culinary experience bound to drop your blood pressure, it’s time to sit back and binge watch “Peaceful Cuisine.”
What Is “Peaceful Cuisine?”
Peaceful Cuisine is the YouTube channel of Japan-based chef Ryoya Takashima and it is filled with gentle vegan cooking videos.
Recipe instructions slowly flash across the screen, outlining each step and ingredient. While the recipe unfurls, the camera lingers on oil trickling over a puffy mountain of flour, the soft flesh of two split dates tumbling into a food processor, or blueberries resting on a handful of raw cashews. Every shot is cinematic, delivered in a pale, dewy gray light that evokes a cozy fall afternoon, or the hazy, softly lit hours as the day starts and ends.
Each video is also laced with a symphony of ASMR kitchen sounds: the clink of spoons against jars, the musical clatter of bowls against the countertop, or the soft hum of flour shaken from a bag. If you want to hone in on just sounds, without a lullaby-esque soundtrack, each video has a “no music” version for the kitchen noise purist.
If you watch enough of these in a row, you’ll be thoroughly transported, convinced you’ve landed in Ryoya Takashima’s lovely Japanese kitchen, a feast of vegan treats awaiting you as you come out of your trance. (Don’t be surprised if you’re struck with the sudden urge to create one of these dishes. I can vouch for the Earl Grey cookies, which were a fun addition to a giant holiday cookie baking bender.)
There are pages and pages filled with Peaceful Cuisine videos. If you want to dig in, start with my top five.
5 Peaceful Cuisine Videos to Watch Right Now
Have you watched Peaceful Cuisine before? Do you love it as much as I do?