Wearing a pair of black Latex gloves, a Bart Simpson T-shirt, and a black baseball cap turned backward, 25-year-old Chris Blackwood of Phoenix is ready to cook. But it's not enough for him to simply whip something up.
He records his passion for the world to see. He talks to an audience as they watch him cook live and share their comments. And he gives advice to aspiring chefs viewing Blackwood's one-man show. Recording with three cameras, a computer webcam, music for ambiance, and bright lights, his newly-renovated kitchen feels like a TV studio.
People might not know about his cooking show on Twitch, a live-streaming video platform owned by a subsidiary of Amazon. But his growing audience does. With about 2,800 steady followers, Blackwood cooks a variety of dishes inspired by fine dining. It streams most weekdays at about 4 p.m.
"My style is to take the classic food, comfort food classics, and apply that fine dining technique to ... make it really special," he says.
It's an overwhelming set-up for any normal home cook. But not for Blackwood, who responds to each viewer like a best friend. In a way, for the audience, it's like attending a great dinner party with a warm host.
However, he finds it tough to do one thing at his self-made home studio in a quiet Phoenix neighborhood.
"There is a certain challenge of cooking on camera, though, especially live because you can't hide," Blackwood says. "It's the unique flavor of you don't know exactly what's going to happen and I think that keeps people entertained ... I don't get put off or I don't get down when I make mistakes because to me that's part of the learning process, and I do make a lot."
Due to popular demand from his fans, he makes a drop counter for everything he's dropped in the kitchen. But it's interactions like this and his passion for food that fuels his live stream videos.
"There's something really unifying about cooking," he says. "I've always said that for all the disagreement in the world, whatever it may be, I think that everyone can agree that food is good. So I like that aspect of food that it brings people together, and that aspect of streaming is no exception."
Where it all began
Blackwood's love for cooking started in high school, thanks to his dad who would make barbecue ribs.
"One day I said, 'how do you do that?' And I got hooked," Blackwood says. "Before long, every day after school, I was making different BBQ sauces with cream soda and apples or whatever. Then I started getting my basics down, basically through just watching cooking shows on YouTube, reading cookbooks and doing apprenticeship at restaurants."
He apprenticed with chefs at restaurants around the country, including the now-defunct Posh in Scottsdale, Spiaggia in Chicago, and Quality Eats in New York City. As grateful as he was for these experiences, he wanted to do more.
He started making videos of himself cooking in 2016 and uploading the clips on Youtube, but they weren't doing well. So he got an idea after watching video-game players stream on Twitch.
"I was tired of sitting alone in the edit bay, and I wanted that interaction," he says. "So what I discovered is that there are a whole lot of cool people who like to hang out and watch the live cooking. It's very different from an edited video. You get to see the entire process of the food from start to finish."
Through his videos, he's garnered a dedicated fan base that is both flattering and a little overwhelming.
"A lady in Norway figured out where I lived, and she sent black licorice," he says, laughing.
'Maybe one day I'll go back'
One of his biggest cooking inspirations is Heston Blumenthal, a British celebrity chef with three Michelin stars at his restaurant, The Fat Duck in England. Blackwood even has a black-and-white candid photo of him in his kitchen, and he holds an unforgettable memory about trying to land apprenticeships with Blumenthal's restaurants.
"I flew out to London and had my knives, all my cookbooks in my bags, and everything," Blackwood says. "So I show up, I'm at customs, and they give you that little landing card that says 'how long do you want to stay?' 'Oh, I'll stay for a year.' "
But that didn't work out the way he planned.
"Of course, you need a work visa to stay longer than six months, and I was just an apprentice, which didn't give that," he says. "So they didn't let me go to London. In fact, they held me at Heathrow Airport saying, 'you can't come here.' So I was a little crestfallen but I still wanted to work at a Michelin star restaurant ... Maybe one day I'll go back and work at one of Heston's restaurants."
What's next?
Blackwood studied literature and philosophy at Arizona State University, but his nine-to-five job is in the financial industry. That's not his endgame plan, however.
He wants to expand his reach and live stream on other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at the same time as his Twitch stream. Blackwood also wants to do a TV show inspired by his adventures as an apprentice, visiting restaurants to learn more about the food they make and how they operate.
He also wants to keep adding new things to make the stream exciting. For example, the "NSYNC mic," as he calls it, is a fancy head-worn mic that is the latest addition to his streaming tech ensemble. But he's adding more cooking equipment, too.
"I've invested a lot of time in getting the best possible equipment I can to give people the best," he says. "I don't ask for them on the stream, but one time they sent me donations and I bought the ice cream maker."
How to watch Chris' show
Follow his adventures on social media platforms like Instagram at @chrisblackwoodtv and Twitter at @_chrisblackwood. Check out the stream this story covers on Twitch at twitch.tv/chrisblackwood.
Want to pitch a story idea? Reach reporter Samantha Incorvaia at sincorvaia@gannett.com or 602-444-4968. Follow her on Twitter at @_SamI520.
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https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/dining/2019/05/26/phoenix-man-chris-blackwood-does-twitch-cooking-show-out-of-kitchen/3566685002/
2019-05-26 14:00:00Z
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