John Mitzewich

John Mitzewich graduated from Paul Smith's College, New York, in 1983. He received an Associate of Applied Science Degree, with Honors, in Culinary Arts/Chef Training, and was also honored as the school's 1983 "Outstanding Chef Training Student.".[3] He's "held just about every position possible in the food industry" including Executive Sous Chef at the Carnelian Room, Sous Chef at Ryan's Café, and Garde Manger at the San Francisco Opera. Chef John was a Chef Instructor at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco for five years before leaving to focus on teaching people to cook online.[3]

He has a partnership with the online food network Allrecipes.com, and has published a cookbook for Paragon Publishing, America's Family Favorites: The Best of Home Cooking.[4] In 2011, he was awarded Best Home Chef in a Series by Taste TV.[5]

Perhaps uniquely among Internet food writers, each of Mitzewich's recipes is split between the blog and the video instructions on his YouTube channel, with the exact written ingredient amounts and background information about the recipe being posted on the blog, and the method for preparing the recipe not being written but instead explained through the video on YouTube (which otherwise does not typically describe the exact amounts of all ingredients). He has noted that this allows him to get "paid twice" from the advertising on both sites.[6]

As of January 2021, Mitzewich has over 3.84 million subscribers to his YouTube channel with over 800 million views.[7] Mitzewich has a content partnership deal with YouTube.[4]

A differentiating aspect of Mitzewich's videos on YouTube is his way of filming. He deliberately keeps himself out of the shot, only displaying utensils, ingredients and his hands. He later records a narration of the video that overlays his voice recording on the video in a unique tonal voice and pitch.[8] Some of his notable catchphrases and puns in his videos follow a unique format:

• Hello, this is Chef John from Foodwishes.com, with (the name of the dish in an excited tone)! That's right. (Mitzewich's intro lines in every video)
• If you wanna (make any alteration to the dish according to liking), go ahead!
• After all, you're the (any celebrity's name or any made-up name) of your (name of the dish being cooked, in a rhyming manner)!
• Whenever he mentions witty lines or puns, it is followed by a cymbal sound.

Another unique aspect of Mitzewich's recipes is the inclusion of powdered cayenne pepper in many recipes. He describes the addition of the spice as giving an "extra touch of the heat and bringing the unique tastes of the dishes forward."

His signature YouTube farewell line is "And, as always, enjoy!"

• Sherman, Elizabeth (April 29, 2019). "Chef John's Soothing Cooking Show 'Food Wishes' Is My Refuge When Life Gets Chaotic". Munchies. Vice.