FASCINATING PEOPLE

Tasting History — Doing YouTube the Right Way

Serve it forth!

The Story of Tasting History

Tasting History is the best-produced amateur YouTube channel that I have yet seen. It exemplifies what I feel the average gig economy freelancer or side hustler should aspire to in creating an entertaining and informative on-going video channel.

Tasting History started in February 2020 when Max Miller, a Disney employee, was furloughed during the Covid pandemic and had to quickly find a way to earn a living and stave off boredom.

He did not sign up to drive for Uber or DoorDash — no, Max Miller combined his passion for history with a new-found interest in cooking, and monetized them. Thus was Tasting History born. Miller began producing an episode a week, releasing them on Tuesdays.

From side-hustle to business

In April 2021, when Disney recalled him to work, Miller went through a lot of soul-searching and nail-biting before reporting to his audience that he had told Disney he would not be coming back. He wanted to produce Tasting History full-time.

I about jumped for joy when I saw the video, entitled, ‘I Quit,’ in which Miller made this announcement. But I also knew that was a huge, scary step for him to take, and he could not have done it without preparation. He had to change how he produced his videos so he could survive the cost of giving up his former day job, and he had to have all of his financial backing set up before or soon after he resigned from Disney.

Show prep for Tasting History

For his episodes, not only must Miller find an old — or even ancient — recipe to prepare, he must often have someone translate the recipe. In the past he has sought help from Harvard professor Gojko Barjanovic for help translating a Babylonian recipe for a stew called tuh’u, and Professor Roy Chan for help translating a 17th century Chinese recipe for yuanxiao, according to an interview he did with Samantha for 812 Film Reviews.

Then he must determine, based on historical units of measure (when a recipe uses them) how much of each ingredient he needs in today’s units of…