It’s not what you think. The YouTube video “Cooking With Your Mouth | Christmas Turkey” sounds like some crazy science experiment where some brave chef heats up ingredients in her cheeks and then swallows them. In fact, it’s much more disgusting than that. I can’t stop watching it, but I also have some questions.


Quick trigger warning: if you think the gif above is gross, you’re not going to like the video below. It’s gross. You might like my analysis, though!

Question #1: What’s happening?

In six short minutes, a woman assembles an entire Christmas turkey using nothing but the ingredients, an Ikea salad bowl, an oven, and her mouth. For the stuffing, she chews up the onion, carrots, celery, parsley, garlic, bread, lemon—and this is where it gets tough—a raw egg and a small slab of butter. She just chews it up and spits it in the bowl. Then she mixes it together with her hands and stuffs it in a raw turkey. Cooks the turkey in an oven. Puts it all on a plate.


Question #2: Is it dangerous to cook with your mouth?

Yes. It’s dangerous for the chef and her guests. If the chef is sick, the food could cause illness. Pouring a raw egg into your mouth is certainly ill-advised. Eating sticks of butter could be bad for your heart health, even if you don’t swallow it (I think).

Question #3: Where did you find this video?

Twitter.

Question #4: Is it art?

It is almost certainly art. The creator, Nathan Ceddia, is a London-based artist whose work has appeared not only on YouTube and Vimeo but also The New York Times and the works of Bompas & Parr. He seems severely interested in food. One of his projects involves naked men and women sitting on gelatin sculptures.


Question #5: Should I cook with my mouth?

No. I’m not even sure you should watch the video, but here it is anyways. Happy New Year!

[Sarah Harvard]