I Am In Love With This YouTube Channel Where Two Guys Review Mac And Cheese
All you need in your life is the simple pleasure of watching old friends talk, while a box of mac and cheese simmers on the stove.
The premise of BoxMac, a YouTube channel I have been obsessed with for nigh on five years, is simple: two guys, lots of boxed macaroni and cheese.
Really, I could leave the article right there. BoxMac has such a simple premise that you’ll either be onboard from those eight words, or you won’t — there are no hooks or surprises to compel you. The whole show is predicated on hosts Frankie Frain and Jon Hunt and their overriding, all-consuming love of all things macaroni and cheese. Nothing more, nothing less.
But the miracle of the channel, which attracts thousands of mac and cheese enthusiasts from across the globe, is how warm and inviting such a simple premise can be. Frain and Hunt have been friends since early teenagehood, and the gentle rapport that they share shows itself in every episode. They’ll riff off each other, make jokes, and share stories, all while bustling their way around Hunt’s home kitchen.
These are two men who love each other as much as they love talking about different ways of making macaroni and cheese — just don’t get them started on the age-old debate over whether you should oven-bake your mac or not (they’re horrified by the idea, for the record.)
And if you think that such a simple premise could only be spun out into so many episodes, you’d be wrong. The show has 161 episodes and counting, each dedicated to different brands of boxed-based content. There’s vegan mac and cheeses, ‘Baby Shark’ branded macs, frozen macs and more. The duo have even tried a box from Australia. Their verdict: tastes like cardboard.
Indeed, in its simplicity, the show calls back to the glory days of the early internet, before the place got swamped with brands and controversy and outrage.
Remember when YouTube was a place for little snatches of life, filmed from people’s houses, rather than high-gloss productions designed on sapping the attention spans of teenagers? So do Frain and Hunt. Their show is a thrilling reminder that sometimes all you need in your life is the simple pleasure of watching two friends talk, a new box of mac and cheese simmering on the stove.