Cooking with Dog is a Japanese cooking show web series. It premiered on YouTube on September 9, 2007. The show features a Japanese woman known only as "Chef" who prepares the featured dish of the episode while her toy poodle Francis (via voiceover) narrates the process. While Chef speaks in Japanese, Francis narrates the episodes in English, a decision designed to expand the show's audience. Though initially focusing on Japanese cuisine, the show later expanded to include cuisine from other regions. New episodes were uploaded each Friday, before switching to a different release structure in early 2017. Despite the show's popularity and public appearances by Chef, the identities of both Chef and the show's producer are intentionally undisclosed out of privacy concerns.
Over time, the show has increased in popularity, going from a low budget, low production value channel to gaining a cult following and having over 1.4 million channel subscribers. Reviews have attributed the show's popularity to its simplicity, granular step-by-step approach to cooking, and Francis and Chef's pleasant, anxiety-free approach. The show is among YouTube's 10 most subscribed cooking and food channels and has garnered positive attention, public appearances, and awards.
In 2015, the show's popularity resulted in a spinoff web series called Go! Francis!, where a stuffed toy version of Francis travels throughout Japan discussing aspects of Japanese food culture, visiting places of culinary interest, and interviewing professionals in the food industry. The web series is also hosted on the same YouTube channel as Cooking with Dog. Francis died in late 2016, prompting an eventual announcement that the show would no longer continue to produce regular content, but would instead release occasional new episodes, featuring both an animated and stuffed animal version of Francis.
History
Cooking with Dog'''s creator and producer conceived of the idea for the show upon his return to Tokyo from Los Angeles, where he had graduated from film school and worked in film and television. Interested in continuing in the industry, but unable to find success on his own and lacking a significant budget, the producer approached Chef (whose identity is also undisclosed for privacy reasons) with the idea of a cooking show. Chef was known to the producer as a good cook, and agreed to the show concept: she would cook one dish while her toy poodle Francis would be dubbed to narrate. Francis, who lives with Chef, was included to make Chef feel more comfortable and at ease on camera, as she had no background with television. Additionally, the producer felt that including a cute dog would make the series stand out to viewers. The decision for Francis to narrate in Japanese-accented English was due to the producer's desire to promote Japanese culture through English-accessible content and widen the show's appeal. The show's producer does the voice acting for Francis.
The show debuted on YouTube on September 9, 2007. Described as a "low-budget, low quality" video, the first episode featured an instructional recipe for Japanese cuisine staple sukiyaki. The producer's goal was initially to promote washoku or Japanese cuisine to foreigners living outside Japan, but the show later expanded to include recipes for Japanese dishes inspired from other locales and gained a large following within Japan. Though the show started as a low budget production, the producer states that the increase in the show's popularity has increased revenue enough for him to devote himself full-time to the show's production. As of February 2014, the series had over 100 episodes.
Format and production
Each episode opens with a shot of the featured dish and a greeting by Francis, who introduces himself as the host of the show. Chef then introduces the dish she will be preparing. As Chef prepares and cooks the ingredients, Francis sits on a stool in the background and narrates in voiceover with instructions for each step. Each episode ends with Chef tasting the prepared dish and giving a quick complimentary description of the flavor or texture. A title card with the necessary ingredients closes out the show, with Francis offering helpful tips or reminders about the recipe and wishing the viewer "Good luck in the kitchen!" A stinger at the end of the episode depicts the upcoming dish for the next episode. Episodes generally range between five and 10 minutes in length. In developing her recipes, Chef prefers to cook recipes designed around seasonal ingredients in Japan.