Why Black Gloves Have Taken Over Recipe Videos
Like the sudden sound of thunderous rain on a sunny afternoon, with social media trends, you’re often not quite sure where they’ve come from, but all of a sudden, it seems to be everywhere. Such is the case with this black glove trend that appears to have swooped in overnight and taken over the Insta-TikTok online chef community.
But, contrary to what I naively thought, you’re not required to have any kind of special training or have graduated from Le Cordon Bleu to be able to use these — this isn’t taekwondo. You just need to be... cool?
Here’s the actual deal.
WHO STARTED THE TREND?
It’s not exactly clear who kicked off the craze, but a lot of evidence points to Nusret “Salt Bae” Gökçe, who, because of a health code violation at his New York restaurant, was forced to start wearing gloves before touching other people’s food (which really seems like a good idea to me — viral star or not). But who wants someone cutting and salting their meat in hospital-esque white or blue gloves? Salt Bae chose an iconic black pair instead, and the rest is history.
What’s the idea behind it?
The reasons for a content creator wearing black gloves in a cooking video can range from hygiene reasons, to creating an appealing aesthetic, to simply just jumping on a trend in the quest to keep up with the times. The last reason is most likely to be the driving force for most online chefs doing this, because of the understandable need to stay to relevant and keep things fresh.
“People just like the vibe — it makes you kind of mysterious,” says Moyin Odeniran, a cake baker who posts on TikTok as @mrdesserts. The guy has a point: Black is more badass. In addition to that, there also seems to be a growing belief that chef hands in black gloves is a signifier of some extra level of skill. @HisokaQuinn said it best when they tweeted, “When I see a cooking video and the chef is wearing those black gloves, I just know the food is gonna hit.”
PUBLIC (TWITTER) OPINION
Like every trend, the feed-favourite black gloves rage will come and go, but while it’s still around, people have a lot to say about it.
"Black gloves and tender meat videos" my guilty pleasure https://t.co/Ht4xUGav2t
— The Last 🔝 (@jusLikeMike911) November 7, 2022
i dont know how to explain this but if they’re wearing black gloves in the cooking videos, there is too much chef to food sexual tension and I immediately turn it off
— J (@98heyjt) October 17, 2021
once you see the black gloves it’s a wrap… https://t.co/ZJCsuYVQWN
— millie bobbie hill (@mak_flurri) November 7, 2022
What’s with hardcore video chefs wearing those black gloves?
— Jesse Hall 🤖👽👻💀👹🤠 (@wastedarkcell) October 3, 2022
Real food service is wearing those one size fits all Mickey Mouse abominations. Or spit into your hands, rub them together real fast, run your hands through your hair, and then get hands on with the meatloaf.
Defund as means to abolish TikTok black gloves chefs. All that expensive oxtail wasted on way too much cheese.
— La Jambe (@dalilah_black) November 7, 2022
Has rice gone extinct ? https://t.co/oiOizWJYkW
Once they wear black gloves while displaying their products on IG, their prices are over the roof so don’t bother😂
— EZINNE 🎀 (@Ola_mara_mma) November 8, 2022
When I see niggas that be grilling with them black gloves on, I know they food is good af pic.twitter.com/cRMwzuYtfH
— ⚡️Whiskey Hendrix⚡️ (@Freddo_isKing) June 27, 2019
Tipsy bartender got us traumatized every time we see those black gloves lmaooo https://t.co/HkujlmazZ3
— Hurricane Tay 🔪 (@TheHurricaneTay) November 5, 2022
No one* uses black gloves when they cook and until about a year ago no one used black gloves when they made food videos. But now they totally do. A benign but still very weird (and obviously temporary) cultural move via TikTok. https://t.co/ZxKdPJcMFa via @Eater
— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) November 7, 2022
When I see a cooking video and the chef is wearing those black gloves, I just know the food is gonna hit pic.twitter.com/qpOQGEyQoZ
— Shermie’s Bangs ♦️ (@HisokaQuinn) May 31, 2022
