$449 vs $18 Chocolate Cake: Pro Chef & Home Cook Swap Ingredients | Epicurious

Pro chef Natasha Pickowicz and home cook Emily are swapping recipes and hitting the kitchen to make chocolate cake. We set Emily up with all the ingredients necessary to make Chef Natasha’s luxurious $449 chocolate cake recipe, sending only $18 worth of stuff back the other way. Will Natasha be able to bake up a storm from Emily’s humble ingredients? Will Emily be able to keep up with Natasha’s restaurant-quality recipe?
Director: Chris Principe
Director of Photography: Francis Bernal
Editor: Misa Qu; Michael Imhoff
Featuring: Natasha Pickowicz
Talent: Emily Duncan
Director of Culinary Production: Kelly Janke
Producer: Isabel Alcantara
Culinary Producer: Jessica Do
Culinary Associate Producer: Leslie Raney
Line Producer: Jen McGinity
Associate Producer: Amanda Broll
Production Manager: Janine Dispensa
Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes
Camera Operator: Caleb Weiss
Audio Engineer: Z Jadwick
Production Assistant: Alex Mitchell
Researcher: Vivian Jao
Post Production Supervisor: Andrea Farr
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araújo
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
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[@connorbishop3289]

You should do pro chef vs pro chef and see their takes on each other’s recipes :)

[@KDeanie]

Oh I’d watch that

[@christyancamarena6463]

Yaaaaaasss 👏👏👏

[@TheUrbanhat]

Thats a great idea! I'm thinking Saul and Proto, cooking each other's cuisines. Would love it!

[@clairesauer5692]

YES

[@MrCillaKam]

Sal vs Frank... I WANT THIS EPIC MATCH UP FOR THE END OF TIME

[@scatterlienatalie9873]

"Sifting, I've never really understood, but I believe in it, like fairies and the economy," Emily is the G O A T 😂😂😂

[@afino61_]

"suck it, gravity!"

[@pheonixxam5812]

“I’m gonna make a little bath for you, baby!” Emily is an idol 🤣🤩

[@bongekileskosana1229]

The Pro Chef's disdain for the IMITATION vanilla extract 🤣

[@rinalaurajenn]

WTF with this jokes. What's wrong if she repeated IMITATION VANILLA EXTRACT. you sound like expert cooking or chef. This hate so cringe

[@metalgamer9647]

@@rinalaurajennwhat?

[@UndecidedCryptid]

No one gonna mention that the flowers were $137 of that price, seems egregious

[@ilaphroaig]

Totaly nuts. And she only needed 1 rose. And then the Brandy. This cake was more like 250 dollars..

[@datboibutters]

That’s always been something that’s bothered me about the series. For shock value they use the total price for the item instead of the fraction of what was used.

[@jc3drums916]

@@datboibutters I don't mind that so much if it's with the idea that there's no way to buy exactly how much is used, such as if the recipe calls for 4 eggs, but the smallest quantity stores sell eggs is a half dozen, because that's closer to how much we'd have to spend to make the recipe, which is more useful than the finished product's exact material value. But often there are at least one or two ingredients that are vastly overpriced by Epicurious's estimate, regardless of quantity. And was there no way to buy a single rose?

[@damonruetama8126]

If you subtract the roses, she guessed the price exactly 😮

[@nicholascrow8133]

@@jc3drums916 In other videos when they use the same ingredient, it's clear that they cost the expensive ingredients as a whole unit (e.g whole bottle of brandy, dozen eggs etc) but they cost the less expensive ingredients as per portion (i.e what is used for the recipe, 1 or 2 eggs etc) There's even been cases where they have bumped up the price of identical amounts of the same ingredient. I get that it's all to make the title more clickbaitable, but would much rather they do fair costings, there still would be a significant delta in costings and just make the whole thing seem more honest...

[@gerardochavesalvarado9520]

Take a shot everytime the pro chef says imitation vainilla extract! 😅😂

[@dailithjai1425]

Also at the end when she said "cheaper ingredients" when she was saying how salt brought out the flavour, she didn't have to say that 💀😭

[@ryanbacher2455]

The pro chef actually sent instructions instead of just an ingredients list! Hallelujah!

[@tiaaustin9351]

Whats even more crazy than the roses being 137 is that Emily guessed 312 which is what 449-137

[@luistelles8719]

Woah

[@lindafreeman7030]

Emily understands those nights when you just NEED CAKE, and this is why I love her.

[@itsgoingtobeok-justbreathe4808]

The new pro chef reminds me of that Unicorn of a girl who's a cheerleader but also captain of the debate team and also happens to be a genuinely nice person, but still can't relate to normal people's daily failings.

[@emilytchuu9876]

It’s her voice

[@printedwit]

credit to Emily: $449 less the value of those $137 organic roses is EXACTLY $312. and i'd be snipping my neighbor's bushes before paying the equivalent of half a kidney for those: aesthetically pleasing / edible / homogeneous though they may be.

[@samuelthomas7486]

“Butter!” I love Emily so much. Wonderfully chaotic today ❤️

[@GuruLouis]

Emily is honestly someone i would love as a best friend😂😂 her energy is unmatched 🎉

[@ThePolaris07]

"What're the flowers for exactly " 😂😂😂😂... Emily we love you ❤❤❤

[@alexdee5341]

I'm a simple person. I see Emily, I click.

[@herooffire101hero2]

4:03 She just explained why sometimes I would bite into one of my baked goods and i would get a sharp metallic taste! Thank you!

[@andychen7390]

16:46 Organic does not mean safe to eat, this is such a huge misunderstanding. All organic means is that the produce was not grown with synthetic chemicals. This does not mean there were no pesticides, herbicides, etc. Many organic farmers use organic pesticides, some of which can be as or more toxic than their synthetic counterparts. If you need roses that are edible, you need to actually ask around and seek out edible roses. Just basing edibility off of certain roses being organic is not the sure bet a lot of people think it is.

[@itsgoingtobeok-justbreathe4808]

with every video, I appreciate Emily more and more

[@jacob2338]

Nah she’s just getting more AND MORE annoying

[@matthew229]

i bet u big@@jacob2338

[@thelingeringartist]

@@jacob2338ok bro it’s fine

[@DecayingReverie]

I'm just waiting for the one time they unveil the finished food and the other chef dead-eyes them and says, "What have you done to my dish?!"

[@shyannwaters-lg5tm]

Pesticides are used on organic roses, please only buy roses labeled for edible use.

[@stevietalk1]

Pro chef specifically says these roses do not have pesticides used

[@andychen7390]

@@stevietalk1 she said to buy organic roses because they were safe to eat, implying that all organic roses were edible, which is not the case.

[@AS-kq7hw]

Correct. You can absolutely have "organic" pesticides (many of which are poisonous to humans).

[@Richard-ph4kz]

Emilys sifting comparison is what does it for me

[@Czsesp]

Really wish they’d come out with an entire book with all the chefs recipes. 😭

[@laurarobinson0618]

Let’s see how many times we can say imitation vanilla in one episode with as much disdain as possible.

[@stevietalk1]

I didn’t get distain

[@treehuggingbuddhist]

Emily…”this is like a date “ 😂 ❤

[@danielconley5256]

The Hershey chocolate cake recipe on the cocoa box is the absolute hands down best cake recipe ever! Subtract 1/2 cup less powdered sugar for the icing and it's the bees knees as my kids say

[@_Toxicity]

Emily gifting the kiwi a rose--LOL!

[@brennanmaynard4237]

I want a whole series based on Emily.

[@peterschutzek325]

Like her own channel?

[@erjino]

​@@peterschutzek325 Her own COOKING channel 🤯

[@abigailsonmor294]

Emily is the sole reason why my family and I watch these videos. Somebody please tell Emily that the people LOVE her! ☺️

[@bree4174]

Emily's mmmmm when tasting the expensive taste really said it all lol .

[@EK-xz8ig]

Baking, and more specificly working with chocolate has definitely made me cry before

[@ptrinch]

Where do they come up with these prices? A dozen roses for $137? Half a dozen eggs for $13.29? A stick of butter for $10? Seriously?

[@oliversomething4821]

New York City.

[@mothersfighting]

The pro chef had to emphasize the IMITATION vanilla extract and cheap ingredients at the end. Sorry we’re not worthy of you 😂

[@bobbysmith8095]

I think she was saying these are thing to use to help cheap ingredients cuz not everyone got $300 for cake. I don't think she meant to be stuck up at all. I mean she know what all the poor stuff were and even embrace the coco powder.

[@jc3drums916]

Natasha says "imitation vanilla extract" like it personally offended her. Also, the acetate thing seems a little fiddly. I've never had an issue when using steel cake rings, 8 3/4" for a cake baked in a 9" round pan. And I think I mentioned this the last time a video talked about folding into an airy batter, but Adam Ragusea experimented with gentle folding versus whisking and "deflating" the batter, and found it made no discernible difference.

[@stephlang1757]

Emily is a national treasure. 🥰

[@girlygirl2969]

Emily's F-it moment! I loved it.

[@desertfresh3740]

Is that the first f-bomb on this show??

[@Darkness-lj5bh]

@@desertfresh3740 No. There are a few f-bombs here and there. The f-bombs along with a few others are censored.

[@HustlinWithHazel]

$137 for the roses and they didn’t even eat it/taste test it with the rose petal. 🙃

[@misswellness9595]

Would love to see these videos, have a blind taste test with average people at the end

[@mahaimtiaz947]

Seconding the other lady in the comments asking for the chefs recipes. That idea is amazing. Also for the other series not just this one: the 4 levels one as well.

[@alvincura]

"Suck it, Gravity?" I think @EmilyDuncan must be my Internet bestie, and she doesn't even know it.

[@farronroboff255]

Oh Emily, sending you a hug.

[@gancarzpl]

Organic roses $137 !? I didn't realize that you could buy five times more expensive organic flowers.

[@youaintgettingmyhandle]

I was expecting to see a chocolate cake like the Matilda version. 😂😂

[@FringedHorizon]

So, is no one going to mention Emily nailed the price minus the ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY SEVEN DOLLAR ROSES?!?!

[@MVZ333]

Lol Emily hated that cake 😂🤣

[@VIP-ry6vv]

The baroness of buckwheat vs the ketchup queen. I love it.

[@vitalilukyanau2220]

Come on.. almost 150$ for big bouquet of organic roses and just bud is used?! Chef's recipe doesn't cost 449$..

[@rubennel6463]

Emily is such a legend

[@wesleycolvin7158]

Finally, ingredients that Rose doesn't need to translate for anyone. Emily's presentation is definitely more eye-catching.

[@fashionablechangeling1988]

Rose hasn't been involved with this series for a while now

[@LeoStaley]

Emily: I've done a lot of weird things. Ketchup on French toast people. KETCHUP ON FRENCH TOAST.

[@ashleyv.6624]

Emily…. 😂😂😂 she’s the best.

[@nicholruaya8120]

I've seen Natasha before on Claire Saffitz's channel and NYT cooking but I think this is my first time seeing her on Epicurious

[@eling7396]

loved the pro chefs explanations

[@jackr6041]

10/10 Julia Child impression

[@alyssad1661]

yayyyy I love Natasha Pickowicz !!!

[@amiravt]

Natasha has such a calming voice

[@charlesmnadeau]

More please!

[@desertfresh3740]

Emily, you are so entertaining.

[@loriki8766]

Actually, that Italian KZbinr Chef Dude debunked the whole folding thing. If you whip the eggs then you can whip everything else in and the results are actually better than if you fold.

[@Cremeloaf]

He did lol. His name's Adam Ragusea.

[@krissy012p]

Emily, you are the most adorable human on the planet. ❤

[@jimadler2430]

not tasting the rose in the video was a HUGE blunder

[@syd2248]

Gosh I just love Natasha!! Can we like get the recipes for the made-up chocolate cake??😅Both cakes looked incredible🤍🤍I’m gonna look in my More Than Cake copy to see if there’s anything similar!

[@deshontv]

Emily is so real

[@4gie90]

Chaotically perfect

[@ShaileshVerma]

$137 dollars worth of "Organic" roses? Like really? Why? 🤨

[@ashesofhopesinabonfireofdr6341]

Women will by anything that has outrageously high price if they don't have to spend their own money. Organic stuff is just wild stuff with a higher price tag.

[@nicche511]

@@ashesofhopesinabonfireofdr6341stop being exist

[@johnyesjustjohn]

Because the metal roses taste worse? 😂

[@MsEldarium]

I'd guess the bouquet alone costs much less, but they used measurement per pound or whatever

[@ashesofhopesinabonfireofdr6341]

@@johnyesjustjohn you can grow roses in your backyard 🤷‍♂️

[@ree572]

seems like it was yesterday when Emily was a level 1 chef...

[@SpareSomeChange8080]

I thought eating flowers was just something Homer Simpson did when hiding in the bathroom 🤨

[@fingerbottom]

You don’t want clumps because it’ll make it taste metallic. These clumps are ok.

[@stevietalk1]

The clumps are different - dry ingredients that should be well mixed together .. wet mix - the wet is probably a personal preference

[@Aiibh]

I can literally tell you've never baked in your life 😭🤣. The clumps she told us to avoid and the clumps present in her cakes were different. The former clumps are unmixed dry ingredients coated and protected by the wet ingredients so they do not mix. They end up burning and giving the metallic taste. The lumps in her cake are evenly mixed. If you try to unmix these lumps your cake will become dry and the texture will be ruined.

[@m.s.6586]

Is pro chef a pastry chef? Cause when you mix by hand you never go dry to wet! And no those are waaay too many lumps. Sincerely a pastry chef.

[@iamkellyjohnson]

I thought I was crazy! That was sooo lumpy. Won’t you end up with some icky spots??

[@iamkellyjohnson]

I’m so curious about how the more savory elements like olive oil and buckwheat add to the overall flavor. Personally, when I want a decadent chocolate cake, I wouldn’t be tempted by a cake described as “earthy”. …Just me?

[@ghostoflazlo]

It's to balance the sweetness is my guess

[@raidcrhonos]

Emily is so much fun

[@tannerthompson9862]

I need to know what grocery store they’re going to because those ingredients nowadays for the cheap cake would cost $40

[@flywan]

The rose is the most expensive ingredient in the list and is probably the most pointless element.

[@mjollnir85ts]

I know which chef is definitely salty...

[@SentienToast]

Cake was fine until the random rosemary and fig leaves. I don't want random stuff on my food that isn't meant to be eaten with it.

[@fahmi_simin]

3:48 15:53 What's the hate with natasha in the comments, I don't get it? I like Emily too but Natasha it's not that bad she explained everything on point and i took for granted and You hate her for imitation vanilla extract? People got mad of everything

[@ojotavera]

And she did provide instructions!

[@questionresearch8721]

Why do I feel like the pro chef is shading Emily.

[@haranpanpan5464]

Those roses and dark chocolate, too expensive bruhh

[@aussieanna1540]

I hate places that include flowers to eat. They taste awful and add nothing.

[@Ixviolated]

I wanna actually see the pro make their version

[@uilanisanada7350]

$137 for 6 roses 🥶🥶🥶

[@metislamestiza3708]

no specific recipes for either?

[@summera7144]

Not yall criticising a pro chef 😭😭

[@lancebeltran2002]

*Waiter there's cake in my mousse*

[@merty5713]

Organic roses may still have pesticides. Organic doesn't mean anything. They just use naturally derived forms of fertilizers and pesticides instead of lab made version. Which can be less environmentally friendly and more dangerous since they will have multiple compounds in them that are not regulated or well known. Unless something is labeled food grade or edible don't put them on your cake. Same thing with the vanilla bean vs vanilin, vanilin has far less environmental impact.

[@mmmmmmolly]

Aww i was hoping we'd get to see Chef Frank plant his own cacao trees then harvest the beans

[@adambloom2443]

Can someone explain to me what a chocolate feve is? I’ve seen it used by people who know more about what they’re doing in the kitchen than I do, and I’d love to know! Is it just a different shaped chocolate chip? Ps-My apologies if they answer this later in the video, I just started.

[@invaderghostkungfu]

Hi! I used to sell these. They are basically just chocolate chips.

[@christianhansen3292]

sifting like fairies and the economy i believe in it! hehe Oh emily u are so poetic!

[@ctninh]

7:01 Emily should be a level 4 chef for this.

[@bramfrijns7434]

I'm sorry, the roses cost HOW MUCH?

[@Dennis-lp7xe]

Well too much for My taste, plus its just decoration

[@velvettwine]

"it's almost like a date" well,,,, make it one u have chocolate cake and roses and a beautiful girl what more does a date need

[@ashmeetmaan7815]

Please do ‘kheer pude’ traditional sweet punjabi dish traditional way in mud pot

[@erenyeagar4686]

i love how emily is a bit more chubbier than she was before when she was just a level 1 chef lmao you go girl eat that bread

[@gravity00x]

450 dollar cake ingredients. thats ridiculous. you dont need to artificially increase the price so it sounds big for youtube.

[@echollis123]

I agree.

[@andycalimara]

That’s not artificially increasing anything. Basic Groceries are expensive these days, and specialty ingredients are even more expensive

[@A_peoples]

those ingredients are expensive, and i think i'ts not the cost of 1 cake but all ingredients in the table

[@pWasHere9]

I was going to disagree with you assuming they brought out the big bucks for super nice chocolate, but the thing they spent the most money on was Organic Roses… 😂

[@Uyikhk-ggdd417]

I agree, the rose cost 137$😂😂

[@filleusebio3868]

Why do i love to watch emily so much 😅

[@Riael]

Emilyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy The question is will I see ketchup on chocolate by the end of this video?

[@maromania7]

Found myself unable to trust most of what natasha says. And then the roses? Really? You going to add the cost of the oven in too? The camera crew's salary?

[@bernhardlangers778]

So the roses were the most expensive ingredient. Let's just say that's quite a bit of artificial inflation.

[@flamingbagofcrap5156]

Poor Emily 🤗

[@meepswag35]

Wtf why were the roses 137 dollars

[@krissy012p]

Cuz they were orGAAANiiccc. I guess. Such a silly ingredient to list!

[@joniqs]

Who tf buys roses for 130$

[@marcos223ful]

I just know she did not put olive oil on a cake!?