YouTube comedy documentary series Cooking for Seamus has an irresistible premise: What if a massive invalid bull named Seamus is the food critic in a culinary show tailored entirely to his tastes and preferences? The result is a show that is not only eccentric and funny but also an absolutely delightful meditation on the importance of food and the community of care that surrounds this very hungry animal.
Seamus is an invalid bull owned by a man named Paul; when he was born, he was deemed too sick to survive, but was saved by an animal rescuer, his "mother" BJ, who also appears throughout the show. For months, Seamus couldn't stand or lift his head to eat, and as a result, he quickly fell in love with "human" food – and in large quantities.
"All the farmers around here were laughing and taking bets on how long I could keep him alive," recalls BJ.
Cooking for Seamus was created by a quiet folk musician named Archer, who now cares for Seamus and takes his feeding seriously. The pair lives in a leaky camper near Castlemaine, Victoria, by a stream surrounded by other rescued animals, including Seamus's best friend, a goat named Lillian.
"I believe he has one of the most advanced palates in world history," Archer says as an explanation for why he created an entire culinary show for his animal friend. Through Archer, Seamus rates his dishes out of 10; after Seamus eats his meal, he licks his tongue and shakes his ears, and Archer watches him carefully, trying to gauge whether his discerning critic enjoyed the dish. "I think he's a 9, maybe a 9.2," Archer decides after Seamus eats a vat of pumpkin penne pasta.
Each episode, which range from five to twenty-five digestible minutes, usually centers around a celebrity chef who comes to prepare a meal for Seamus – like American musician Martha Spencer, who not only cooks a large serving of Appalachian corn bread and pinto beans for Seamus but also spends a lot of time singing songs to the rescue animals. Other guests include comedian and YouTube chef Nats What I Reckon, whose laid-back approach to cooking is a spiritual match for the documentary series.
"What do you think of food critics?" Archer asks. "Not much," Nats mutters back.
My favorite guest was likely the legendary performer KAMAL, who explains that he really doesn't like cooking and instead feeds Seamus 27 bananas while wearing a golden robe and reciting counterculture poetry.
If it sounds funny, that's because it is meant to be – all participants have a good sense of the humor in the whole situation. There's a recurring shot of Seamus being called for dinner and gently rolling down a hill in anticipation.
But this is also a love letter to a certain type of quiet life; not much happens in most episodes besides some pleasant conversation, a few lovely folk songs, and a bull eating massive amounts of human food, which contrasts with the more frenetic and disgusting offerings on YouTube. It's also a lovely snapshot of how rewarding it is to care for a rescued animal and dedicate your life to them.
It's clear that Cooking for Seamus has little resemblance to cooking shows on television – one thing is doubtful that anyone would watch this show hoping to learn how to cook the dishes Seamus eats unless they also have a bull to eat them or perhaps a group of kids who would happily eat from a trough. It's not that the food looks bad (in fact, it often looks surprisingly good), but it's not delivered in a step-by-step form designed for teaching.
Instead, Cooking for Seamus explores the more meaningful side of cooking. The love Archer, BJ, and all the people in the show have for Seamus is palpable. How funny it is to imagine him as a "food critic," we often cook food for those we love to show them we love them. And Seamus reciprocates that love, my favorite shots are of him leaning his giant head against Archer in gratitude, a movement that is instantly recognizable to me with my rescue animal, a traumatized former racing greyhound named Basil.
It's a lovely reminder that good food doesn't need to be fancy or have Michelin stars – just enough care to show love.
