Taking on Takeout

Restaurants & Travel

Harold Villarosa, like many of us, grew up eating General Tso's chicken. It's a takeout staple that you've probably ordered at some point. We challenged Harold to make his own General Tso's chicken with fried rice faster than it takes for delivery to arrive. Was he up to the challenge? Looking for a way to support restaurants and cook at home? Do as Harold does in this new video and take on takeout: order your personal favorite delivery dishes and try to cook them at home in the same time it takes for them to arrive. You’ll be putting money into the restaurant industry, challenging yourself, and you'll have double the food. See if Harold, who grew up eating General Tso’s chicken at countless Chinese-American spots in The Bronx, can create a version similar to the takeout one.

Restaurants & Travel

Come one, come all! Can Chrissy cook a classic culinary concoction in a contest against the clock? We challenged Chrissy Tracey to make her own vegan jackfruit bánh mì faster than it takes for delivery to arrive. Was she up to the challenge?

Recipes

There is perhaps no more of a classic Indian takeout dish than chicken tikka masala. With help from Chef Palak Patel, we challenged Andy Baraghani to make his own chicken tikka masala faster than it takes for delivery to arrive. Both Harold and Chrissy beat the clock in their episodes of Taking on Takeout. Was Andy up to the challenge?

Cooking Techniques

There are perhaps no better chocolate chip cookies you can get delivered than Levain cookies. We challenged Samantha Seneviratne to make her own Levain style cookies faster than it takes for delivery to arrive. Was Samantha up to the challenge?

Hungry? Get BA’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

Cooking Techniques

When it was Chris Morocco's turn to be on Taking on Takeout, there was only one thing motivating him: to beat Andy Baraghani. We challenged Chris Morocco to make his own shrimp pad thai faster than it takes for delivery to arrive. Was he up to the challenge?

Get cooking: Pad Thai

Cooking Techniques

Seattle teriyaki may be a little bit different than what you're used to. It has a sweet and smokey flavor and features sides of sweet and creamy mac salad and a tangy and crunchy salad. We challenged Melissa Miranda to make her own Seattle chicken teriyaki faster than it takes for delivery to arrive. Was she up to the challenge?

Entertaining & Style

When the craving for a fried chicken sandwich hits, it’s usually time to hit up your local takeout joint. But what if you could scratch that itch directly from your own kitchen? We challenged DeVonn Francis to fry up and serve a chicken sandwich faster than it takes for delivery to arrive. Was he up to the challenge?

Recipes

Sometimes you just crave chicken wings. Certain situations, environments, and friends seem to bring out the urge. But what if rather than hitting up your local chicken joint you could scratch that itch directly from your own kitchen? We challenged chef Susan Kim to fry up a batch of chicken wings faster than it takes for delivery to arrive. Was she up to the task?

Get our speediest hot wing recipe: Extra-Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings

Entertaining & Style

Crispy, golden egg rolls are a perennial go-to Chinese restaurant appetizer and every place seems to have their own take on them. We challenged professional chef Harold Villarosa to sample a selection of takeout egg rolls and create his own recipe, making a homemade version that stands toe to toe with the restaurant ones. Unkle Harold is ready to break out the duck sauce and get it done.

Cooking Techniques

We challenged Harold Villarosa to grill up a homemade cheesesteak better than one he had delivered. Was he up to the challenge?

Recipes

When you're craving an easy, handheld meal that can satisfy your hunger without slowing you down, nothing hits quite like a takeout burrito. We challenged professional chef Harold Villarosa to sample 3 takeout carne asada burritos and then create his own recipe in the Bon Appétit test kitchen, making a homemade version that stands toe to toe with the takeout ones.

People

We challenged chef Harold Villarosa to make a fast food style burger in the Bon Appétit test kitchen better than the ones from 3 prominent chains. Unkle Harold's first job in the U.S. was at a McDonalds in Manhattan - will he be able tap into past experience and step up to the challenge?

Recipes

We challenged chef Harold Villarosa to make a chicken shawarma sandwich in the Bon Appétit test kitchen that outclasses the options he sampled from 4 local takeout spots. Does Unkle Harold have what it takes to not only reproduce the complex flavors but elevate them all into something even better than takeout restaurant shawarma? Hard to imagine, but Harold is ready.