Zach and Keith Spill Juicy Details on 'No Recipe Road Trip With the Try Guys' (EXCLUSIVE)
Published Sept. 1 2022, 4:28 p.m. ET
In 2017, popular YouTubers Zach Kornfeld, Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer, and Eugene Lee Yang broke the internet by baking bread ... without a recipe.
Five years later (and many "Daddy's Favorite" Keith culinary creations later) the Try Guys are back in the kitchen. This time, they're taking the "Without a Recipe" concept on the road in their new Food Network show, No Recipe Road Trip With the Try Guys.
Distractify spoke exclusively with Zach and Keith about what it was like taking their culinary competition series on the road and how their own cooking skills have improved since that fateful bread video many moons ago.
As Keith would say, "Blah blah blah. Joke joke joke. Commentary."
How many episodes will there be of the Try Guys' Food Network show?
The Try Guys' superhero origin story began at BuzzFeed, where the guys carved a niche and a dedicated fan following on YouTube by trying, well, everything. The guys eventually left BuzzFeed, creating their own independent YouTube channel in 2018.
From ballet to manicures to Keith trying to trick Eugene into sitting on his lap (among many, many other "try" videos), the Try Guys weren't afraid to try, and fail, and try again, poking fun at themselves the whole way.
The Try Guys filmed several seasons of "Without a Recipe" on their new channel, drawing in millions of views for their comical attempts to make cakes, ice cream, sausages, pizza, and more without the help of a recipe.
Zach told Distractify that No Recipe Road Trip has the same basic concept but with a new challenging twist. He explained,"Each week, we are going to go to incredible restaurants around the country and try and recreate their signature dishes ... of course, without a recipe."
No Recipe Road Trip With The Try Guys will have five episodes in total, with new episodes airing live on the Food Network every Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST. (The episodes will also be available to stream on Discovery Plus.)
Another fun new twist for the TV series? The winner of each cooking challenge will have the chance to have their dish featured at the participating restaurant. However, that's up to the chef of each restaurant to decide!
Spoiler alert: Robert Lee, the executive chef/co-owner of Bang Bang Noodles in LA denied Eugene's winning pulled noodles dish access to his popular menu in the unaired No Recipe Road Trip pilot. Zach told Distractify, "I think this show is both a spoof and a love letter to traditional cooking shows."
Zach and Keith liken the Try Guys to kitchen performers, not chefs.
The guys frequently pay homage to their families and cultures in "Without a Recipe" challenges, such as the hilarious moment where Zach had a meltdown losing the bagel challenge after he had his sister ship him authentic New York water for his bagels. (He hails from Scarsdale after all.)
Zach told Distractify how he created a culinary tribute to his Jewish faith with his typical dry and unfiltered sense of humor in an episode of No Recipe Road Trip.
"We went to a place in Atlanta called Slutty Vegan. It's a vegan burger spot, with really incredible food. I made a Jewish deli-inspired burger that I called the 'Slutty Jew' and somehow that made it to television,” Zach said. “I was really expecting at every stage to get a note requesting ADR, but I also made sure to say all my sentences really fast so they couldn't edit out the words 'slutty Jew,' and no one questioned it."
It was Keith who created the "Without a Recipe" concept for the Try Guys (so he could actually win in more Try Guys videos). However, in true Keith fashion, he proceeded to get comically frustrated when he failed to (initially) win some of the first "Without a Recipe" competitions.
One of Keith's "Without a Recipe" cooking catchphrases instantly became iconic — "Daddy's Favorite." Keith dedicated a whole season to creating cinnamon raisin-flavored everything in honor of his dad.
First place continually eluded Keith and his "Daddy's Favorite," recipes, resulting in many hilarious Keith meltdowns. Keith couldn't disclose if he'll bring a "Daddy's Favorite" recipe on No Recipe Road Trip.
However, he did tell Distractify, "I think I'm pretty good at cooking food at home. ... [However] that doesn't mean I can cook food people should pay for. We wanted to go and compete in real kitchens to show how a restaurant kitchen is so different [than their typical studio kitchen]."
Does Eugene win everything in 'No Recipe Road Trip'?
Zach joked with Distractify that he was "the bottom of the barrel" when it came to his culinary skills. He added, "Keith is big into grilling and meats. Ned has really gotten into baking over the years. Eugene is not interested, yet somehow intuits his way into being incredible when he least expects it."
Meanwhile, Zach felt like he succeeded in "making even the simplest of things look hard."
He teased to Distractify that No Recipe Road Trip is "unlike any cooking show, certainly in Food Network history, and maybe in TV history. We are making some really audacious dishes and we are failing in the most spectacular of ways."
What will the Try Guys cook next? Tune in when new episodes of No Recipe Road Trip With The Try Guys air on the Food Network every Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST.
