A recent viral video showcases a Canadian performance artist’s obsession with making tiny cooking implements to serve up tiny food. Whether you think he’s a genius or a bit kooky, Tom Brown‘s tiny street kitchen has captured the interest of the internet.
A 60 Second Docs video shared on Facebook by George Takei showcases Brown setting up his tiny kitchen on a street corner and cooking waffles, empanadas, doughnuts, and more using items such as the tiny tortilla press, ice cream scoop, tongs, and other appliances he created. His kitchen would fit perfectly in this tiny house.
The food he creates is really tiny – about the size of a thumbnail or slightly bigger, depending on what he makes. Brown gives out his food for free to people who stop by to watch him cook. It’s all perfectly edible, he says, just shrunk down.
“One of the things I like the most about the kitchen is the sense of trust that it creates with other people,” Brown said in the video, which has 4.2 million views, more than 19,000 shares, and about 5,000 comments on Facebook.
He’s created more than 300 tools for his portable kitchen, including a full oven, pans, trays, scissors, a sushi roller and more.
The Facebook world has responded with mixed reviews.
“I’m not sure why because ‘big food’ is handled too, but the sight of his big fingers all over that small food made me gag. I’m not eating that, sir. Go and hipster elsewhere,” wrote one Facebook user.
Others have been a bit more kind, admiring his creativity and dedication to the kitchen.
“This is interesting because the kitchen is the gathering place in so many houses. I know it was in my house growing up. It’s the true heart of a home, and to bring it with you in such a way must create for some interesting experiences,” said another Facebook user.
There’s certainly a sense of novelty in Brown’s work, but most of the commenters wonder if perhaps Brown could be using his time a bit more wisely.
“While this is cute and interesting for a moment … it leaves me with just one thought … some people have way too much time on their hands,” writes another Facebook user.
You can see Brown in action in this video.
