Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Food and talk celebrate AAPI culture; has strong themes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Recipe for Change
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
RECIPE FOR CHANGE is a star-studded YouTube special that honors Asian and Pacific Islander (API) culture. Comedian Hasan Minhaj, Olympic ice skater Michelle Kwan, and filmmaker Eugene Lee Yang host three separate dinners for notable members of the API community, including folks like folks like Margaret Cho, B.D. Wong, Lisa Ling, Olivia Munn, and Auli'i Cravalho. Chefs Jet Tila, Alvin Cailan, and Melissa King serve each group of guests an outstanding meal, all of which are influenced by their culture, and which reflect their unique cooking styles. Throughout the meal, each of the three hosts invites their guests to talk about their specific cultural experiences, and the challenges they've faced as Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States and abroad. Historic and contemporary acts of violence against API community members are also discussed. Also joining them are non-Asian allies like actors Brandon Flynn and Sophia Bush, who share their desire to actively support the API community.
Is It Any Good?
This unique, intimate gathering gives a platform to diverse members of the U.S. Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community to share their thoughts and experiences about being AAPI. The conversations are heavily edited for time and continuity, but they still successfully offer thoughtful insight into the ways members of the AAPI community negotiate their identities as Americans within a society that consistently sees them as foreigners. The cast discusses what it is like to be part of an ethnically diverse community that is largely misunderstood in the U.S., and that continues to be marginalized in U.S. society in various ways. Generational issues and stigmas within their own communities are also addressed, as are the stereotypes that are consistently perpetuated in media to characterize AAPI people and cultures. Throughout it all, chefs present foods are that representative of their own AAPI backgrounds, and use them as ways to contribute to the conversations. Guests also celebrate their communities and cultural heritage. Overall, Recipe for Change is a fun, interesting, and empowering event that is worth streaming.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the history of racism and racial bias against the API community in the United States. Why were government policies like the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, and Executive Order 9066 (which led to the forcible internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II) enacted? When former President Trump and other politicians referred to COVID-19 as the "Chinese virus," what impact did it have on API communities living in the U.S.?
Celebrities appearing on Recipe for Change note the various ways that media continues to reinforce and perpetuate Asian stereotypes. Will the presence of more Asian actors and artists in mainstream media help eliminate them? What can media audiences do to make positive changes to how the API community is represented?
TV Details
- Premiere date : June 29, 2021
- Cast : Hasan Minhaj , Michelle Kwan , Eugene Lee Yang
- Network : YouTube
- Genre : Reality TV
- Topics : Cooking , History
- Character Strengths : Communication
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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