These dishes aren’t left or right; they’re wrong.

Cookin’ with Congress started with a discovery at my girlfriend’s grandmother’s house. Sitting in her rocking chair, twirling her feet around at age 90, she suddenly pulled out an old 1989 South Dakota Centennial Cookbook, handed it to me and said, “isn’t this a trip?”

I was in love. Real recipes submitted by real senators, congresspeople, mayors, governors and even the President of the United States.

And they were all horrible.

Inspired by that initial disgust, I started recreating these recipes from politicians: the good, the bad and the ugly. Along the way, I learned a ton about midcentury Jello salads, psychotic presidential eating habits and the critical need for congressional term limits. I even became a pretty damn good home chef.

Now Cookin’ with Congress has exploded beyond the blog to a wildly fun-to-make series on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube where I not only recreate recipes, but also eat like famous politicians, everyday Americans and much much more. More than 150 millions views in just over 18 months, and the community of history nerds, politicos, shock jockeys and educators continues to grow around Cookin’ with Congress, the weirdest little show that could.

ABOUT BENNETT REA

Bennett Rea is the writer, chef and creator behind Cookin’ with Congress, the viral social media series with nearly half a million followers where he recreates unhinged recipes from politicians, eats like presidents, and connects to everyday people through the insanity of American food. His writing has been featured in Food & Wine, Business Insider, Atlas Obscura and Cracked, and he trained in improv at UCB Los Angeles and iO West. Bennett earned his BA in Politics and went on to work in F&B for six years before becoming a freelance writer and creating Cookin’ with Congress. Now, the video series garners 15 million views a month and has been featured on NPR, NBC California, Eater, The Los Angeles Times and many other outlets, blending history, satire, fun, education, joyous disgust and a true love for everyday folks while roasting (sometimes literally) the foods of powerful politicians. Bennett is a practiced speaker, presenting at colleges, universities and other venues on the nexus of food and politicians and the creative journey of being a full-time social media creator. When Bennett was six years old, he wanted to be the President of the United States and a chef at the same time. This is close enough.