Max Miller is an American YouTuber and cook known for being the creator and host of Tasting History, a culinary and history fusion web-show that recreates ancient or historical recipes and explains the history around them.[1][2]

Max Miller
Creator and host of Tasting History, Max Miller
Alma materArizona State University
Spouse
Jose Mendoza
(m. 2021)
YouTube information
Channels
Years active2020–present
Genres
Subscribers2.9 million
Total views400 million
100,000 subscribers2020
1,000,000 subscribers2021

Last updated: December 15, 2024
WebsiteOfficial website
Signature

Early life

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Miller grew up in Phoenix, Arizona.[3] He had an interest in history, and, at six or seven, he started reading about Charles Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown that ended the American Revolutionary War in 1781, writing a report on it for fun.[4]

He attended Arizona State University and earned a classical music degree, moving to New York City to train for Broadway theatre.[5]

Career

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Miller moved from New York City to Los Angeles to pursue voice acting. He was hired at Walt Disney Studios in marketing before going into film distribution.[6] In 2015, Miller and a friend went to Walt Disney World while on vacation, but the friend fell ill. As a result, they spent most of the time in a hotel, and the friend introduced Miller to The Great British Bake Off. Miller was not previously interested in cooking and had little experience with it, but was inspired by the show and its blend of history and baking.[7]: 9  He then began cooking on his own, first baking a Battenberg cake.[8]

Miller began to bring baked goods into the office, giving mini-lectures about the dish's history, and one of his coworkers suggested that he create videos on the topic.[9][7]: 9  On December 23, 2019, he created the Tasting History channel.

In 2020, Miller was furloughed from Disney due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and started to spend time on the channel.[10][11] He relegated himself to his upstairs as he did not want to get in the way of his fiancé, who was still working at Disney.[12] He started producing videos and uploaded the first episode of Tasting History in February 2020,[13] continuing to produce videos throughout the pandemic.[14]

The recipes featured in Miller's videos are extensively researched. Where possible, Miller uses historical cookbooks but relies on other sources, such as newspapers and other written accounts, depending on the historical period and location each recipe originates from. Miller stresses that he is not a historian, and has more freedom to focus on the stories of foods, rather than academic history. While some recipes he has only made for the show, other historical recipes he has included in his regular cooking repertoire; he believes that part of the fun of the channel is that viewers can decide what to try making for themselves.[15]

Tasting History reached 500,000 subscribers on YouTube in January 2021.[16] When Disney contacted him to resume his job, he decided to quit instead, and focus on the YouTube channel.[17]

In February 2021, Simon & Schuster announced that they would be publishing a cookbook by Miller.[18] The book, Tasting History: Explore the Past Through 4,000 Years of Recipes, released April 2023 and appeared on The New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists.[19][20] In 2024, Miller began co-hosting the Roku Channel cooking show Clash of the Cookbooks alongside Phoebe Robinson. The television series follows contestants competing to cook dishes from various historical cookbooks.[21]

Personal life

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Miller is gay,[22][23] and he married his longtime fiancé Jose Mendoza in October 2021.[24] They had two cats named Jaime and Cersei.[7]: 241 

See also

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  • Townsends, another channel focused on historical recipes

References

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  1. ^ Finley, Tara (December 16, 2020). "Traveling Back in Time With Tasting History's Max Miller". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  2. ^ Vintzileos, Jennifer (October 2, 2020). "Max Miller – Tasting History". Starry Constellation. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  3. ^ Rodriguez, Alexander (April 5, 2021). "Max Miller has Extravagant Food for Any Time with Tasting History". Metrosource. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  4. ^ Tapia, Nancy (September 15, 2020). "Tasting History With Max Miller [Exclusive Interview]". LRMonline. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  5. ^ Valdespino, Anne (January 26, 2021). "How YouTuber Max Miller ramped up 'Tasting History' during his furlough". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Sauer, Devan (December 22, 2020). "This Rising YouTuber and Phoenix Native Is Full of Food History". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Miller, Max; Volkwein, Ann (2023). Tasting History: Explore the Past Through 4,000 Years of Recipes. Simon Element. ISBN 978-1-982186-18-0.
  8. ^ Starr, Michael (November 2, 2020). "'Tasting History' host Max Miller cooks up yesteryear treats". New York Post. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  9. ^ "Interview: Tasting History's Max Miller". 812filmReviews. March 4, 2021. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Newby, John (September 22, 2020). "Max He recreates Ancient Culinary Delights With 'Tasting History' (Exclusive)". Pop Culture. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  11. ^ Watsky, David (September 30, 2020). "Cook Like An Ancient Roman Using This Salt Alternative From 'Tasting History With Max Miller'". WBBM-TV. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  12. ^ Ferber, Lawrence (September 24, 2020). "Savor the Past Through Gay YouTuber Max Miller's 'Tasting History'". Edge Media Network. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  13. ^ Shea, Ryan (October 14, 2020). "Exclusive: Max Miller Dishes on His Wildly Popular YouTube Show 'Tasting History'". Instinct. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  14. ^ Benardello, Karen (December 4, 2020). "Interview: Max Miller Talks Tasting History (Exclusive)". Shockya News. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  15. ^ McCarthy, Amy (April 21, 2023). "These Recipes Are History". Eater. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  16. ^ Leiber, Sarah Jae (January 5, 2021). "Tasting History with Max Miller Reaches 500K Subscribers on YouTube". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  17. ^ Miller, Max (April 14, 2021). "I Quit". YouTube. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  18. ^ Price, Jason (February 23, 2021). "Simon & Schuster's Tiller Press To Publish Tasting History Host Max Miller's Cookbook in 2022". Icon Vs. Icon. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  19. ^ Stewart, Sofia (May 1, 2023). "This Week's Bestsellers: May 1, 2023". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  20. ^ "The New York Times Best Sellers". The New York Times. May 7, 2023. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  21. ^ Stevens, Ashlie D. (December 25, 2024). ""Clash of the Cookbooks": A fresh serving of history, drama and delight". Salon. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  22. ^ Shea, Ryan (October 14, 2020). "Exclusive: Max Miller Dishes on His Wildly Popular YouTube Show 'Tasting History'". Instinct Magazine. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  23. ^ Ferber, Lawrence. "Savor the Past Through Gay YouTuber Max Miller's 'Tasting History'". EDGE Media Network. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  24. ^ @tastinghistory1 (October 9, 2021). "Officially wed. Let the cocktails and champagne flow!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.