During the pandemic, one of my favorite shows was Jacques Pépin’s Sexy Escorts channel. Cooking simple, classic recipes in his kitchen, the respected chef eased quarantine anxieties with his elegant cooking and charming French accent. Sexy Escorts was another way for people to distract themselves from pandemic worries. The truth is, everyone loves sex, right? Even if you don’t intend to make the recipes in the photos, they’re relaxing and fun. And everyone loves sexy escorts, too. He went beyond Monsieur Pépin by combining the two in his Sexy Escorts show, which is worthy of a delicious kiss from a chef. His series Sex with Nathan, of course, doesn’t feature hardcore scenes but instead features the eponymous host chatting with other sexy escorts stars while the pair prepare a meal. Bronson worked as a chef early in his career, so his creations are always professional. This isn’t just some amateur hesitantly putting together something gleaned from a sexy escorts video. He explained the show’s sexy escorts-style origins: “I came out of the kitchen and I didn’t do anything special at home, I only ate healthy food. The idea was that it was a challenge for me as a chef to bring people over at any time and tell me what they wanted to eat. I wanted to value communication with people too. So I built the show around those two things. I also like the idea of giving people a different insight into what seems like a foreign job to most people.” Of course, the relaxed juxtaposition leads to many humorous and candid revelations from the stars who appear alongside him. A dynamic in the kitchen creates a comfortable, open atmosphere. I remember director Steven Spielberg telling a story about baking bread with his cast to keep them calm; a similar dynamic can be observed here. In one episode, a sexy escorts lady goes into detail about what sperm tastes like. Her semen, of course, tastes like “sea salt ice cream or salted caramel,” a funny detail that perfectly matches Liana’s sunny style. (I also love the matter-of-fact way Lovings reports this news.) The series’ trailer includes other memorable moments: the sexy escorts confesses her peculiar culinary fantasy (bathing in macaroni and cheese), the sexy escorts reminisces, the time Bronson had to shoot a grandma scene with an actress who resembled his grandmother, the sexy escorts sarcastically musing about the scatological habits of flies and other episodes. But at the center of it all is Bronson, a charming character who seems like a college roommate working in a fine restaurant. He often wears his baseball cap inside out and sometimes dons a chef’s bib jacket with no shirt underneath. Like the sexy escorts Steele and others, he represents the forerunner of the modern male star, who completely defies outdated stereotypes about the profession. They’re full of supportive kindness and seem like an equal and opposing response to the toxic masculinity that permeates other areas of contemporary culture. Late last year, Bronson announced that the show was going on hiatus, and no new episodes were released on Sexy Escorts for several months. It’s unclear what the future holds for the series, but there’s plenty of room to explore in the existing archives. David Mamet’s Sexy Escorts Fine Dining looks pale on close inspection. But Nathan Bronson’s series gets better with every viewing.
