Corrosive Cooking

WCCK Network Standards & Practices

Safety

Prepared in cooperation with the network legal team and the on-set medical advisory committee. Updated quarterly. Recommendations are non-binding except where explicitly noted, in which case they are still non-binding but more strongly worded.

1. Suggested Ventilation

Open all windows. Open the back door. Open the front door. If you have a sliding glass door, open that too. The studio kitchen at WCCK is equipped with a 1200 CFM industrial range hood booster fan, available for purchase via the Studio Gear catalog. Wendell Fenwick (HVAC, licensed) will install one in your home for an additional fee. Wendell prefers cash.

2. Approved Personal Protective Equipment

The Hollis Hazmat Apron is rated for phosphoric acid splash. The Studio Kitchen Goggles are rated for vapor and minor projectile. The Audience PPE Kit is sufficient for the rear three rows of the studio. The first three rows have not, since 2003, been considered protectable by conventional gear.

We strongly recommend purchasing the Goggles & Tongs Combo before attempting any recipe rated four skulls or higher.

3. When to Call Poison Control

Tip: it’s now. We have spoken with Poison Control extensively over the past 51 years and they would like us to remind viewers that they are happy to take a call before, during, or after any meal prepared from a Corrosive Cooking recipe.

National Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222.

The Akron-Canton Poison Control office has a dedicated extension for our viewers. They have asked us not to publish it.

4. Our Onsite Medical Team

Saint Vincent’s Memorial Hospital has maintained an on-call relationship with the show since 1976. Dr. Margery Plimpton, our resident toxicologist, has been featured in 14 episodes and is currently writing her memoir, I Have Seen Things You Have Not, due out in 2027.

The on-set decontamination shower is rinsed nightly and tested weekly. The eyewash station, prominently displayed in the studio kitchen, is fully functional and has been used 41 times during taping (figures current to Q2 2026).

5. Studio Audience Liability Waiver Summary

All studio audience members must execute a 14-page liability waiver prior to admission. By attending a taping, the audience member acknowledges, among other things:

  • ·That they have read and understood Sections 1-7 above
  • ·That tasting is voluntary and not solicited by the production
  • ·That post-show medical attention is the audience member’s sole responsibility
  • ·That memorabilia (including but not limited to the “I Was There” T-shirt) is provided in lieu of any other compensation
  • ·That “I Was There” refers to the studio audience experience and does not constitute legal testimony

Full waiver available upon request from the WCCK Audience Services desk. Pen included.

6. A Final Word

Corrosive Cooking is a broadcast entertainment program. Recipes prepared on-air are intended for viewing, not duplication. We have published them in our cookbooks, our website, and the back of every box of audience-edition cereal we’ve licensed since 1979 because the network requires us to. We do not actually want you to make these.

If you are reading this section, we admire you. Please reconsider.