The colorful cupcakes deployed throughout the episode are elegantly frosted and adorned with shredded coconut and mini Oreos—kind of like the designer cupcakes you might find at a Baked By Melissa. At the time, “that was the fancy thing that you would give to your workplace,” Baumgartner says. “I feel like now we’ve moved to donuts, right?”
3. Michael forces Kevin to eat broccoli (season 7, episode 13)
Sweet Kevin’s New Years’ resolution is to eat more vegetables, so, in front of the entire staff, Michael (Steve Carell) forces him to eat raw broccoli, literally shoving the crown into his mouth while screaming, “Eat it!” The whole thing is a corporate lawsuit waiting to happen, and kinda hard to watch. “In terms of the embarrassment, being forced into doing something because of Michael’s pure will, that he doesn’t want to do at that moment, was really not good [for Kevin],” Baumgartner says.
It wasn’t great for Baumgartner either, who loves “well-cooked” broccoli. “I don’t like eating it raw,” he confirms, shuddering at the multiple takes he had to do. “They put [them] in crudités all the time. Everybody eats the carrots, the celery, and maybe a few tomato balls—but nobody ever eats the broccoli or cauliflower.”
4. Jim puts Dwight’s stapler in jello (season 1, episode 1)
You know this Jim (John Krasinski) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) spoof. Michael is introducing a new hire to the office when Dwight opens his desk drawer to find his black stapler suspended in an ornate mound of puke-colored jelly. Yes, Dwight is being bullied by his literal boss and that is bad. But I challenge you to watch this bit and not root for Jim and Michael. The scene, which sets up eight years of horseplay between the two office pranksters, is also a feat of food engineering. “I know there were multiple jellos made,” Baumgartner says. “I remember, even then, it was difficult to get the stapler to suspend. For years now, via social media or other picture sharing apps, it’s been attempted many times. And mostly abject failure occurs, because the stapler always sinks.”
5. Michael demands A MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM CAKE (season 1, Episode 4)
A month before Meredith’s actual birthday, Michael tries to boost morale by throwing her an office party. Despite her dairy allergy, Michael demands the planning committee serve a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins. “I can’t eat generic mint chocolate chip ice cream to this day because of how much was consumed over the five days of shooting that scene,” Baumgartner says. “Every time the camera whipped around, we were all—especially Kevin and Michael, who’d made a big deal about it and had to enjoy it—supposed to be eating this really, really, really green mint chocolate chip ice cream. Now I know: The greener it is, probably the less good it is.”
6. Nobody’s allowed to join the “Finer Things Club” (season 4, Episode 10)
Oscar (Oscar Nunez), Toby (Paul Lieberstein), and Pam are founding members of the “Finer Things Club,” an exclusive group that meets monthly in the break room to discuss art and culture over very extra lunches. As they’re chatting, Kevin comes in and fights with the vending machine, interrupting the conversation while procuring a bag of what appears to be Doritos. “The tower of finger sandwiches was, I don’t know, very funny to me,” Baumgartner chuckles. But the moment also gestured at class issues in the workplace, he adds, giving a chance “for Pam, Toby, and Oscar to demonstrate a higher status”—or their aspirations for one, at least.
7. Cheese puffs derail (not very) serious business (season 5, episode 24)
In a montage of satisfying crunches, Michael, Pam, and Ryan (B. J. Novak) lob each other cheese puffs to catch in their mouths at an otherwise Very Important Business Meeting. If ASMR existed in the mainstream back in 2009, this scene would make for a perfect track. “There was that gigantic container of cheese balls that sat on top of this rolling cabinet thing that was by the bathrooms—I don’t know, forever,” says Baumgartner. “And I think somebody from the writers’ room was like, ‘Yeah, we should use that in some way.’” He found something “pleasurable and nostalgic” about the whole tossing-cheese-puffs-at-people’s-faces thing. Which is exactly what you might say about falling back down an Office rabbit hole.
The colorful cupcakes deployed throughout the episode are elegantly frosted and adorned with shredded coconut and mini Oreos—kind of like the designer cupcakes you might find at a Baked By Melissa. At the time, “that was the fancy thing that you would give to your workplace,” Baumgartner says. “I feel like now we’ve moved to donuts, right?”3. Michael forces Kevin to eat broccoli (season 7, episode 13)Sweet Kevin’s New Years’ resolution is to eat more vegetables, so, in front of the entire staff, Michael (Steve Carell) forces him to eat raw broccoli, literally shoving the crown into his mouth while screaming, “Eat it!” The whole thing is a corporate lawsuit waiting to happen, and kinda hard to watch. “In terms of the embarrassment, being forced into doing something because of Michael’s pure will, that he doesn’t want to do at that moment, was really not good [for Kevin],” Baumgartner says.It wasn’t great for Baumgartner either, who loves “well-cooked” broccoli. “I don’t like eating it raw,” he confirms, shuddering at the multiple takes he had to do. “They put [them] in crudités all the time. Everybody eats the carrots, the celery, and maybe a few tomato balls—but nobody ever eats the broccoli or cauliflower.”4. Jim puts Dwight’s stapler in jello (season 1, episode 1)You know this Jim (John Krasinski) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) spoof. Michael is introducing a new hire to the office when Dwight opens his desk drawer to find his black stapler suspended in an ornate mound of puke-colored jelly. Yes, Dwight is being bullied by his literal boss and that is bad. But I challenge you to watch this bit and not root for Jim and Michael. The scene, which sets up eight years of horseplay between the two office pranksters, is also a feat of food engineering. “I know there were multiple jellos made,” Baumgartner says. “I remember, even then, it was difficult to get the stapler to suspend. For years now, via social media or other picture sharing apps, it’s been attempted many times. And mostly abject failure occurs, because the stapler always sinks.”5. Michael demands A MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM CAKE (season 1, Episode 4)A month before Meredith’s actual birthday, Michael tries to boost morale by throwing her an office party. Despite her dairy allergy, Michael demands the planning committee serve a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins. “I can’t eat generic mint chocolate chip ice cream to this day because of how much was consumed over the five days of shooting that scene,” Baumgartner says. “Every time the camera whipped around, we were all—especially Kevin and Michael, who’d made a big deal about it and had to enjoy it—supposed to be eating this really, really, really green mint chocolate chip ice cream. Now I know: The greener it is, probably the less good it is.”6. Nobody’s allowed to join the “Finer Things Club” (season 4, Episode 10)Oscar (Oscar Nunez), Toby (Paul Lieberstein), and Pam are founding members of the “Finer Things Club,” an exclusive group that meets monthly in the break room to discuss art and culture over very extra lunches. As they’re chatting, Kevin comes in and fights with the vending machine, interrupting the conversation while procuring a bag of what appears to be Doritos. “The tower of finger sandwiches was, I don’t know, very funny to me,” Baumgartner chuckles. But the moment also gestured at class issues in the workplace, he adds, giving a chance “for Pam, Toby, and Oscar to demonstrate a higher status”—or their aspirations for one, at least.7. Cheese puffs derail (not very) serious business (season 5, episode 24)In a montage of satisfying crunches, Michael, Pam, and Ryan (B. J. Novak) lob each other cheese puffs to catch in their mouths at an otherwise Very Important Business Meeting. If ASMR existed in the mainstream back in 2009, this scene would make for a perfect track. “There was that gigantic container of cheese balls that sat on top of this rolling cabinet thing that was by the bathrooms—I don’t know, forever,” says Baumgartner. “And I think somebody from the writers’ room was like, ‘Yeah, we should use that in some way.’” He found something “pleasurable and nostalgic” about the whole tossing-cheese-puffs-at-people’s-faces thing. Which is exactly what you might say about falling back down an Office rabbit hole.