Cooking is really child’s play today with how-to videos available online. Homemakers and amateur chefs talk to Divya Kaushik about the lucrative business of cooking on the Internet
His demeanor, both friendly and humble, and his wit make him quite a charmer. That can be one reason why in less time Sanjay Thumma has managed to win millions of likes on his YouTube videos. Popular among the netizens as VahChef, Sanjay is one of the top chefs on YouTube and his recipes, some from the world famous seven star restaurants and some from the kitchens of Indian homes, have fuelled the cooking passion of millions from across the globe. Sanjay has quite an interesting story to share about how he got into making money from his cooking videos on YouTube. He shares, “I have always loved cooking and as a child I helped my mother in the kitchen. When I was seven she fell ill and there was no one to take care of cooking in the family. So I took charge of the kitchen and was cooking three meals a day. So since then one thing was sure that I only want to be a chef. I was told that to be a chef one has to go to a culinary school and so I did. I went to the Indian Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition. While I was studying I had experiences that made me realise that people do not think being a chef is respectable enough. I overheard a neighbour telling his son, ‘Study else you will end up as a cook like that guy.’ I met a girl, we started chatting and as soon I told her I am a chef, she went away. I decided to change mindsets and therefore worked hard to get an entry into a reputed hotel. While working as a chef in the hotel I would ask the senior chefs for the recipe and they would either ask me to mind my own work or would refuse to share about their secret masala. I decided that whenever I will be a big chef, I would share my recipes with others. I went to open my own restaurants in US. I had four restaurants and each was doing well but I was not cooking. So one day I decided to sell off everything, people thought I was crazy, but I needed my time to introspect. After a month I shot a video of a recipe and uploaded that on YouTube, it was such a hit. I started posting more and then I was asked to be a content partner and earn money through my videos.”
In 2007, Sanjay launched a recipe channel that demonstrates Indian and some international cooking styles.like Sanjay, there are homemakers, too, who discovered that posting videos of recipes on the Internet can give them exposure, fame and money.
The Internet has brought a revolution in the lives of amateur chefs. Earlier, those who were either passionate about cooking or had to learn cooking out of necessity had to enroll in a cooking class and pay hefty amount for that. But now all they have to do is search for the recipe online and there are plethora of options available to choose from. The videos definitely have an edge over written recipes as they explain the cooking procedure step by step and in detail.
Gayatri Sharma, a 40-year-old homemaker, is known for her Gayatri Vantillu on YouTube. It is known for recipes from Andhra cuisine.She says that she started creating videos of her recipes while she was jobless and usually gifted them to either young brides, who wanted to learn about traditional recipes from Andhra homes, or youngsters moving away from their families to other cities for job. One such youngster suggested her to post her videos on the Internet.
These online food channels that are riding high on the love and passion for food offer variety of cuisine and cooking styles. They specialise in one way or the other.
For example, what makes Nisha Madhulika, 54, from Noida, popular is her simple recipes of Indian food. “Through my videos I guide people to make simple recipes in easy way. Today people avoid cooking at home thinking it takes a lot of time and it’s an elaborate process, so they go for quick fix meals. I try to convey through my videos that most Indian recipes can be cooked in a simple way,” she says.