‘Instafamous chef’ whips up huge fan following
KUALA LUMPUR: When cooking is regarded as a chore, the end result is usually a mediocre dish.
When the same item is prepared by someone who has a great passion for cooking or by a loving mother who wants the best for her children, chances are it will turn out to be very delectable.
Wannabe chefs and anyone with a penchant for cooking who are eager to whip up new dishes and cuisines only have to look to the Internet for inspiration and plenty of recipes to guide them step by step.
In the past, recipes shared on the Internet came in text format but in recent years, in line with the advancement in technology, celebrity chefs and ordinary netizens have taken to uploading short videos of them demonstrating their culinary prowess on YouTube.
These days, however, the Instagram social media platform is fast gaining popularity as a medium for such videos.
If you want more information or to learn to prepare a certain western, Asian or local dish or dessert or beverage, just type the name and an array of videos will come into view. It is that simple. Instagram community The recipe- sharing frenzy on Instagram has spawned a community of ‘ Instafamous chefs’ whose Instagram accounts are hugely popular, with some of them having garnered hundreds of thousands of followers.
What is particularly striking is that they are all ordinary Malaysians and none of them is a celebrity, let alone a professional chef or cook.
One of the more famous and talked- about members of this community is Nurhayati Zainol Abidin, 41, whose Instagram account is called Yatie Kitchen.
Her recipes are much soughtafter by her followers during the months of Ramadan and Syawal when Muslims celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Nurhayati, who works as a customer service ambassador at a private hospital and considers herself an amateur chef, said when she first opened her Yatie Kitchen account in 2015, it was just to share photographs and recipes of the dishes she had cooked with her family members and friends as she enjoyed cooking.
“It gives me a lot of joy and satisfaction to look at the photos of the dishes I had cooked in the past,” she told Bernama, adding that her Instagram collection also enabled her to refer to any recipe she had uploaded in the past as it was certainly impossible for her to remember all the dishes she had cooked. Cookery teacher From 300 followers, comprising mainly friends and family members, in 2015, Nurhayati’s Instagram account now has a whopping 245,000 followers consisting of not only ordinary Malaysians but also royalty, VVIPs and local celebrities.
This mother- of- three, who never dreamed she would gain such a huge following, uses her smartphone to take pictures and videos of her cooking demonstrations.
Nurhayati, who has shown an interest in cooking since her school days, is dubbed cookery teacher by her ardent fans who have tried her recipes and are very satisfied with the outcome.
In the comment section of her Instagram account, her followers heap praise on Nurhayati for sharing only authentic recipes with them.
“I won’t say I’m a great cook and I don’t think I deserve to be called a teacher,” she said, humbly.
“There’s a lot more for me to learn. However, I am happy that the recipes I share on Instagram are helpful to other women. In fact, some men have also thanked me (for my recipes) because their wives have become better cooks! Such compliments motivate me to share even more recipes with others.”
For any dish that involves an elaborate cooking process, Nurhayati usually posts a video to show how it is prepared to make it easier for others to understand.
As for the more simple dishes, she uploads their photographs and shares the recipes in text format. Netizens can seek further clarification from her in the comment section.
“Many people have asked me how I find the time to cook as I have a full-time job. I usually plan what I want to cook and buy all the ingredients I would need one week in advance,” she said. Sharing is caring Among the dishes Nurhayati has shared in her social media account are ‘gulai ayam kari’, ‘asam pedas’ and ‘roti jala’.
Asked why she was willing to share her recipes with others at no cost, she replied: “Whatever knowledge and skills we have gained are not our own.
“Many people have told me I can use my knowledge to earn some money but I don’t want to do that. I believe that in sharing my knowledge or by teaching others, I will be rewarded even after death.”
She also said she could not understand why many people treat their family recipes as a closely kept secret and refuse to share them with the public.
She would not mind if others used her recipes for commercial gain as it would only make her happy that she had helped someone to generate an income. — Bernama