From professional chefs to your Average Joe attempting to recreate Gordon Ramsay's famous Beef Wellington, popular social media app, TikTok, has allowed varying levels of culinary-hood a chance to impress, gain, and grow their following.
Albert Niazhvinski (@albert_cancook) is a proven success story whose love for cooking has translated into a combined social following (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube) of over 18 Million. TheThings spoke with the Belarusian native to discuss how his journey to social media stardom has impacted his life.
How Cooking At Home Became Cooking For Millions
The beauty and growth of TikTok is due largely to the app's ability to successfully cater content to the individual user through what's called a "for you page" or "fyp." The more you, the user, interact with an account or type of content, the more of that same content is scattered throughout your fyp.
Many TikTok users are purely content consumers. However, for those ambitious souls who hope to develop and/or hone their craft, it's content creation that catches the eye.
Albert's story has much ado about the success of TikTok's algorithm coupled with an inherent love for and interest in food and the culinary arts.
"Actually, I am not a chef, and I've never worked in a kitchen. I just always liked to cook for myself, my family, and my friends...and I always liked to try good and interesting food and dishes at different restaurants. Food has always been an art and inspiration for me...just after Covid...my friend had showed me TikTok...very soon all the videos that TikTok was showing me became food/cooking videos...so, I kept watching all the amazing food creators and decided to try it myself. I was hoping that the food that I like could be interesting for other people."
Could've fooled us! Speaking as a follower who came across Albert's page on my fyp, I would have guessed he's a Belarusian Auguste Gusteau! But in the end, I suppose the message stands - anyone can cook.
Social Media Celebrity's Impact On Albert's Life
While anyone can cook, there are those who are positively meant to cook - folks like Albert, for example. His experimental and delicious creations have folks salivating from across the nation, and even the globe.
So, the question had to be asked: which of Albert's concoctions kick-started his virality?
"My first viral video was a recipe of Slavic-style chicken jerky. It’s pretty much salted and cured chicken breast, that is safe to eat, but it went viral because in the US people are not used to eating chicken like that...So it went viral because people were commenting that it’s raw, that, “salmonella has entered the chat,"...and things like that. So eventually, a pretty simple and common dish in Slavic countries surprised a lot of people and helped me to have my very first viral video."
Nothing brings the people of the Internet together like cultural controversy! Yet while commenters busied themselves bickering over the "sus" nature of Slavic jerky, Albert's account was busy gaining traction. Oh, and speaking of "sus," Albert used said resorption to create Hot SUS, a ghost and habanero pepper blend hot sauce that's sure to add a tear or two to every meal.
Once a hardware engineer, Albert has now decided to pursue content creation full-time and entrepreneurship.
"My life has changed completely. At first, when my videos started getting views, I was spending all my free time on it: shooting videos on the weekends, and editing them every day after work. It was tough time since I didn’t have time for anything else, besides my job, my videos and sleep...In January 2022 I was able to quit my full-time job and dedicate more time to making the content. Also, I am traveling more now to meet and collaborate with different creators all over the world, as well as to get more food inspiration from different cultures and cuisines. Now it’s my full-time job and I couldn't be happier doing what I like. It’s an absolutely incredible feeling to be able to do something that you really love and are passionate about for a living."
Suffice it to say, Albert has never, ever been happier!
Albert's Hopes For Being An Idiot Sandwich
While it may have been a Slavic-style cuisine that propelled Albert to fame, we wanted to know what his favorite cuisine to cook and eat was.
"I’ve tried a lot of different cuisines during the past few years... Depending on the current mood it could be Korean BBQ, as well as Mexican tacos. But overall, as of right now it’s Japanese food, especially since I’ve visited Japan in November 2022. I really like eating raw fish and can’t get bored of it."
Uh oh, be warned: it's the return of the salmonella police! But for us non-enraged folk who enjoy sushi and sashimi just as much, we understand.
The Japanese cuisine is extremely delicate and can be difficult to execute. As such, even for someone like Albert whose skills have evolved to a professional level, there's one person's approval that most all culinary artists seek: Gordon Ramsay's. In addition to continuing to explore new chefs, dishes, and techniques with other creators, Albert tells us,
"Meeting Gordon Ramsay, for sure one of the world’s most famous chefs, is my dream as of right now. He already made a duet with one of my videos on TikTok (without even saying that I am a donut!), so I hope it’s just a matter of time and we will meet in person soon."
If it were up to me, I'd say Gordon's the donut for not having met Albert in person yet. But for now, we play the waiting game, following along on Albert's journey until the fateful day when his kitchen turns hotter than hell.
