Imagine scrolling through your phone on a lazy Saturday evening, looking for dinner ideas, and you come across a video that makes you pause.
A woman is dragging a cow into her kitchen, and within minutes, the animal is transformed into marinated beef, plated with cinematic flair. The comment section goes wild; shock, outrage, and praise. The views, clicks and shares rise fast.
Gone are the days when recipes were limited to cookbooks or instructions handed down by grandmothers or mothers. Today, thanks to online food content creators, recipes have become full-scale productions with equipment, staff, and a compelling storyline to keep viewers hooked.
Nation Lifestyle spoke to three creators, who share their experience of cooking online and milking the digital cash cow, courtesy of leading food brands such as Royco, Farmer’s Choice, Pwani Life, Coca-Cola Kenya and Ajab Flour.
Valery Akoko, aka Akoko Val, is a lifestyle and content creator and a mother of one.
Photo credit: Pool
“Posted for a year, no earnings”
Akoko Valerie, popularly known as Akoko Val on social media, never set out to be a content creator.
“I actually studied business administration, majored in HR. But I had learnt how to cook from my mother. Having a family pushed me to cook every day, try new meals and keep things interesting. Honestly, their palate is well explored. I don’t really think they have a meal that they can’t eat,” says the 27-year-old.
Val would post some of her meals online, but the game-changer for her was when she posted her weekly shopping hauls. The audience kept growing as she maintained a steady stream of cooking routine videos and glimpses of her lifestyle. She decided to quit her job and focus on content creation.
Then one day, she posted a morning routine video featuring her son. The comments section was pouring with requests from parents for simple, practical meal ideas for their children. She curated more videos, getting a variety of local and international recipes, and adding her variations to them.
Food, she notes, is deeply personal. “Probably the way I cook omena might be different from how someone else cooks omena.”
One of the things that pull the crowds for Val is her traditional recipes that spark nostalgia, warm memories of home.
“I cook in a modern kitchen but for some of the traditional dishes, I try my best to stick with original recipes to preserve that taste of ‘home.’ When I make mrenda, for example, and traditional vegetables in general, I avoid using spices. For mrenda, I will keep it for five days, just like we do at home.”
As a Gen Z, Val understands how attention spans influence views, and uses this knowledge to maximise traffic.
“People don’t really want to watch a one-hour tutorial. You give them a one-minute video with very simple steps. That’s the only way to keep the younger generation engaged.”
She shoots the videos about three times a week and works with a production team of four members. Besides shooting, the time brainstorms content ideas and depending on the complexity of the storyline, some can get shot in a day while others require weeks of planning.
Val admits that in the digital economy, money doesn’t grow on trees, at least not in her experience.
“I was shooting and posting content for more than one year without making any money. You have to be patient and consistent.”
Brands began noticing her growing audience, and they came calling. She got her fast brand collaboration towards the end of 2024. They currently form her biggest share of earnings.
Ever heard the phrase, ‘spend money to make money?’ Val says it rings true for food content creation, low-budget production simply doesn’t cut it.
“It is quite expensive, the cooking and also shooting high-quality videos. I have to budget and work within my means.”
She does monthly budgets, and the silver lining with being a food content creator is that the meals end up feeding the family as well, quite literally.
Speaking of budgets, remember the woman dragging a cow into her kitchen? You can stop imagining it, because it actually happened. Val is that woman, and she has a Sunday routine of slaughtering live animals for dinner, including goats and turkeys.
Besides finances, online bullying is another hurdle that content creators have to navigate. Starting out, Val faced a lot of criticism from some of her followers.
“I would get so triggered when someone said something negative. I know better now. When I differ with someone’s opinion online, I simply scroll on. I never leave negative comments. I have no hunger for clout or trying to impressing anyone.”
Val gets analytics for her content performance and was surprised to see that children watch her content. This reinforced her to resolve to keep her content clean, family-oriented and influence healthy living.
In case you are wondering, yes, she does enjoy eating out with her family every once in a while.
“I explore restaurants that cook meals that I haven't tried, but I find a lot more pleasure in exploring what other people are cooking or eating, whether locally or internationally, like Italian or Chinese cuisines.” Her advice to anyone who wishes to be an online content creator?
“Don’t be afraid to get into the creator space, there is nothing new under the sun. Growth is steady when you’re consistent.”
Yun Aturkana is a lifestyle content creator who started with cleaning and organising her home content.
Photo credit: Pool
“I was called a show-off”
When Yun Aturkana got to Form Two and had to select an optional subject, she went with Home-Science.
“I didn’t really grow up in a family that knew how to cook, so I wanted to learn it. I remember how thrilled I was when the teacher showed us how to bake a cake, then asked us to do a practical. I enjoyed it.”
Later, after her completion of high school, while living with her aunt, Yun picked up a few more lessons, especially on how to maintain the kitchen well-stocked and clean. It was around this time that she started experimenting with recipes that she discovered on online food content.
For Yun, 28, this opened up a world of possibilities not only to learn all kinds of dishes but to put her work out there for all to see.
“Cooking and posting the videos online come very naturally for me. Most of what I know is self-taught. I enjoy it thoroughly.”
Yun posted her first video in 2023, some fluffy pancakes. She was doing it for fun, but the warm reception online nudged her to keep posting. “My delivery was bad then,” she admits with a laugh. “It makes me appreciate how far I’ve come. I am better composed, the quality of the video is good, and generally the presentation is much better.”
Back then, she felt like showing her face was too much; she didn’t know much about audience engagement and building credibility.
Yun advises keeping an open mind in the kitchen, saying being spontaneous is one of her secret ingredients.
“In some meals, I follow the script, in others I let my curiosity lead. For instance, I can add ghee and totally transform how the dish turns out. I don’t have a rigid way of doing something. How I cooked chapati yesterday is not the same way I’ll cook today. If I were forced to eat food in just one way, it would be very boring.”
Being that flexible took time, and she unlearned some beliefs, such as assuming herbs and spices were meant for coastal cuisines.
“They’re herbs, they’re trees, leaves, roots which are actually very good for us.”
Sometimes, she faces criticism over her use of spices, but that hasn’t discouraged her from posting videos.
“I don’t feel the pressure to please everyone; mine is just to show them another way of making food.”
Yun studied political science in the university, and became a full-time content creator after losing her job last year.
She works with a production team of four. Over the past three years, she has had to invest heavily in cameras, mics, lights as well as kitchen accessories to cater for her audience who are mostly between 28 to 35 years old, with the majority of them being in the diaspora.
One of her most-viewed videos was a githeri recipe that garnered over two million views. It had several ingredients, including carrots, potatoes, spices and sparked funny reactions about how the dish had been ‘pimped.’
A typical shoot begins with shopping for ingredients, then filming the next day and editing before posting. Her preferred platform is posting on Facebook, which she describes as having a ‘mature audience’, but the traffic driver for her is TikTok.
However, TikTok also comes with the highest bullying, not criticism, but outright bullying. For instance, she has been called out for ‘showing off’ her food content while ‘her people’, the Turkana community, starve due to harsh climatic conditions.
“I ignore those mean comments; sometimes other people who follow me come to my defence,” Yun says.
Most of her earnings are from brand collaborations, with one of the highest being a Sh1.5 million payout after a three-month contract.
“If you’re good at what you’re doing and consistent, you can actually make a lot of money.”
She admits that the input is also quite pricey, as one shoot can cost up to Sh30,000.
Her favourite meal? Kienyeji chicken, creamy spinach or traditional leafy vegetables, and ugali. She hopes to one day open a restaurant, where people can experience her food first-hand.
Susan Owino, aka Sue Owino, a content creator, shares her journey into the digital space began with a nudge from her husband.
Photo credit: Pool
“It was my husband’s idea”
Suzan Owino, who goes by Sue Owino online, has built a brand around a very simple admission that has become the anthem of her videos: “I cook for my husband every day.”
While many praise her for being the ideal ‘wife material’ who feeds her husband mouth-watering meals, others lament that she has set the bar too high or too low, depending on whether one is pro-marriage or against it. You might be surprised (or not) to discover Sue’s content creation was actually the husband’s idea.
“My journey into the digital space began with a nudge from my husband. He saw my talent and believed that through storytelling, people would truly connect with the way I cook. I am not a professionally trained chef; my 'culinary school' was my mother’s kitchen. I grew up watching her, learning the nuances of flavour and technique through observation and practice. Sharing that heritage online felt like a natural extension of our life at the homestead.”
Her first post, back in 2023, was a simple breakfast of viazi karai and tea for her husband. The context, more than the meal, drew in the crowds, and they have been streaming in since then.
It took about six months of consistent posting before Sueh got any income. Now, her earnings come from a mix of brand partnerships, adverts and customised meal plans.
Sueh notes that although the storytelling has evolved and the video quality has improved, they have maintained the authenticity.
“It’s no longer just about the recipe; it’s about the feeling it leaves behind. Cooking for a digital audience is quite different from cooking for the family. At home, people see the process from start to finish. Online, the audience isn't there 'live' with me, so I have to use storytelling and visual rhythm to make them feel part of the process, including the eating,” she says.
Sueh advocates preserving traditional cooking techniques like steaming, cooking on the hearth and using traditional utensils such as clay pots to maintain a rustic, homestead aesthetic.
“The older generation relates to the methods and often offers tips or regional variations of a dish. Meanwhile, Gen Z is genuinely curious; they want to know about the traditions.”
Behind the scenes, Sueh’s manager helps bring structure to the content creation to provide high-quality videos without compromising authenticity. She also tailors the content to suit each platform: On TikTok and Instagram, she uses high-energy clips, quick engagement, and reaches a massive audience fast. YouTube is reserved for the ‘soul’ of the homestead, focusing on long-form building projects and detailed traditional recipes.
“I primarily use high-quality cameras and phones to capture our content. Interestingly, I don't rely heavily on microphones; the natural sounds of the homestead are often the best soundtrack,” she explains. For bigger projects, though, she brings in more specialised equipment to get a sharper, more refined finish.
“My audience is predominantly Kenyan, which I find very meaningful. It means my work resonates with the people whose culture I am celebrating. I see a lot of engagement from the diaspora as well as people looking for a taste of home, and they frequently influence what I cook next through their feedback.”
When it comes to handling criticism, Sueh has a knack for turning lemons into lemonade
“I handle criticism by making more content. I stay focused on the work and the community that supports the vision we are building here.”
Sueh has some cookbook projects coming up. She’s also looking beyond Kenya, hoping to collaborate with chefs across Africa and beyond, to explore more traditional recipes, bring them to life and pass them on to future generations.
