Cooking up a storm

Born in Fushun town, Zigong, Sichuan province, which is famous for yan bang cai (salt gang dishes), Wang wanted to be a chef from the age of 12.

"One of the reasons that I wanted to become a chef is because I enjoyed eating the good food from my hometown, and I wanted to be able to replicate that," says Wang.

Much to his parents' chagrin, at 15 years old, he decided to quit school and find a job at a food stall in Zhuhai, Guangdong province.

At first, he only did the mundane chores, before getting a chance to clean the vegetables and sometimes help to prepare them. "I would often cut myself when I first picked up the knife, until I realized it's because I was performing the wrong action with it," Wang recalls. "So I kept practicing until I developed muscle memory of the correct technique."

Always eager to learn about cooking, he would watch the chefs at work while he was doing his chores in the kitchen and then practice as much as he could during break times, asking the chefs to teach him their tricks.

Before getting married in 2014, Wang had worked in more than 20 restaurants, each one teaching him more about Sichuan, Hunan and Guangdong cuisine. Eventually, though, it was time to find a stable job as a chef to support his family.

Wang first noticed short videos in 2014－h(huán)e liked to watch the ones related to cooking, but he did not know how to go about making and uploading one. In the beginning of 2017, Wang was encouraged by a colleague to post an article about the cooking of an eggplant dish, along with photos, which was soon viewed by thousands of people.

"I was excited to see all the comments, and thought 'if I make that into a video, I may reach more people,'" recalls Wang.

Wang then borrowed a smartphone from his cousin, and learned to shoot and edit videos. At first, he used subtitles, but then he started adding his own commentary which helped him garner even more views.

To maintain his online presence while still working as a chef, Wang's schedule was grueling and he worked until midnight editing his videos and getting up at 6 am each day.