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Can YouTube make you a next-level chef?

Starting your own YouTube cooking show can help you hone your skills, earn some money, and may even change your career. Having a successful YouTube channel is a big time commitment, but your dedication could take your cooking career to the next level.

Image courtesy of iStock

May 13, 2019 by Christine Potts — Senior Editor, WebstaurantStore

Foodservice operations have many skilled employees, but a kitchen's hierarchy doesn't always allow everyone to exercise their creativity. If you're looking to get more out of your cooking career, why not create your own YouTube cooking show? Keep reading to learn how YouTube can help improve your skills, supplement your income and change your career. You'll even find tips for how to start your own YouTube cooking channel.

A successful YouTube channel takes a lot of work, but we've broken down how to start your YouTube cooking show into these simple steps:

1. Watch a lot of YouTube cooking shows. Check out what others are doing, and see where you could add something new to the market. Form your concept around something you’re confident that you can do well with a unique perspective.

2. Figure out how you will brainstorm, test recipes, film and edit. Write up a schedule that works for your life and stick to it. Regular uploads (once per week or more) will help you retain followers.

3. Create a story board for each show before you film. Practice talking viewers through the recipe, and think about what shots you want to get of your dish. Consider what will be most helpful and most enticing to your audience.

4. Create social media profiles to promote your channel. For example, post stills of your videos on Instagram or ask your followers to suggest new recipes on Twitter.

Skills you need

Creating cooking content for YouTube means practicing your techniques and recipes frequently. You'll spend lots of time testing dishes, brainstorming plating techniques, talking to cameras and thinking about each step in your recipe.

Here are some skills to work on before you start your channel:

Basic cooking technique: Of course, you need to know your way around the kitchen if you want others to watch you cook.
Teaching: Practice how to break down your recipes into easy-to-understand steps.
Problem solving: Cooking YouTubers spend hours or sometimes days perfecting recipes. It's important to know how to fix a dish that just isn't working.
Likeability: Think of this as the "it" factor. How can you use your personality to get viewers to like you?
Filming and video editing: Viewers will be impressed with a professionally presented video that is enjoyable to watch.

How to create content

To gain a loyal base of subscribers, you should upload at least one video per week. However, you shouldn't rush and churn out non-descript recipes. Viewers want to see a unique twist on each dish you do, because that's what will keep them interested.

Here are some tips for planning your YouTube content:

Create a content calendar. It’s easiest to keep your subscribers’ attention when you’re producing content for them regularly. Mapping our your videos on a calendar will help you stay organized.
Try to account for running out of ideas as you plan your content. Creativity comes and goes in bursts, so consider producing more videos when you’re full of concepts.
Keep an eye on trends. Tune in to your competitors' channels and YouTube's trending page to see what people are watching. But, as always, put your own spin on these concepts to create original content.
Ask your viewers what they'd like to see. Create a relationship with your subscribers so that you can create content that you know they'll be interested in. They can leave comments on your videos or social media accounts with ideas for you.

How to gain exposure

Joining the YouTube community will allow you to connect with hundreds, thousands or even millions of people who love food as much as you. Each of these people is an opportunity for engagement and exposure that your channel needs to succeed.

It is important to encourage users to like and subscribe. Including these helpful reminders in your videos calls your viewers to action. YouTube's algorithm favors videos with many likes and views, so high rates of engagement could help you be featured on other users' "recommended" feeds or even the trending page.

Be prepared for the commitment

While YouTube gives you schedule flexibility, running a successful YouTube channel and its supporting social media profiles is practically a 24/7 job.

Subscribers may want daily content on other platforms because they can’t get enough of your unique perspective.

Learning how to balance your work with your personal life is a challenge that many full-time YouTubers face. When you work from home and your job is to be present on social media, it becomes difficult to know when to stop working. This is something to keep in mind if you want to pursue YouTube as your full-time income.

Moving to network television

After working on YouTube full-time, some users find even more success by transitioning to network television. For example, Hannah Hart, host of the YouTube cooking show "My Drunk Kitchen," now has a Food Network show called "I Hart Food."

If you are willing to put in the time and are innovative enough to attract a following, YouTube could take your cooking career outside of your current operation and into the spotlight.

If you want to explore opportunities for more creativity in your cooking career, consider starting your own YouTube cooking show. This endeavor could help you hone your skills, earn some money and may even change your career. Having a successful YouTube channel is a big time commitment, but your dedication could take your cooking career to the next level.

Photos courtesy of Webstaurant Store.

About Christine Potts

Christine Potts is the senior editor of SEO content at WebstaurantStore. When she's not writing about foodservice equipment, she likes to work on her baking skills and teach her friends about the products she recognizes while eating at restaurants.

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