Ep. 164 – Dissecting Tasty Videos with Matthew Francis Johnson, Chef and Video Producers

I’m a huge fan of the viral videos on social media that teach you how to cook in just a few minutes. The dishes are eye poppingly bright and I personally love trying to replicate them.

I caught Matthew’s post on LinkedIn, talking about his layoff from Buzzfeed. As many know, many media companies went through a layoff round, and unfortunately, Matthew was one of them.

I reached out to Matt to tell his story and we had an interview that night. I learned about the complexity of creating Tasty videos and the neat tips and tricks that go with it.

But what’s even more impressive is Matthew’s culinary journey. He went to the Culinary Insitute of America and graduated with no debt and during that time, he would post a video on youtube every week for 8 years, about his culinary creations!

Matt is doing amazingly well, with media deals all around Los Angeles. He’s using his skills in culinary video content creation to freelance for companies such as Viacom and MTV Cribs, and working as a private chef for Pretty Healthy Foods Inc.

What’s also pretty cool is that he started to get into Podcasting and has a show called DinnerViews and it’s pretty good! You can check that out in the shownotes.

So if you’re interested in culinary school, or creating professional cooking videos, this episode is for you.

About Matthew Francis Matthew Francis is a chef and food video producer living in Los Angeles, CA. At age 23, He is most known for his previous work as a BuzzFeed Tasty Producer where he would make their viral top-down recipe videos for 100 million+ Tasty fans around the globe. For each of his videos, he would research food trends, write recipes, cook, and film the food, edit the footage, and then gather audience analytics feedback once it was published. Since leaving BuzzFeed Tasty, Matthew Francis has taken on clients working as a private chef and hosts his own food podcast show called "DinnerViews." Matthew's culinary journey is filled with fascinating stories including losing 110 pounds after coming out, traveling across the country for cooking competitions, and earning $175,000 in scholarships to graduate from the CIA debt free. His long term goal is to be the CEO of his own restaurant group and create a production company that produces television and films that will showcase incredible stories about food and the people who love it. Huge ambitions aside, Matthew Francis just seems like your chatty best friend you want to enjoy a delicious dinner with.   To connect more with Matthew Francis (@matthewfrancisj) follow him Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter or enjoy to his podcast "DinnerViews" on YouTube, iTunes, or Spotify." Show Notes

What do people call you?: I’m a chef and food producer and I make viral videos about foods. Culinary Content Producer, chef, video Do you get hand make-up?: Only girls do, but mainly because people bash them online if their hands are not pretty A tasty video is about a minute or 3 minutes. Every video is about a month of work A lot of people in the tasty team went to culinary school. Only I and Rea went to culinary school I started as an intern, then I was contracted as a junior producer and did 2 a week and then we had 6-7 a month and planned in advanced What kind of equipment do you use?: Copycats can’t compare and Buzzfeed as a specific way of doing things. We do use pretty good camera equipment and manipulate lighting well Describe the steps it took to get to where you are today?: I always wanted to be a chef and worked hard to be one. I was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. I got scholarships that paid for school and I was able to pay for all of it. I started making videos at 18 and made a video once a week. By the end of my graduation, I had over 300+ videos. Buzzfeed found these videos and asked me to interview On Scholarships: Plenty in James Beard Foundation, cooking contests, recipe competitions, Elks Scholarships, CIA had video scholarships How did you start your videos: I had an iphone and I just started filming and didn’t stop What camera are you buying for your new gig?: A Canon 80D Cooking and making videoes follow the same vein as you should do it every day to improve Who did you watch in the food network?: Cat Cora, Masuhara Morimoto, Alton Brown, Giada, as a kid, I thought it was awesome. I got to work with Anne Burrel and worked with Wolfgang Puck, Susan Fenniger, JJ Johnson What is an important skill you need for producing videos?: Pulling ideas out of your butt. how do you generate new ideas?: I try to do things that I want to do. I also see a lot of food trends. I try to look into underlying trends and dissect that. Five Spice Powder My Food Job Rocks: I’ve been given an opportunity and I’m going to run with it What’s your dream job?: I want my own restaurant group and media groups What type of food trends are exciting you?: I’m interested in where food comes from. The history and sustainability of classic food What’s your favorite technique for cooking?: Searing. As long as I’m trying something new, I love cooking Adam’s Middle School Cast Iron Skillet What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: Authenticity. But it’s more like, people will always complain about dishes in being authentic. You need to treat food authentically How do you make authentic dishes to respect the culture?: We did a black history month, Asian history month, etc. Then do it all throughout the year. We would bring someone who is of that race to make that dish. For me, cultural appropriation is shown offing a cultural dish without giving the culture credit. Who inspired you to get into food?: My parents. Also the people on TV and cook book authors Susie Fogelson What’s your favorite cookbook?: My family has their own cook book. My mom, Shirley Speltz has a lot fo Luxenberg dishes Favorite Kitchen Item: Bench Scraper Secret Chef (not sure what it’s called) Pate en Crut Korean BBQ: Genwa KBBQ – Galbi OO-Kook Koreatown Any advice for anyone going into your field: If you want to be a chef, you have to know what you want and you have to know what sets you apart. They don’t see the long hours and back-breaking work. If you live a life of creating content you’re passionate about, you’ll die happy. What’s next for you after Buzzfeed?: The layoff was a kick in the pants. I’ve always wanted to create my own content and my own business. My work experience taught me how to do it Where can we find you for advice?: @matthewfrancisj on Instagram and twitter. Brainfood production I love talking to people. Send me a message, we’ll talk.

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