3 YouTubers that every food lover should be watching

Now I know that Youtube has a glut of cooking videos to learn how to make this or how to recreate that, but have you ever seen any that has a veritable garden of eden as a backdrop? I’m 2 years behind in discovering Liziqi and Dianxi Xiaoge from China, 2 impressively talented young women worth their salt with the views they’re getting. And I’m not just talking knife skills.

Screen grab – Liziqi on YouTube

She dyes her own fabric with grape skins, spins wool for a coat, and cooks with absolute style and grace. My eyeballs popped out of their sockets when she made block sugar from sugarcane that she harvested herself! My grandfather worked the canefields in his day (hacking the canes with a machete); it’s backbreaking work and nothing to scoff at.

Screen grab – Dianxi Xiaoge on YouTube

There’s a comforting rustic vibe to Dianxi’s videos that reminds me so much of my grandmother (bless her soul) and the little plot of vegetables that she grew with such care. For a mid-autumn festival she prepared fried crab for a special meal, redolent with ginger, garlic, and chilis that would probably blow my mouth off. But what made me pause the clip were the sweets brought by family and friends. Wish I had kin/pals like hers.

And lastly, from Italy no less, the channel Pasta Grannies. I just heard about them over the weekend and haven’t seen more than a few videos, but the quality, editing, and content are top notch. In the image below, Cesaria is making lorighittas, a type of pasta from Sardegna. It is then boiled and served with a chicken ragu.

Screen grab – 93-yr. old nonna makes lorighittas on YouTube