It took dwelling cook dinner and artistic Icoy Rapadas solely half a yr to make an influence within the on-line meals content material area. His secret? As tacky because it sounds, it was simply being himself
Should you spend loads of time on the web, then you definately might need already seen Icoy Rapadas’ cooking content material in your social media feed. And should you haven’t but, they go as such—he strolls into his residence after an extended day of labor. Rapadas shrugs off his jacket, takes off his equipment, and begins cooking his meal for the night.
Whether or not it’s a comforting creamy hen dish (his household’s personal recipe), a mouthwatering croque madame (“pina-sosyal na ham and egg and cheese sandwich”), or his personal recreation of a meal he’s seen on a TV present (see: Chef Sydney’s well-known omelet from “The Bear”), it at all times appears to be like fairly rattling good.
“I truly first began [making videos] through the pandemic, placing out a complete of 5 movies. Format was utterly totally different again then, however it nonetheless gained some traction,” Icoy Rapadas says.
Pair these visuals with some calm, composed commentary harking back to an ASMR video. He speaks casually in a mixture of Filipino and English; it sounds precisely like a good friend educating you how one can craft a dish from scratch over Facetime. Throwing in an sudden joke or two and a few private tidbits right here and there, he’s finished with the meal earlier than it and sits right down to eat.
Rapadas ends each video with a single phrase, delivered in each a heat but nonchalant method: “Kain.”
Sounds easy, sure, however these movies are precisely what charmed his quickly rising fanbase, garnering him 142,000 followers on TikTok, 150,000 on Fb, and 98,000 on Instagram as of writing. In simply half a yr since beginning in January 2024, Rapadas has gone full-time meals content material creator, quitting his company day job because the model offers got here reeling in—actually successful story for aspiring meals content material creators on the market.
His common viewer can be shocked to seek out out that when upon a time, Rapadas was “an eat- to-live, not a live-to-eat sort of man.” His love for meals solely began in 2016, when a former colleague who knew all the perfect eating places round their workplace in Kapitolyo launched him to the wonders of nice meals. Cooking got here quickly after when Rapadas took a break from work for 9 months, doing it out of necessity and studying how one can make the dishes he craved from his mother and father’ dwelling.
“I truly first began [making videos] through the pandemic, placing out a complete of 5 movies. Format was utterly totally different again then, however it nonetheless gained some traction,” Rapadas says about his early content material creation days. “Pero ‘di ko tinuloy kasi ‘di ko pa kaya i-handle ’yung mga haters, so I ended.”
Lastly, after taking some extra culinary lessons at CCA Manila in 2022 and shifting into his personal place final yr—the exact same one his viewers see in his movies—Rapadas determined to craft meals content material once more with a refreshed perspective. Whereas meals stays the principle attraction of his movies, Rapadas, who additionally occurs to entrance the rock band Lions and Acrobats, wished to sprinkle bits of way of life and his distinctive character in his content material, with area and trend turning into supporting components that his viewers can admire. This food-slash-lifestyle combo, he thinks, is precisely the kind of materials missing within the native meals content material area.
“After I put [my content] out, it was simply good timing, serving a sure hole out there. On an area stage, the meals content material right here is de facto concerning the meals, concerning the recipes. That’s the place a lot of the focus is moderately than the individual creating the meals.”
“After I put [my content] out, it was simply good timing, serving a sure hole out there. On an area stage, the meals content material right here is de facto concerning the meals, concerning the recipes. That’s the place a lot of the focus is moderately than the individual creating the meals,” Rapadas shares. “In different international locations, it lately turned a factor the place folks have taken extra curiosity within the creator and their way of life moderately than simply the meals.”
Rapadas drew from famend worldwide meals influencers like Olivia Tiedemann, Anna Archibald and Kevin Serai, Matty Matheson, and Yung Prepare dinner God amongst others. He says, “After I tried taking over that strategy, it labored nearly immediately. I took inspiration from all of them and put collectively a format that works for me. ‘Di ako nag copy-paste, ginaya ko lang ‘yung atake, however I made positive to simply spotlight who I’m, and share my tales.”
What makes Rapadas’ movies stand out from different Filipino meals content material creators is most undoubtedly the supporting character of his content material—trend. He emphasizes additional that trend’s infiltration into F&B has turn out to be considerably of a current phenomenon, citing how “chefcore” model and workwear at the moment are a development. From native eating places collaborating with manufacturers for merchandise to the meticulous plating of dishes, the give attention to aesthetics enhances the general eating expertise, making meals a multi-sensory affair. Its convergence with trend additionally resonates with customers’ need for self-expression and connection to culinary tradition.
“My sense of fashion is closely influenced by Japanese trend, amekaji put on, workwear, Japanese Americana, and ivy primarily, tapos minsan might gorpcore din,” says Rapadas, together with his clothes not going unnoticed by his viewers and different outstanding names in meals, comparable to JP Anglo and content material creator Cyrus Jimenez.
“I believe that’s when it clicked for me that individuals will solely begin following you once they’re invested in you.”
For Rapadas, the key to success on this new age of meals content material creation are, first, to be a persistent on-line client (“That’s the way you’ll know the place and the way you’ll slot in”) and second, to simply be your self, as tacky as that sounds.
“I believe that’s when it clicked for me that individuals will solely begin following you once they’re invested in you,” he advises. “Discover a approach to showcase who you might be. It’s important to have a powerful sense of self, kilalanin mo sarili mo, then discover a approach to greatest present that. Once you determine that out, distinctive ‘yan as a result of nobody else is such as you.”
And to that, we are saying in true Icoy Rapadas trend—boogsh.