Award Winner Profile: Food Wishes shares Secrets to Online Success
HE HOSTS AND PRODUCES “FOOD WISHES,”
HAS WON MULTIPLE TASTE AWARDS,
HAS MILLIONS OF VIEWERS AND BLOG READERS,
AND HAS EXPANDED HIS ONLINE VIDEO COMPANY TO COMPLETE PROFITABILITY
An Interview with “Food Wishes” CHEF JOHN MITZEWICH
QUESTION: John, what exactly is Food Wishes?
CHEF JOHN: Food Wishes is the name of my show on YouTube, which features more than 800 video recipes.
The concept is a show based on the “food wishes” of the viewers, as in, “I wish I could make a great pizza at home.”
Q: How did you come up with the name?
CJ: When I first started I worked with a few friends on a site called “Wish Upon a Stove.” When I went off on my own, I changed it to “Food Wishes.”
Q: How many recipes a week do you prepare?
CJ: I film 2 or 3 new video recipes every week.
Q: So, where do you get the ideas for the recipes?
CJ: The viewers’ own “food wishes!”
Q: Do you create them all, or do you use other recipe sources?
CJ: Some I create, some are inspired by things I see online, or viewers send in recipes.
Q: You were primarily on YouTube. Did you initially decide for this to be your main platform?
CJ: When I started, YouTube was the only video hosting site I actually knew about. But then I discovered the large food community there, and they discovered me, and that’s been the main platform since.
Q: How many viewers do you usually have on YouTube?
CJ: We get over 3 million views a month.
Q: Wow, any tips for aspiring YouTube stars?
CJ: Your content has to be entertaining, but it’s really all about quantity. You have to produce lots of content, like 2-3 videos a weeks for a couple years if you want to build a large audience.
Q: But now you are also on AllRecipes.com. How did that come about?
CJ: They approached me regarding a partnership, and it ended up being a perfect fit. We have the same missions: get people to discover the joys of cooking at home, provide them with all of the necessary (and fun) tools and inspiration to create great meals.
