What does it take to be an Instagram chef?

Explore the world of Instagram chefs, from 85-year-old Dadi to Deepshikha, and discover their unique recipes, stories, and creative process.

Step outside the usual kitchen setting and meet a new kind of cook — the Instagram chef. They do not have a culinary degree, but wielding smartphones as their utensil work towards whipping up a revolution on your phone screens, one tasty reel at a time.

Meet five home cooks who share how creativity, technology and flavour blend to shape an Instagram chef.

At the age of 85, Vijay Nischal, popularly known as dadi, has become an Instagram sensation with over a million followers in just three-and-a-half months. A retired teacher based in Delhi, Vijay’s grandson Krish Nischal, who enjoys making videos, encouraged her to cook for the camera. He plays a pivotal role in recording, editing, and scripting the quirky recipe videos — where the song selection and dadi grooving on them is always the cherry on top.

Along with her grandson, she credits the “age factor, her looks, and her determination to keep working hard” for her accomplishments. “The fact that I am fit at this age and ready to work inspires people and is most likely the reason people across the world have showered so much love,” says Vijay.

Growing up, she was inspired by his father and started cooking with him. “The kitchen became my happy place. I would experiment with ingredients every day... But I never thought that I would one day get famous because of it. When I turned 85, my grandson insisted that I showcase my skills on YouTube. I had never used social media before; I never imagined I would go viral,” says Vijay, who recently completed 1K subscribers on YouTube and received the silver play button.

While crafting reels, Vijay follows a simple recipe: each video’s start and end should always be unique. She helps her grandson with the script and records the voiceover. As the videos also show her in the frame, she admits that it is quite challenging at times. “It needs to look a certain way, and I often repeat steps for the perfect shot. When I am cooking for myself I don’t have to think about the camera but on Instagram, everything needs to look a certain way. It is annoying sometimes because we have to do retakes in case there is a mismatch with the script but the final edit makes it worth the effort.”

She uses an iPhone 11 for shooting and has made several changes, including adding bright kitchen lights and recently getting a tripod stand. “My grandson and I make a great team brainstorming recipes. Planning the video execution is a task in itself — we write introductions that need to be both creative and relatable to my followers... We shoot the recipes in the corner of the kitchen and sometimes light does not reach there. Despite recording during daytime we face lighting problems but we eventually figure it out.”