In March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down economies globally, Candaycia Richeson was one of many US-based Guyanese who were forced to stay indoors. As such she decided to find something to pass the time, cooking all her favourite meals. It was that very month that she posted her first Youtube video showcasing her cooking skills.
Candaycia Richeson
Little did she know that her videos showcasing authentic Guyanese and West Indian cuisine on YouTube would go viral; they have become so popular that in January this year, Richeson celebrated the coveted achievement of attaining 100,000 subscribers. This week she posted her 570th video and her video on Chinese fried chicken, which went viral soon after she started her channel, remains one of her most popular videos to date.
Self-taught cook
The former Alleyne’s High School student describes herself as a self-taught cook. Now residing in Virginia, she said since when she was around age 7, she started experimenting with the foods her mother cooked.
She explained that her mother was into fitness, bodybuilding and modelling and as such, the foods weren’t really to her liking. “Keeping a healthy lifestyle and amazing body was a way of life for her, so she would cook a lot of steamed foods with little or no salt, that’s when I started taking the food she already cooked and added my own seasonings and sauces to make it taste the way I like,” Richeson said.
A grill chicken salad dish made by Candaycia Richeson
When she was 10 years old, Richeson was already cooking full meals. “I basically taught myself how to cook since I knew exactly how I wanted my food to taste,” she said. In 2014 Richeson migrated to the United States to start a new life and it was there that she started to further explore and expand her cooking skills.
Starting on YouTube
When the pandemic was wreaking havoc across the globe early in 2020, Richeson decided to stay at home with her son who was still in his toddler years. She said that she would cook her favourite meals and record them on video.
“I think one of my videos went viral soon after I started, that’s the video of the Chinese fried chicken,” she said. “It started to blow up and I hit the requirements to get paid on YouTube and I started getting paid,” she said. The payment from the social media platform surpassed the salary she was paid monthly prior to the pandemic.
“That made me never have the desire to go out back to work because if I am making all that money sitting at home, why go and slave myself out at the job, I can work at home, in my own time, “she said.
The name “Candy the Glam Cook”
Initially, Richeson’s YouTube channel started out under another name, “Guyanese Cooking with Candy.” However, she noted that the name seemed too “common”, and she also considered the foods she cooked. “I realise I don’t only cook Guyanese foods; I can cook everything and anything so I don’t want to limit myself or seem as if it is only Guyanese food I can cook,” she explained.
Richeson said too, that she observed several persons using names like hers at the time. “I noticed everyone was like -Cooking with that, Cooking with this- so I thought it was too common, so I decided to rebrand myself,” she added.
She said she loves fashion and dressing up is among her favourite past times. “I love to look good and my name on Instagram was ‘Glambitious’ meaning glamourous and ambitious. I said I would name my channel Candy the Glam Cook because I am all about glam and fashion and I want my food to look glamorous. My food must reflect me. I searched around and I realized nobody has the name and the rest is history,” she added.
Richeson said the entire process started out as a hobby and she said it still is. “I love what I do, and if I were to stop being paid, I would still do it,” Richeson said. However, she said she has decided to make a schedule in which she cooks a set number of meals, and she would post videos consistently to YouTube. “I ensure I post around 3 videos per week,” she said.
In addition, she noted that it is better to cook every day since it is cheaper than purchasing meals on the road. “Now it is more like a job, I treat it like a job where I have my schedule when it comes to posting,” she added.
The entrepreneur said she records and edits her own videos. She explained that she decided to carry out research on how to shoot the videos, how to edit them and add voiceovers as well. “I am very efficient, by simply looking at it on video and learn,” she said. She describes herself as a jack of all trades, noting that she performs her own hairdressing role in styling her hair. “I don’t go to the salon, I can sew, I can cook, I didn’t attend a school to learn these things,” she said.
Becoming ‘monetised’
“Like a phone, simply go into an app, get a sketch video where you can play around with the editing and that is how you learn,” she said. For her videos, Richeson said she would ensure her kitchen is spotless prior to videoing her cooking. “I don’t do live cooking videos, I would shoot every step of the process, I would cut the video at specific times, and then when editing, I put together all the videos and then add the voiceover, and that’s it,” she explained.
Richeson said in order to make money via YouTube or ‘monetise’, one must attain 1000 subscribers as well as 400,000 watch hours. “Then you would be invited to the YouTube partnership where your channel can be monetized,” she explained. Richeson also has a Facebook and Instagram account-Candy Tha Glam Cook-under the same name. They both have a growing number of subscribers.
In Virginia where she and her family reside, she said there are no Guyanese restaurants; the closest foods to home are the ones at the Jamaican restaurants. As such, Richeson cooks her favourite Guyanese foods regularly and she plans to continue showcasing her skills, cooking those foods as well as foods from other countries.
In terms of advice, she said if one has a skill, they should utilize it to the best of their ability. In addition, she said people should utilize the opportunity which the internet brings.
“I would advise anyone to start a YouTube channel. This social media is ideal for any generation. Pretty soon this is where everything will be. The first step is to simply start, post anything, everyone starts off rocky, but you would become good as time progresses,” Richeson said.
