There are as many food vloggers in Kerala as there are varieties of cooked fish. But we all know that food videos aren't really just about the food. The best food vlogs have a perfect blend of cooking processes, unique ingredients, interesting milieus, and a sprinkling of charm. To top it off, these popular food vloggers capture your attention with an unadulterated love of all things gastronomical.
Sujith Bhakthan: A techie who revolutionised vlogging in Kerala, Sujith Bhakthan is a consummate traveller who has scouted the global map, at times with his wife, friends and family. His YouTube channel Tech Travel Eat has crossed 8 lakh subscribers and he seems to be perpetually on road, train or airplane.
From reviewing a resort in Wayanad to a government-certified pilgrimage to Pakistan, a 54 hour journey from Thiruvananthapuram to Nazimuddin on the Rajdhani Express, and an India-Nepal-Bhutan trip on road to a Singapore-Thailand cruise, Bhakthan’s vlog is an extensive travel guide complete with food, travel tips and planning budget trips. At other times he also does videos on money-making hacks through YouTube, reviews luxury cars and gadgets. Right now, he is trying to make the most of his lockdown days in Morocco.
Look out for the food tour videos on the Paranthe Wali Gali in Old Delhi, street food in Madurai, midnight stroll around Manek Chowk street food market, sunday brunch at Le Meridianne and the king-sized masala dosas on the streets of Bengaluru.
Mrinal: The videos started out as an unassuming, intimate space between a man and his obsessive love for food. From raiding little-known, makeshift hotels in the interiors of Kerala (and at times Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Lucknow) to sampling various buffets at star hotels, Mrinal loves his food.
And what makes it an addictive watch for an average foodie is not simply what is on the plate, it is about how he makes the process of wolfing it down seem like an art form. From lathering crusty parottas with beef curry, lovingly melding the fat red rice with pullisery, fish curry and chunks of fried fish to biting juicy pieces of mutton off the bone and plunging his spoon deep into a tall glass of creamy gudbud at a decadent ice cream shop in Mangaluru, Mrinal makes your tummy growl even if you've just had a sumptuous Andhra meal.
A restaurant consultant, he also seems to have nuanced knowledge about food, restaurant workings and can be bitingly sarcastic if the food does not come up to his expectations. Recently, he was in the eye of the storm for a carelessly thrown insensitive remark about the food habits of the people of Thiruvananthapuram. If you are willing to forgive that lapse in judgment, then look no further than Mrinal to teach you the fine art of devouring food.
Lekshmi Nair: For the last 20 years, Dr. Lekshmi Nair has been a constant fixture on Kairali TV, anchoring Magic Oven as well as travelling the length and breadth of the country, sampling and exploring cuisines and destinations. But last year, she opened her home and hearth to the public by introducing a personalised vlog, where she not only showcased her culinary expertise but also introduced us to her family.
If one day she would sit down on the floor of her old-fashioned kitchen, cut open a giant jackfruit, shred coconuts, melt jaggery to make a cauldron of jackfruit payasam, another time she would open her wardrobe filled with saris accumulated over the years or take us through a day when she prepared for the big Attukal Pongala at her home. At times she would even offer tips on beauty care, marriage, or self-esteem issues.
It’s the sheer ease with which she multitasks that leaves us impressed—from preparing an elaborate meal for the family, a separate cookery episode for the vlog, overseeing a wedding catering unit, travelling, to simply taking care of herself, it makes us instant fans.
Ebbin Jose: What this bearded affable vlogger does apart from being quite the traveller is presenting to us a tantalising array of food. It may be a tiny hamlet in North Kerala where a granny conjures up the spiciest red fish curry, moru curry and chicken roast or it can be a wedding feast at Kasaragod where mountains of mutton biryani are getting ready, along with a side order of crispy chicken.
From a detailed delicious tour of the behind-the-scenes of the making of the popular Aranmula Valla sadya to downing toddy along with kappa and beef curry at a roadside toddy shop to touring some of the most popular thattukadas, eateries and their kitchens in Kerala, there is a reason why his Food N Travel has over 312 k subscribers today.
Village Cooking Kerala: Somewhere in the interiors of Kerala, a resourceful village woman (whose name is a mystery) is cooking up a storm with minimum fuss and gadgets. Everything is done from scratch, including de-seeding jackfruit, slicing onions without a chopping board, grinding the dough for unniyappams on a grinding stone, to filleting fish with her sharp iron knives before marinating it in a masala ground in stone mortar and later simmering it on an earthen pot. It is almost cathartic to watch her cook and she takes us back to a time when snack time meant unniyappams, bondas and sukhiyans.
Eat Kochi Eat: With over 1.72k subscribers, their social media platform is a veritable treasure trove for food lovers, with the page forever buzzing with delectable pictures and reviews of the latest restaurants and eateries in and around Kochi. While at it, do visit the Eat Kochi Eat YouTube channel, with their group food tours around Kerala (from sampling Rameswaram idlies, raiding mango yards to feasting at a local wedding).
At times they will have individual members upload videos --it can be a local toddy shop or a night tour of the midnight restaurants in Kochi. For the Kochiities who love exploring food, look no further.
Neelima Menon has worked in the newspaper industry for more than a decade. She has covered Hindi and Malayalam cinema for The New Indian Express and has worked briefly with Silverscreen.in. She now writes exclusively about Malayalam cinema, contributing to Fullpicture.in and thenewsminute.com. She is known for her detailed and insightful features on misogyny and the lack of representation of women in Malayalam cinema.