Chef Donny@chefdonnyy
I apologize in advance for the long drawn out caption but this milestone only happens once and I don’t think I’ve ever really explained how I got here.
I recorded my first ever video 9 years ago today—it was a drunken rant in the backyard of a fraternity house after I had just successfully catered for 120 people, including Bill Levitan, the creator of Modern Family, whose name is in fact Steve. From there“The College Cook” was born. (Will attach in thread)
The focus of the college cook was a catering business & late night food/brunch restaurant in 2017-2018. In the spring of 2018 I dropped it all to backpack across Asia. I filmed the entire 4 months, aside from the clips in here I’ve never looked at or released any of the footage. Someday, when I can stomach how cringeworthy 20 year old me was, I’ll sit down and go through it all.
On that trip I met The Wonton Don in Korea and got an internship at Barstool. That same summer I was featured on an episode of food network Chopped. From there I really thought my career was going to take off, but that wasn’t the case.
When I went back to Madison for my senior year, I started making cooking videos in the kitchen of Kollege Klub. I ended up dropping out after the first semester to pursue Barstool full time. I spent my first 3 years working behind the camera as a producer and editor, while making my own cooking videos on the side.
There were some bumps in the road internally which resulted in a slight pause of my cooking show. From that experience I received some great advice from a former co-worker “You gotta EARN IT” (IYKYK)
Due to the lack of sports during Covid I got the green light to start making cooking videos full time. I was a one man show back then, doing all the filming and editing myself. I went from doing the show in a tiny east village apartment to a slightly less tiny kitchen in Harlem. My younger brother had just finished film school and was kind enough to help with lighting and shooting.
I spent 3 years trying to make that iteration of the show work, but the truth is no one was watching. It felt bleak, and at one point I considered giving up and becoming a helicopter pilot instead.
I’m glad I didn’t do that. When I found out Barstool was opening a new office in Chicago with a full kitchen everything changed.
I spent the summer of 2023 documenting my time working in a restaurant in France. A lot of you found my page from that. That experience gave me a newfound confidence as a cook and as a creator.
Once I made the move to Chicago things began to take off. I really want to thank Big Cat and Hank, they stuck their necks out for me to get the kitchen built and passed all the big guests from PMT on to me.
These past 3 years have been the most successful for me personally and professionally. Last year Jack Miller came on as my full time producer, he’s a huge reason why the channel is growing as fast at it is now. If you’ve noticed a change in production/editing quality he’s the reason why.
Whether you started following along 9 years ago or just subscribing today I want to say thank you. It’s been a wild 9 years and I truly appreciate all the support. Alright that’s it, first and last long ass sentimental caption. Next stop gold plaque