The young man spreads "mother's cuisine" to the world, voted "30 Under 30 Asia" by Forbes

Forbes magazine has announced the list "30 Under 30 Asia", in which Dong Van Hung is honored to be one of 4 representatives from Vietnam, and is also the only person to appear in the category of Communications, Marketing and Advertising . How do you feel when you hear this information ?

- I was so surprised. When I woke up in the morning, I checked and checked again to see if the news was true. After a while of checking, I realized: Oh, it's official news, and the joy just exploded. I felt extremely grateful and happy.

I didn't think that my mom and I's daily life videos would inspire so many people. Being voted in Forbes magazine is a recognition of our constant efforts.

Owning a YouTube channel with more than 1 million followers and being honored in Forbes magazine 's "30 Under 30 Asia" list makes you more and more known . Does that fame have much influence on the lives of mother and daughter?

- My mother and I are still simple villagers, loved and shared by our neighbors. Life has of course changed a bit when we are recognized and greeted everywhere we go. The support and love from the community has brought us great joy and motivation.

Making videos with my mother makes our lives happier, instead of my mother working alone before, now I film and chat with her. People comment and praise me, I feel very touched and grateful. I often share those feelings with my mother.

What did you do before this job and how did it help you now ?

- My childhood was spent in the countryside, living with my mother and grandmother. After graduating from grade 12 in 2014, I worked as a factory worker in Bac Ninh. Since my school days, I have had a passion for photography. Because of that, I used the money I earned to study photography and worked in Hanoi for about 3 years.

Having worked in Hanoi for a while, I feel that life and work here are quite stressful. There are days when I go to work from 5am to prepare, take photos for customers until I come home exhausted, then sit at the camera to filter and edit photos until 2-3am before I can rest. There are times when the time for work continues like that for many days.

Working far away, I felt very homesick, missing the meals my mother cooked. I returned to my hometown to visit my family and realized that I really missed my mother's meals. At that time, my mother was cooking and gardening outdoors, I brought my camera to record the images of my mother doing. When I returned to the images, I saw my childhood rushing back with crab catching, fishing, my mother's daily work... Those moments were truly precious and full of emotion. That was also the idea I had to make videos on my channel.

Photography skills have been a big help in building the channel, gradually helping me create beautiful angles and clearer compositions, making the content realistic and sharp. My previous experiences and work have helped me a lot in developing the channel today.

I see that you are quite quiet and a bit shy while this job is usually for talkative people. So did you encounter any difficulties at first ?

- My mother and I had a very difficult life. Before, I was not as confident as I am now. Since I went out to work and earn money, I had to change and talk more. Especially after I started working as a photographer, my job required me to take care of customers and communicate with them more. After that, I felt I spoke better.

When I first started vlogging, I had a hard time because I wasn’t used to filming and editing videos. Then, I learned more skills from friends and online, and gradually got used to the job. My mother also worked more naturally in front of the camera.

In addition, we also face difficulties with the weather, when it is hot or rainy we cannot film. But overcoming all these difficulties, we always try to bring the most authentic and meaningful videos to viewers.

The content and setting of the video are mainly daily life in the hometown, in the garden and fields of the mother. The idea of the video is very natural, what is happening every day, without any preparation, creating authenticity. Those simple and rustic moments contain a lot of emotions, mother-child bond and precious memories.

After finishing the photography, I started building the channel. After 5 years, the channel has reached 1,000,000 followers on YouTube, nearly 1,000,000 followers on other platforms.

Why did you choose the channel "Mother's Cuisine" instead of another name ?

What thoughts and feelings do you want to convey in it ?

- At first, I randomly chose the channel name. I filmed a scene where my mom was cooking and immediately thought of the word " cuisine ". Then I thought of another word for everyone. While my mom was working, I named it "mother makes". That's how the channel "Culinary Mom Makes" came out.

Starting from the daily rustic dishes my mother cooked, those dishes are associated with my childhood in the countryside such as: stir-fried crab with betel leaves, crab soup with sweet potato leaves, squash, stir-fried water spinach, stir-fried field shrimp... I film whatever is available, that's where the channel name comes from.

What milestone did you decide to "leave the city and return to the countryside "?

- At first, I just kept filming, but the work still brought in income. Every time a customer booked a photo shoot, I would ride my motorbike from Thai Nguyen to Hanoi and then back. At first, I didn’t have any income so I had to try hard, it was difficult to travel and had to travel from a long distance to take the photo shoot.

The milestone that decided to move back to my hometown to work with my mother was when I reached 100,000 subscribers (reached the silver button in 3 months). At that time, seeing many people commenting on the channel, I realized that this was also my new direction. My mother had spent her whole life taking care of me. My family had two mothers and I working far away, every time I came home in the afternoon, thinking about my mother at home being friends with the chickens, friends with the dog... I couldn't bear it.

I asked myself: Why don't I try leaving the city to go back to the countryside? It was thanks to that milestone that I experimented with going back to the countryside. I edited and posted those videos on social networks, receiving support from friends and followers. Everyone encouraged me to make more videos. From there, I decided to develop the channel "Mother's Cuisine". Seeing the channel grow day by day, from the first videos until reaching more than 1,000,000 followers, I am really happy and proud of the efforts of mother and daughter.

How has your mother accompanied and inspired you throughout your life journey ?

- At first, I filmed my mother as a souvenir. After receiving support from everyone, my mother was also happy and encouraged each other to try harder. I saw that my mother worked very naturally, and when I received many comments from viewers remembering their mothers, I decided to film more meaningful content about my mother, to represent other farmer mothers. The compliments and support from the community are a great motivation for both mother and daughter to continue trying.

My mother is the main inspiration for me to create these videos. Before, she worked alone, now with me filming, she is happier and more loved by many people. Every moment with my mother is the motivation for me to try to make better, more authentic videos, to preserve memories and family affection.

My mother was the one who worked hard to raise me from a young age. My mother worked in the fields all year round. Before, she raised pigs, cows, and worked on a whole acre of rice fields by herself. Her thin shoulders were burdened with the hardship of worrying about me. My mother constantly tried to stay up late and wake up early to save on hiring workers to do everything herself, from planting, plowing, and harvesting rice...

Usually, people who create YouTube channels often aim for sensational stories, to attract views... why did you choose the culinary field associated with the countryside , homeland, and simple dishes ?

- When I returned to my hometown and made random clips, everyone loved these simple, genuine films. My mother and I always wanted to create clean, meaningful, and humane content for everyone.

My mother and I do not create bad, toxic, or attractive content for any reason. We want people to know us for our simplicity, honesty, and the dishes of Vietnamese rural life.

How to be creative and attract many viewers when the content revolves around simple life in the countryside ?

- I always try to innovate and be creative in my daily work to avoid repetition. For example, the day before, I filmed the scene of my mother picking peanuts, the next day I would invite my neighbors to join and tell the story in a different way to make the video more vivid. Creativity lies not only in the content but also in the way it is presented, how to make each video bring a new and interesting feeling to the viewer. There are videos of my mother and I that take half a year to complete.

From the rustic Vietnamese dishes your mother cooked , what do you want to spread ?

- Since I received so much support from everyone, I also think that those simple things also contribute to conveying local culture, the culture of my homeland to everyone in the country, overseas Vietnamese and foreigners to watch to remember their childhood. That is also the beauty of my homeland that I want to convey to everyone in and outside the country.

How did the first clips get engagement ? Were there any memorable stories that left a lasting impression ?

- The first dish I filmed online was crab soup, a scene of my mother catching crabs, then pounding them, processing them, and picking vegetables from the garden to cook. Maybe because I ate it since I was little, I found that my mother's crab soup was seasoned just right. I remember meals with my mother and grandmother, the three of us gathered together, picking vegetables and fish for each other. My grandmother passed away, leaving only the mother and daughter. The meal was simple but warm. My mother gave me whatever was delicious. That is the dish I remember most and it was also my first video. The channel that many people support also originated from that crab soup. The dish is simple but has a mother's love in it.

There is a video of a mother and daughter wrapping banh chung, a traditional Vietnamese cake, shared by a YouTube Fanpage with nearly 100 million followers to the world. It is a heartfelt video of the mother and daughter. I want to convey the beauty of banh chung wrapping culture and Vietnamese customs to everyone who watches. The channel has 20-30% foreigners, I also want to spread the message abroad. Luckily, YouTube shares it with the world. There are foreigners who love the channel and come to the place. They want to experience the simple life in rural Vietnam.

Many people think that to have million-view clips, there must be a great team behind you , but in reality, do many people support you in this work ?

- Everyone who watches the channel thinks that there is a team of many people behind the scenes to film and edit clips, but in fact, it is not like that. I do everything by myself. I finish filming, edit, and post on social networks. I am the one who manages the channel and responds to comments, no one else. After I got married, my wife joined in to support behind the scenes and help manage the channel.

Creating content requires constant creativity. Sometimes you have to stay up all night to make videos for your audience.

So how often is the video released ?

- At first, I released videos more frequently because my daily life was very diverse. Now, I release videos more slowly to avoid repeating old ideas, always wanting to innovate to keep viewers. I always look for ways to bring new and attractive content, ensuring that each video brings value and inspiration to viewers.

In 2022, thanks to your efforts, will you be able to build a billion-dollar property so that mother and child can have a more comfortable place to live ?

- While building the house, I also did many jobs from being a worker to taking photos and then doing YouTube. In 2022, I did 3 big things at the same time: Building a house for my mother, marrying a dutiful wife and giving birth to a cute baby boy.

The spacious 4-storey house is a gift that I gave to my hard-working mother after 8 years of saving, working hard at all kinds of jobs, from factory worker, photographer to setting up a YouTube channel. Tet 2023, my family and I welcomed the new year together with warmth and joy in the new house.

With many channels that have a large following, many brands will place advertisements , but you do not accept advertisements on your channel. Why is that ?

- There are many brands that want to advertise, but I don't accept them because I don't think they are suitable. I only accept one or two that are suitable and similar to the channel, and I don't accept too many or "exaggerated" advertisements. I want the channel to convey the most simple and genuine things to the audience, without any other tricks.

Many famous YouTube channels have very good income. What about you ?

- The income from the video production channel is not much. Every month, if I try hard, I can produce 3-4 videos, so the income is enough to cover my family's living expenses. I have the advantage of working near home, working near my mother. In the countryside, food and vegetables are available, I rarely have to buy them, so I am satisfied with this income.

How are your family members in real life? Are they like the ones in the videos posted online ?

- Everyone on the channel watches videos and pictures, which are my family's daily life. I film everything, not create or draw it to film. In the countryside, if there are vegetables, I plant them, if there are fish, I catch them. Going to the fields to catch crabs and snails are all things my mother does every day. Besides, my mother is a gentle and honest person, loves her daughter-in-law with all her heart, so life like that is very satisfying for me.

From the success of the channel "Mother's Cuisine", do you plan to develop other channels ?

- Currently, my mother and I are trying to develop the main channel "Mother's Cuisine". Later, if we have more staff, we can invite more people to work together. I hope everyone can do YouTube like my mother and I. Right now, I can only develop one channel, so I'm focusing on the main channel.

In the future, I also want to create more creative content to show the beauty of my homeland to everyone. I want nothing more than to contribute to spreading Vietnamese cuisine and village life to the world. Besides, I also want Vietnamese people to see their childhood in those videos. Everyone knows how beautiful Vietnam is.

Social networks have changed the lives of many farmers like So Y Tiet and Mrs. Tan Vlog. How do you evaluate this issue ?

- From the very ordinary videos, my mother and I became known to many people. There have been many characters who, thanks to this job, have had extra income, freely pursued their creative passion, and there are many characters who inspire others. Like So Y Tiet, who was orphaned at a young age and had to depend on acquaintances. However, his life gradually turned a new page when he took advantage of the appeal of social networks and made money through entertainment platforms. From there, he saved up to buy land, build a house, etc. There are also many other characters. I think that creating content on social networking platforms is also a profession that attracts many people.

Do you have any inspiration for other farmers in this regard? What do you think farmers should do to attract, break through, and bring their agricultural products to consumers ?

- There are many people who call, text or meet me saying that the videos I make have inspired them. Among them are many honest farmers. I hope that this job will also create joy, passion and make money for many people from creating content. Many farmers also need more children to support technology to develop better channels.

Many young people are tending to livestream agricultural products to help people on social networks, what do you think about this ?

- I myself have participated in promoting agricultural products to help people on social networks many times. I find this a very meaningful job. Many people with influence on social networks have also been doing this. I hope that agricultural products of farmers across the country will always be supported and accompanied. From there, it will partly reduce the hardship of farmers.

Thanks for sharing!