Bon appétit! Wolverhampton dad enjoys TikTok fame through affordable cooking videos
Meet Mitch Lane, a father from Wolverhampton who started making TikTok videos of his cooking as a bit of fun, but now has a following of over 800,000 and provides tips for affordable cooking in times of crisis.
What initially started off as a bit of fun during lockdown has become an internet hit, especially since Mitch started a series of 'meals under a fiver' videos, using his platform to help people cook meals on a budget amid the cost of living crisis.
His straight-talking persona and videos of mouth-watering foods have racked up views among users of the video sharing app.
The 'meals under a fiver' have proved to be a major hit with his audience, with his videos hitting millions of views - he first shows his receipt from buying all the ingredients from supermarkets and then goes on to film the cooking process with a voice-over to talk viewers through the recipe.
It has all been to help people in the cost of living crisis, and Mitch feels that by using his platform to help others, he is doing his own bit.
The 29-year-old father of three said: "The world has gone mad on pricing, with the cost of foods at an all time high, fuel is high, and so I thought I would show people how to make meals for under a fiver but by doing it the proper way - by going into a supermarket and buying all the ingredients and cooking full meals.
"The first one was sausage casserole and that blew up. It went down well and got millions of views.
"People have been asking me to do more and more - they all go down so well.
"It started off with trying to help people out, by doing a bit of a good thing in the world."
Going by the username 'mealsbymitch', the nuts and bolts salesman from Wolverhampton still cannot believe how his profile has blown up and become so popular.
Speaking about his profile's success, he said: "I was cooking one day and thought, I'm going to show people how to do it.
"I started off with basic, simple foods that anyone can follow. Everyone loves food, and I love cooking - it got crazy views straight away and a good reception and so I kept doing it.
"You see videos where people need expensive ingredients and tools to make their videos look all good but I thought to just make videos of nice, wholesome food being cooked.
"I can't believe how big it has got. I can't believe I have over 800,000 followers - it doesn't make sense!
"People seem to love it and some comments make fun of my accent but most of the reception has been really nice."
Following the success of his TikTok channel, he was approached by HP Custom Content about creating a cookbook.
At first he thought someone was pranking him. He said: "I was going about my day and was approached from HP custom contents, who saw my videos and asked if I want to create a cookbook.
"I thought someone was pranking me and having me on. Of course I wanted to do it!
"Anyone that is passionate about food and cooking would love to have a cookbook.
"It was an intense, busy process in putting it altogether. I put all my recipes together, cooking them all and took photos of the meals once done.
"I also work full-time, and so it was very busy.
"The book was made available in November 2021, and I actually won an award for having the most sold cookbook in the UK in February this year.
"In an ideal world, I would love to put together another book of all of my recipes from the under a fiver series."
