Today we’d like to introduce you to AJ DeDiego.
Thanks for sharing your story with us AJ. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was introduced to cooking and baking at a very young age when my mom catered parties and baked desserts for others. Before I was born, she worked in a bakery and told me all about what she would make and how that life was. It wasn’t until I was in high school when I realized that I had a deeper interest in culinary arts and felt as though I may fare well in that industry. I remember coming home from school and watching the Barefoot Contessa on TV every day, trying the recipes I saw and eventually trying to change them to make them my own. At the time, I had some issues at home and dealt with depression, and this becomes a form of self-therapy and made me look forward to going home every day. It became a passion very quickly. I wanted to start selling cakes and desserts, however, logistics and circumstances didn’t work in my favor at the time. When I told my Dad that I wanted to go to cooking school, he wasn’t exactly supportive of the idea. He and two of my sisters told me that I needed to go to school for something “better” that would make more money and give me a more stable and financially secure life. While I appreciated their concern for me to live a successful life, I had to wonder what they valued more: a dollar or pursuing a passion and feeling genuinely happy with what you do every day.
There will always be people who value one end of the spectrum more, but only you can decide what you will do with your life. My mom was supportive of my desires and to this day that is one of the millions of reasons I am as close to her as I am. I ended up going to school for mechanical engineering, which ultimately turned out as a flop. I will never regret getting my degree; however, I knew that it wasn’t something I was going to pursue job-wise in the future. There are times in your life when you do something for the sake of others, knowing that it’s only temporary and that later on, you’ll switch paths.
Towards the end of college, I had no idea what I was going to do for a job, but my strong feelings towards the kitchen came back in full force and I had that feeling deep down that it was what I was supposed to do. I started a YouTube baking show and made a goal to post weekly episodes of my own recipes or variations on recipes that I found. Finally, I felt like I was enjoying what I did. Of course, I made no money, but I wasn’t in it for the money. I had jobs outside of that and was purely in it for the joy of doing it. Seeing other people enjoy your content and seeing other people try your recipes is a feeling I could never forget. It means you are making an impact, and no matter how small that impact is, you’re still making one. I continued that show for a year and a half, eventually expanding to savory recipes. I created a website with all my recipes on it, and slowly but surely, it grew. I started selling desserts out of my kitchen to try and start my own little business and create a brand for myself. The word around town spread and soon all my friends and people I didn’t even know referred to me as “the guy who cooks and does YouTube”. Sure, it was a broad identity, but it was exciting considering I started all of this from nothing. Since then I have also planned to write a cookbook.
One of the toughest parts about trying to pursue a career with culinary arts is that it can start off very slow and take years to develop a stable and reliable career, especially with YouTube. Last year while I was in the midst of getting my channel going, I was barely affording my monthly expenses while trying to produce this show on a weekly basis. Sometimes circumstances can tell you that it may not be the best time to try and pursue something, and that was one of those times. I became a flight attendant because I needed a job with a sturdy income and have since only felt stronger and stronger about cooking and baking. Through all the difficult times in my life, the kitchen has been my safe place. It has been where I go to let my emotions out, and it is where I express my love for both food and people. To me, food is one of the best forms of art, not only because of how beautiful and detailed it can be, but also because it’s art you can eat. What’s not to love?
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This whole time it has been a continuous work in progress. When I wanted to go to cooking school, I didn’t have an end goal in mind. I knew that I was passionate about the activity of cooking and baking but didn’t know what route I wanted: a restaurant, show, book? The idea of the YouTube channel was tossed around my head for a solid couple of years before I actually made it a reality. I invested the little money I had into equipment and editing software so I could produce the best quality show within my realm of capability. When I started the show, it was off to a good start and I continuously tried to improve every aspect of it whether it was content, editing or the style of how I presented recipes.
Over the course of the year and a half when I posted weekly episodes, the quality of the show overall steadily improved as I learned more and more and got more accustomed to producing a show. The one thing I always struggled with along the way was attracting attention to it to bring in more views and interactions. The channel remained small but that almost didn’t even bother me because like I said before, I was always in this for the enjoyment of it, and even seeing just two people like my show and try my recipes was good enough because it made an impact on someone. Now, I am in full planning mode of bringing my show back on a weekly basis and I am doing everything I can to improve it and take it to the next level. I feel like this is what I am supposed to do, so why would I ignore that? I started writing a cookbook and hope to make my YouTube show a bit bigger than it was before. Down the road, I know my ultimate goal is to publish my cookbook. Nothing ever comes easy. This whole thing has been a crazy ride that’s had its ups and downs, but overall, it’s what makes me feel the most like my true self.
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
My YouTube show is called Make it Tasty. It started off as a baking show a couple of years ago, but I expanded into savory recipes last year and have since posted tutorials and recipes of my recipes or variations on others that I find. A lot of these recipes are the results of a lot of trial and error or years of practice. I try to set my show apart from others by being real and relatable, and above all, fun and entertaining. I like being my true self on camera and doing what I love and giving the audience something to enjoy. Here, they can not only learn a great recipe, but they can enjoy the process of it. I am most proud of the fact that I created this from nothing. It was very hard and required a lot, but now it feels like a natural process to me.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment has been getting a call from Food Network casting about auditioning to be on a show. While I did not make it on the show, the fact that they noticed me and called me first was something I always dreamt of. Next time, you can expect me to make it on one of the shows.
Contact Info:
- Website: makeittastywithaj.com
- Email: anthonydediego@gmail.com
- Instagram: ajstastytravels
- Facebook: Make it Tasty with AJ
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
