But the most important ingredient is
authenticity — an “it” factor that can’t be
manufactured, Rea said. It’s the difference, he
said, between YouTube content and a television
cooking show where all you see is “this
beautiful, perfect person making beautiful,
perfect food on their first try.”
And that was what Rea said drove him to direct
message El-Waylly on Instagram in June, and
ultimately decide she was the perfect person to
help him expand his digital food network.
“We’ve been waiting for the opportunity to
find somebody new for the channel that was
a great fit for our culture and philosophy
of being goofballs and having fun while
being entertaining and informative, and she
embodies that and so much more,” Rea said.
After leaving Bon Appetit, El-Waylly initially
announced she would still create digital and
magazine content for the brand. But last week
she said on Instagram that she ended her
“relationship” with the brand. Several of her
fellow test kitchen colleagues have also left.
The highly publicized internal turmoil at
Bon Appetit sent the brand into a tailspin
that included a four-month absence from its
YouTube channel, which it started adding new
content to this month.
When asked if El-Waylly’s exit from Bon
Appetit and the void left by its hiatus was
an impetus for Rea’s expansion of his channel,
he said no, adding “that’s not really how
YouTube works.”
“People decide what they want to watch and
who they want to lift up,” he said.