“Ellarum Vaange, always welcomes you” if you are a serious foodie, this high-energy intro/catchphrase alone is enough to tell you who we are gonna be talking about today: yup, it’s the Village cooking channel.
This now iconic YouTube channel from Chinna Veeramangalam, Pudukkottai, has already amassed over 8 million subscribers, thanks to their videos cooking incredible local & exotic dishes of Tamilnadu and capturing their idyllic rural lifestyle.
Let’s take a closer look at how 4 youngsters, a granddad, and their passion for rustic flavors created one of the most loved YT cooking channels in India;
Village Cooking Channel – A Brief Overview
Now with over 8 million subscribers, 49+ million views, and 15 lakh daily views, the “Village Cooking Channel” was launched in 2018. It’s run by a 6 member team, including a granddad – the main chef, and a cameraman.
They specialize in doing authentic & exotic rural dishes from Tamilnadu from scratch, complete with freshly sourced ingredients and scenic rural locations.
They used to post around 3-4 videos pre-covid, but they are currently observing social distancing rules by going off-air for a while.
| S.No | Paramaters | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Channel Name | Village Cooking Channel |
| 2. | Type | Traditional Village Cooking |
| 3. | Owner | Mr. Jaya Bhaskaran |
| 4. | Started year | 2018 |
| 5. | Place | Chinna Veeramangalam, Pudukkottai, TamilNadu |
| 6. | Members | 6 |
| 7. | Subscribers count | 8.1 Million |
| 8. | Total Views | 1,816,872,676 views |
| 9. | Average Daily Views | 15 Lakh |
| 10. | No of Videos Uploaded | 161 |
| 11. | Income | 7 Lakhs INR (Approximately) |
| 12. | Upload Frequency | 4 Videos/Month |
How VCC become one of the biggest Cooking Channels in TN?
A small, gorgeously green hamlet called Chinnaveeramangalam in Pudukkottai district Tamilnadu has now gotten international popularity, all thanks to the Village Cooking Channel or “VCC.”
Launched in 2018, VCC was the brainchild of Subramanian – an MPhil Commerce scholar and web designer, who had the idea to produce online cooking videos featuring his grandfather, M Periyathambi – an acclaimed master chef in his village.
Subramanian also convinced his cousins V Murukesan, V Ayyanar, G Tamilselvan, and T Muthumanickam, who were all doing odd jobs in the village, to help him create the videos.
Thus began the fabulous journey of the Village cooking channel, merging the dreams of youngsters with the awesome cooking skills of their grandfather.
Table of Contents
Village Cooking Channel – The Journey So Far
Like many other YouTube channels, their success didn’t come easy either. They started by featuring recipes that were common in their villages, such as crabs, snails, and fishes caught in field bounds.
After posting regularly since 2018, their “big break” came when they published a video showing how to fry Eesal (winged termites) with puffed rice.
It became a massive viral hit, garnering over 3.8 million views! People loved how rustic the videos felt; they lauded the green-ish locations and the sheer enthusiasm.
After that, the number of subscribers grew heavily, and in 8 months since inception, their channel got monetized.
Along with their incredible cooking, what really got people hooked on was the visuals.
They only shot their videos in lush green fields, using only traditional equipment like “Ammi Kallu” (stone grinder) and firewood stoves.
Location
The VCC videos are mostly shot in their home village, Chinnaveeramangalam, and surrounding villages in a 50KM vicinity.
Their shoot starts at around 8 am & often goes on till 5-6 PM or even later.
Editing takes around the same time the next day, and publishing the videos can take a further 2 to 3 hours, owing to the low-speed web connection.
Channel Owner
Interestingly, the Village cooking Channel is currently owned by Mr. Jaya Bhaskaran – a person who hasn’t been officially credited in the channel details.
He reportedly has his own team, who helps & manages the VCC family behind the scenes.
Channel Income
According to Social Blade, the VCC team earns around 7 lakh rupees from their videos per month, which they split between production costs (2-3 lakhs) & the rest equally among its members.
Titbits
Here is a fun fact about the Village Cooking Channel’s ardent love for youtube, they have made a prototype of a youtube subscription with authentic wood design and an actual bell that resembles the youtube flavor.
Village Cooking Channel – Milestones and Biggest Hits
From the Eesal fry video that got the kitchen really going to now 8 million subscribers, the Village Cooking Channel has really come a long way.
They really hit the headlines hard recently when Rahul Gandhi, the Congress vice president who was in Tamilnadu for campaigning took part in a 14-minute video with the VCC team cooking, eating, and interacting with the locals.
It was a surreal moment for the team, which saw Mr. Gandhi, along with the entire team, enjoy tasty servings of Mushroom Biriyani and Raita that the congress VP himself had taken part in making and appreciated saying “Nalla Irukku” (its good) in Tamil.
This particular video obviously enjoyed immense response, grossing over 19 million views in just a month’s time!
And the best part? This isn’t even one of their biggest hits. There are plenty of others!
Highest Viewed Videos
Several VCC videos enjoy more than 40 million views. Their most popular video yet on “Fruit salad,” however, stands tall with a whopping 54 million views!
Their second biggest video with 51 million views saw them cooking up a full traditional marriage function menu, including mutton curry, fish fry, “Raththa poriyal,” etc…
Top 6 Reasons to Watch Village Cooking Channel
If you are a fan of rural cuisine & wanna know more about the village pulse of Tamilnadu, Village Cooking Channel is a no brainer,
Here are some more reasons why we think you need to check out VCC today;
The Teams Infectious Enthusiasm
From their energetic opening catchphrase to the witty monologues & scenic locations, the VCC team offers an engrossing viewing experience, one that will often leave you with a grin.
Authentic & Natural Cooking
Team VCC is all about natural ingredients. From chilies to turmeric and cumin to meat and more, they are all sourced locally & are prepped by themselves to ensure purity and healthiness.
Unique & Variety Dishes
Team VCC is notable for popularizing extreme rural cuisines and flavors that otherwise would’ve been remained hidden from the global palate.
Fan Following
some of the chefs at VCC have their own fan following. Mr. Ayyanar’s skills with the retro stone grinder (Ammi) get much-lauded, while Muthumanickams onion chopping prowess is also popular.
Large portions
since Periyathambi isn’t used to cooking for less than 100 people, VCC dishes are only prepared in large quantities. It’s really a fulfilling watch.
Charity works
The Guys behind VCC know the value of giving back to the community. After every shoot, they share the food they prepared with charity homes and orphanages by organizing large banquets.
Village Cooking Channel – The Cooking Never Stops
Thanks to VCC’s immense success, many have tried to emulate them and have launched similar videos in many languages. But hey, none of them can’t seem to hold a candle to Mr. Periyathambi & his awesome cooking skills.
While it’s true that the Covid restrictions have put a bit of a damper on their operations, like reducing the number of videos released weekly, the team is promising that they will come back stronger, bigger & with more flavors soon enough.
Until then, we the true fans of the Village Cooking Channel will be waiting patiently, readying our palate for something special.
Disclaimer:
This post contains images and materials published and sourced from youtube. Necessary credits have been provided for them under the “fair use” policy, and we’d like to reaffirm that their use doesn’t mean that we share any direct connections with their original owners. Whatsoever