Recreating childhood favorites with an unscripted twist, Tara the Foodie shows that cooking doesn’t have to be intimidating

By Maggie Cibik

For some people, the kitchen is a scary place. Cooking can be intimidating and time-consuming, and sometimes even a little mysterious. But it doesn’t have to be.

“Hi! I’m Tara the Foodie and I take the mystery out of cooking for you,” can be heard at the top of almost every episode of Tara Evans’ popular YouTube channel Tara the Foodie, where she teaches viewers how to make food that looks and tastes good while also alleviating any stress that comes with the territory.

Tara’s infectious free spirit around the kitchen is what sets her channel apart from the others. There is no script and no baloney (unless maybe a recipe calls for bologna). She’s just Tara, juggling bell peppers while talking about Tex-Mex or laughing with her cameraman/boyfriend, affectionately called “Juicy Joe,” as they talk about what they did in their yoga class over the weekend or an interesting pop-culture tidbit. Some people may not even watch Tara to learn how to cook. Instead, they watch for the authenticity that lights up the screen. It feels comfortable and nostalgic, especially with episodes that focus on recreating her childhood favorites, like the fan-favorite Pizza Hut pan pizza or Chi-Chi’s beef chimichanga.

“You’re getting us. You’re getting me,” Tara says. “You’re getting exactly how we are and everything. I’m showing you how to cook something in my home, in my kitchen. If you were there and we didn’t have the camera going, you’d be seeing the same thing.”

That realness, on top of her dynamic attitude, brings a refreshing and zestful quality to her tutorials that have raked in 13,500 subscribers, along with 1 million views and counting. Tara has more than 300 videos in her YouTube channel library for fans to browse through.

“I really want to help people see that cooking is very, very attainable. It not only takes the mystery out of cooking, but it inserts the fun too. Being in the kitchen shouldn’t be something that you dread—it should be something that you look forward to.”

To see more from Tara the Foodie, start devouring her videos on YouTube and share your favorite videos with your friends.