4 minute read
An Interview with SortedFood
Four Guys and a Fridge: How SortedFood Getting People Cooking
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SortedFood began in 2008, when four school friends (Ben Ebbrell, Mike Huttlestone, Jamie Spafford & Barry Taylor) were reunited after going their separate ways for university. Meeting around a pub table they discovered a common problem from their time at university – they were eating terribly. Ben, who was at culinary school training to be a chef, was appalled at the selection of ready meals, pot noodles and take-aways the others were consuming and started jotting down recipes that the others could make to improve
their diet and teach them basic kitchen skills. The four guys realised that they weren’t alone – young people across the country didn’t have basic cooking skills, were surviving on a diet of unhealthy meals and didn’t scratch cook from ingredients on a regular basis. So they set out to create a platform with one simple goal – inspire people to get cooking. They filmed videos for YouTube teaching simple recipes and techniques to show people that cooking could be easy, healthy, > sociable and most importantly – fun. Ten years on and the
SortedFood Youtube Channel has over 350 million views. The four guys have turned it in to a company with a large team and Sorted has grown across multiple platforms, including books & podcasts and have partnered with large brands such as Co-Op and Kenwood. Their success is staggering, and the group have managed to continually produce and improve on their great content, have an engaged audience of millions and adapt to a constantly changing media landscape. It’s tough to stay relevant – but these guys have managed to do so by making brilliant content and engaging their current and new audiences. We talked to Ben, Barry, Jamie & Mike about their success and the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to keep Sorted going.
How did SORTEDfood start and what does it do?
Well the four of us have been mates since we were 11 and started secondary school together. We parted ways when we all left for Uni but whenever we met up we’d find ourselves talking about how bad our diets had become. Ben (who was training to become a chef) would give us easy recipes to take away and master. We soon realised that it was pretty easy and if we could cook, anyone could! That’s when we decided to start the SORTEDfood YouTube channel.
Things have moved on a bit since then but our aim still remains the same: to give people the confidence and tools to cook and explore food! We have an incredibly engaged global community who share their expertise and stories every day. They shape all of our recipes and leads us in new directions.
SORTED has grown in to a company with a large team. What was it like making the decision to take it more seriously than simply making videos for fun?
It was never really a planned decision and we’re not sure we’ll ever be totally serious! We try very much to continue making videos on our channel for fun, that tends to be how we produce our best content.
As we’ve grown to a team of 12, its empowered us to innovate, explore new opportunities and have even more laughs. Last year, we worked with Co-op to create Now Cook It, an online platform, to help beginners with fundamental cooking skills. We also launched a Kickstarter campaign to
self-publish a cookbook called Desserts in Duvets. This allowed us to explore new offline territories like hosting a supper clubs in our London studio- epic!
You’re all clearly really good friends. How do you balance a friendship with running a business?
It works so well because each of us brings something completely different to the table. Barry’s a wickedly talented photographer & designer so he leads on the creative side of things. Mike’s the guy for production; filming and editing videos. Jamie’s our communicator; chatting to brands and creating partnerships. Ebbers is all about the delicious food and the data; optimising our content to grow our channel. It naturally takes form.
We bring people onboard to fill the gaps and build out smaller teams in the business. We’ve stayed grounded by creating a culture of work hard, play hard. We all know when to get our heads down but also leave plenty of opportunity to enjoy quality time as a team. That’s so important!
You had been making videos for years when you started ‘The Fridgecam Show’. What was behind your decision to change the format so drastically? Was it difficult to produce that kind of show?
Over the years YouTube has grown and changed and so have we. FridgeCam was originally our regular Sunday slot and everyones favourite- including ours. It showcases the very best of what we do and best allows the community to have their input. So it made sense to focus our channel purely on that.
With Fridgecam we can keep our firm favourites and experiment with fresh formats. For us it’s all about seeing our community’s reaction and hearing their feedback, that’s the driving factor for us! We’ll always continue to create content for them.
How do you plan to expand SORTEDfood as a brand and a business over the next couple of years?
We’re still continuing to work with sponsors and meaningful partnerships that empower our community. We’d never work with anyone if we don’t think they’re adding to our community’s experience. Helping people to learn is hugely important to us and one of the reasons we started SORTEDfood which is why, this year, we’ve partnered up with Workshop to create a cooking category for their app. Check it out.
We’re releasing a new book very soon and are working hard to create even more this year with our community. We’re lucky to have something really unique with our incredible retention and engagement rates, so we’d be mad not to explore every opportunity together with the people that keep our dream alive!
What 3 living people would you invite to your ideal dinner party?
Oooh that’s a hard one!
Okay, first of all Tay Tay. We’re all massive Taylor Swift fans and think we’d lose our minds if we met her. Harry Styles because why not Harry Styles, everyone loves Harry Styles. And James Corden (or anyone we’ve filmed a Step Up To the Plate for) because we’d already have an amazing meal planned.
