Chef Takes Off On TikTok After Losing Job In Seattle During Pandemic

A Washington state chef who lost his job during the pandemic is now a social media sensation, according to KING 5.

Matt Broussard said he's been in the professional kitchen since he was 16. The 28-year-old was living and working in Seattle under popular chef Ted Douglas last year. Then the pandemic hit the United States, and he found himself without employment. In a matter of months, the chef garnered over 4 million followers on TikTok.

“I saw this TikTok opportunity where people were getting a lot of views," Broussard said. "I just did a video cutting an onion and it got a million views. Everyone likes the cutting sounds.”

His journey started when he committed to full-time content creation on social media and YouTube. Spiceology, a Spokane-based company, took notice of Broussard and hired him as a test kitchen chef, reporters said.

He then moved to Spokane, creating recipes and starring in videos for many Spiceology products. Soon, his videos were getting hundreds of thousands to millions of views. Forbes even named him the Most Fun Chef to Watch On TikTok.

If you browse through his account, you can find entertaining videos from bacon donuts, shave-able egg yolks and rice fries to simple snippets of him cutting chocolate or steak. Viewers will laugh, cry and maybe groan along with him.

Like most online influencers, he's even gotten partnerships with brands like Bounty Paper Towels and Cap'n Crunch, according to Forbes.

What's next for Broussard? He told reporters he has many projects he's working on, such as virtual cooking classes and even a food truck and restaurant in the future. But for now, he's comfortable working for Spiceology and continuing to inspire people to try a little something new in the kitchen.

Photo: Courtesy of Matt Broussard