Sarah Jgraif - Algeria

The figure of Umm Walid, this Algerian who turned into the most famous chef in the country, is similar to the figure of Mami To Shoes, the obese woman in the cartoon series Tom and Jerry, and this similarity lies in the mystery that both of them raise among viewers and followers.

If the audience did not see from that woman in the cartoon series other than her obese feet, then he did not see from Walid's mother other than her hands while she was preparing the recipes, so her face remains unknown despite the wide popularity she gained in terms of follow-up and viewing of her videos and the recipes she provides.


Successful and economical

Umm Walid, the nickname given to her, and no one knows her true identity, started when she opened a YouTube channel five years ago, in which she offers cooking recipes for Algerian followers, mixing traditional and modern cooking.

She managed at a short time to gain a wide reputation that made her the most famous chef in the country, and her name is linked to the economic and successful recipes that most families attend, especially girls who usually suffer from the start of their marital life by searching for delicious, easy, varied and economic recipes. These are the three elements that Umm Walid is keen to provide in their cooking.

Umm Walid is associated with the economic and successful recipes that most families bring (communication sites)

"What I know is that all her recipes are successful and easy with the testimony of her followers and what they transmit through social networking sites, particularly in the cooking groups, about her impressions," said young woman Sarah Sharqi, the owner of a cooking channel on YouTube, in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net about Umm Walid's experience.


Famous and mysterious

Umm Walid has achieved wide popularity and the number of subscribers to her YouTube channel has reached more than 7 million, and the number of views of her videos has exceeded the threshold of one billion and 400 million views. Which transformed it into the primary source for cooking recipes in Algeria, without inclusiveness, whether to prepare traditional dishes, modern sweets, bread, and others.

On occasions, Algerian women wait for the latest recipes provided by this unknown lady, so no one knows her face, as she is keen not to appear in the videos that she prepares or in the media, nor does she permit the press to respond to criticism, but rather works in silence and ambiguity that raises the curiosity of her followers.


Umm Walid recipes

And this curiosity increased after Umm Walid started presenting a cooking program in a TV channel under the title "Recipes of Umm Walid", but the respondents were surprised not to reveal her face or her full name, when she required the channel to present the TV program without the appearance of her face, which is what happened, so that the woman remains The unknown teaches Algerians to cook and control their tastes through her recipes.

When she presented the TV program, she stipulated that her face not appear to be anonymous (Communication sites)

In this matter, Nawal Daache, an Algerian journalist, tells Al Jazeera Net, "This woman is a phenomenon in terms of her ambiguity and success, which forced the channel to accept her condition. It is not unusual to present a program without the appearance of your face, and some say that her colleagues in the channel also do not know her because she requires that you Sign up alone. " 

While Sarah Sharqi says, "I think her ambiguity has contributed to her success, by creating curiosity about her form and people are stuck to her pursuit in the hope that it will emerge one day." She cites in her talk the owner of a cooking channel called Melissa Kheina, who lost a large number of her followers when she revealed her face on a TV program after she was presenting successful cooking videos on YouTube with a beautiful voice without her face appearing.


Simplicity and
 does not show in the videos of Umm Walid decorated and varied dining tables and luxurious and expensive items, but rather is presented according to a simple in simple, modest, and sometimes very old household items.

And the way it is presented is surprising to some followers who sometimes criticize its exaggeration in that simplicity and its reliance on at least new cooking tools, but most of them prefer their simplicity and prefer to focus on recipes and exact amounts instead of focusing on the luxury of cooking tools. 

"What I like about it is that it is very practical, for example, providing the ingredients set with simple tools, such as adopting a cup per square meter instead of the balance that most families do not have," said Rashida Al-Hadef, one of her channel followers, in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net.

Ingredients are provided with simple tools, instead of the balance that most families do not have (communication sites)

For her part, Nisreen Amara, a young Algerian woman fond of cooking, said in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net: "We all have an old pot in our homes, so why should we be surprised when we watch Umm Walid present a video of cooking in an old pot!"

A picture of the wasteful Algerian (networking sites)

Umm Walid provides another image of the Algerian wasteful, as she prepares meals to eat in small quantities, so she indicates in the videos, for example, to use the ingredients that her children like to eat in contrast to some of the ingredients, hanging "You can use cheese, I did not use it because my children do not like it" in an indication that What she attends is eaten by her children and is not intended and not only for display.


Technology hired

Umm Walid has shown that she is smart, she has been able to exploit communication and technology sites to make her success and distinction, besides her channel on YouTube and her successful TV program, she launched a website that provides written recipes for those who like this type of topic to become the most famous chef in the country, especially during the current period coinciding with the month of Ramadan as well The quarantine and cooking craze that earned her more followers who experimented with her successful recipes.