He is neither a millennial, nor a professional in the kitchen nor does he have a restaurant, and yet with his 30-second recipes he has managed to retain his nearly half a million organic followers by answering the questions of each of them. To cite one example, their croissant omelette has more than 180,000 views and over 1,000 comments. His brand, Rafuel55 , is an acronym for Rafael, his name, "fuel", because he makes a living as an oil salesman, and the last two figures of the year he was born. He is Rafael Antonín and is considered among the 10 most prominent gastronomic 'influencers' on the Spanish scene.

His relationship with the kitchen comes from being his mother's porter as a child. "I am the oldest of 9 siblings, and it was my turn to accompany her to the La Boquería market to carry the bags, so I became familiar with the genre. She always bought the best because we were the first to arrive at the market, she says." They arrived at 7 in the morning from Pedralbes, where they lived, which meant getting up at 6 at the most, and if childhood schedules are printed on habits, the entrepreneur-cook takes them to the letter because at that time his post of the day is usually in the air.

The first surprised by his success in the networks is himself. It all started in the year 2000 and as a way of not losing the connection with his daughters. This is how he tells it: "When I separated from my wife, they condemned me (laughs) to live with them. I went to live with my widowed sister and her 3 daughters, so suddenly there were 5 young people and all of them connected to Facebook. I called for dinner, none of them paid any attention to me, so I quoted them online, and it took them a minute to be at the table, surprised at what I had done. "

His love of cooking led him to enroll in courses at the Hofmann school and little by little the amateur became almost a professional. Instagram was his definitive platform, from which he interacts with all the followers who ask him questions because, as he says, it is polite, and because he does not like to talk to walls, or to the Wailing wall. "Where I was and what I did was rub him a lottery ticket. I don't mind growing followers, I know how to do it, but it seems more important to me to keep the ones I already have."

When he realized the importance of photography, he signed up for classes and improved. "I was not looking for the perfect technical photo, but I was interested that when seeing an image the viewer wanted to eat the mobile, that it was very appetizing. It is important to know what the followers want to see and that must be clear, as well as that the Instagram follower is young and wants everything fast, that's why my videos last 30 seconds maximum, because more of that is already cut and it doesn't matter ".

And he began his meteoric career from a base that is very clear: "Cooking is affection, love and memory of the palate. If the product is very good, it is cooked less and the best restaurant is always the home kitchen. My message is that you have to cook more at home, as a couple, because it is sexy and fun. The kitchen is the heart of the home and from the stove you improve the relationship with those around you. In an entirely masculine idea of ​​cooking, he comments: "There are You have to be attentive and concentrate, not dedicate yourself to other domestic tasks while cooking. "In the memory of his palate, the one inherited from the family kitchen, Rafael stores two products: fried eggs and a good tomato." The first tomato that gave my father is the center of all tomatoes ", sentence.

Breaking the mold with his authenticity, with a kitchen without artifice, with the manicure made for his close-up hands because he hates oven mitts. Rafael Antonín prefers to watch The Simpsons than the News and believes that the best inspector in the Michelin Guide is a child, because a child does not lie and is not fooled by the taste or presentation of a dish. Two years ago he opened in the Gràcia neighborhood a place for his showcookings with capacity for 30 diners, but the virus that invades us has left me in 10, he says.

Over time, his Instagram profile was gaining more and more followers with his mixed sandwiches with a lot of melted cheese or those cockle-based snacks that he prepares for his daughters. Their recommendations for cakes and sweets are also of great interest. Or pasta. Or how you fry the french fries to make them brown and crisp. Or that sirloin he makes with butter ...

At the end of the talk, he returns to his work area to prepare this time something raw and simple, tomato with mozzarella, a tribute to his memory.

"I learned Catalan (from 96 to 2004) doing the La Vanguardia crossword", says this highly recognized chef on social media.

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