Over five years ago, Álvaro Hernández and his wife Maria Sierra saw an opportunity to blend their respective talents for filmmaking and cooking in the digital content world. They began filming cooking tutorials from their modest apartment as a passion project. Little did they expect to become an internet sensation. Hernández’s little YouTube channel has now become the company La Cooquette. The channel has over 680,000 subscribers, with tens of millions of views on their videos.
“The internet has become a vital place for brands and businesses of all sorts, and video is a key component in their marketing efforts. From an audience perspective, online video has democratized the entertainment industry as we know it. A content creator can cultivate an audience of millions from his house, using a simple camera and a lot of creativity and ingenuity,” said Hernández.
In addition to their YouTube fame, La Cooquette has over 43 thousand followers on Instagram and another 21 thousand fans on Facebook. These numbers most certainly do not happen overnight. It was Hernández’s thoughtful filmmaking talent combined with sheer determination which allowed for the success it has become. It started as a hobby, and after three years of editing videos for other clients on the side, Hernández decided it was time to fully dedicate their lives to the business.
“The keys to growth on YouTube and any other social media platforms are: good quality content and constancy. Week after week we are putting new videos up and trying hard to make the new one better than the last. The audience appreciates our effort and our good spirits, we certainly provide plenty of entertainment value. It is important to be authentic and transparent with the audience and let them see that you’re creating content from the heart. Whenever a video feels contrived or unnatural, the audience feels it,” he said.
Working on La Cooquette is extremely stimulating for Hernández. As the show’s writer and director, he is constantly looking for new fun ideas to include in their videos. Both he and his wife have a passion for food, as there is always something exciting to try. This allows for endless content for videos, whether it is a new trendy recipe to showcase or a foreign cuisine to explore, the possibilities are infinite. They seek inspiration from a variety of sources: from fellow content creators, hot chefs and restaurants, to cooking books and of course, their own traditions.
“We love diving deep into the world of gastronomy, from its most humanistic aspects to the quirkiest of oddities. Our audience is equally curious and celebratory of food.” he said.
With the many hats he wears with La Cooquette, Hernández’s primary roles are founder and director. The channel was his idea, and he produced all of the behind-the-camera work to get the videos out there. He focuses on the creative and storytelling aspects of the channel, leaving the actual cooking and on camera talent to his wife. Some episodes take a great deal of research and writing, which is Hernández’s favorite part of making a video. He is in charge of organizing all the information he finds and puts it together in a neat and captivating script.
Hernández is also La Cooquette’s photographer, shooting and editing all content that appears on their website and Instagram. The fun-filled, colorful photographs have also caught the interest of different brands, which reached out to propose lucrative collaborations, such as Tabasco, Pixar, Subway, GotMilk! and Dunkin Donuts. He has also had the chance to travel the world with Aeroméxico, Carnival Cruises and Western Union.
On top of all this, Hernández has recently begun to appear in videos as a co-host, and has even started a sister channel: La Parrilla de Matías, in which he explores the wonders of outdoor barbecuing and smoking.
“I like the creative freedom La Cooquette has afforded us, and it feels great that so many people love what we do. Every so often, little girls will recognize us on the street and be absolutely starstruck. Those encounters with real audience members mean the world to us, as we can testify that we are reaching real people, usually children. To know that we are being a big part of their childhood, to know that the parents are at ease letting their kids watch our family-friendly content, to see that our work brings so much joy and entertainment to so many, it’s a great feeling. We know that we have a big responsibility in having such a large young audience, and for this reason we are always striving to make the content as great and enriching as possible,” he concluded.
La Cooquette has reaped recognitions from prominent figures in the digital entertainment industry. The project has been lauded by YouTube’s all-star player El Guzii, who has publicly stated it is one of his favorite channels on the platform. La Cooquette has also been nominated for two Tecla awards (2016 and 2018) and one Shorty award (2014). Be sure to subscribe to La Cooquette’s English and Spanish channels to be constantly entertained and, of course, hungry!