Toronto chef is going viral for his videos of chopping ingredients into ultra thin slices
Chefs go viral for lots of reasons both big and small, even just for the way they sprinkle salt. But now, one Toronto chef's videos of chopping ingredients into super-thin slices are blowing up.
Wallace Wong calls himself the "Six Pack Chef," is behind Toronto's popular breakfast sandwich spot Egg Bae, and has appeared on multiple food competition TV shows.
If you head over to his social media, you'll find lots of pictures of the chef living up to his name with photos of his shredded body, as well as cooking videos. But lately, he's pointed the camera away from himself entirely and focused in on his cutting board and his impressive knife skills.
It turned out to be a good decision, as one of his videos chopping a cucumber into incredibly thin slices went totally viral, which by now has over 84 million views on TikTok.
The videos have catapulted his TikTok account to over a million followers, and he even made a special video finely chopping a cookie reading "1M" to celebrate.
He actually started making the chopping videos back in October 2019.
"It wasn't the type of chopping video you see now, but it was still fun/skilled chopping. I was cutting a cucumber, ironic, on beat to a very fast song without looking at it," Wong tells blogTO.
"Over time my style evolved and I did a more top-down style like the one's recently on my page. I stopped doing them for a while around early 2021 because many new people didn't actually think I was a chef or could cook. So I took the year and created recipes instead."
He was inspired to restart making the videos after seeing a compilation of chopping videos made by media outlets.
"I really missed doing those videos so I was like, hey, let's do them again. I also started the top-down style videos originally to show people a better angle/look at my hands and knife when cutting but also as a way to show some basic and fundamental cuts like julienne, batonnet, chiffonade, small dice, mince," says Wong.
"That eventually led to today where some people will call them dust, crumbs, slivers, atoms."
The funny part about people suspecting he might not be a chef is that he actually didn't learn his mad chopping skills from pro chefs initially.
"I learned how to chop and use a knife, actually, from my family. I grew up in a food-centric family and we all helped out to make lunch, dinner and everything in between," says Wong.
"I remember helping my grandparents cutting ginger, chestnuts, onions etc. I ultimately then went to culinary school and learned the 'true names' and other fancy cuts."
In addition to the cucumber and cookie, he's been chopping up tons more ingredients for social media clout, including garlic, rosemary, M&M's, cherry tomatoes and pumpkin seeds.
"I get to challenge myself and try to cut things in ways I don't think I would ever have to or need to unless it was for videos like this," says Wong. "I never would need to cut a grain a rice into slices or the shape of a eye lash but I did."
He enjoys engaging with his followers on social media and taking their suggestions on what to chop up next.
"I ultimately try to find the ones people ask me to cut the most. This of course also depends on the price," says Wong. "Some people want me cutting tuna, wagyu and even truffle which I'd love to do, but maybe not out of my pocket. If I go to the grocery store and I see something unique or cool or super fresh and beautiful I'll pick that up too."
By now, people all over the world are watching Wong's chopping videos, and he says they've even been shared by hip-hop star QuestLove. Some commenters joke, some commenters troll, but some commenters also write heartfelt messages saying how the videos help them to calm down, de-stress, and deal with depression.
"I have a super long list of stuff people have requested and I'm excited to cut through them all. I also want to do more videos that also showcase some cooking as well... I mean I am a chef," says Wong.
"I plan to do a mixture of cutting an ingredient and then using it to showcase it in a recipe video. I also would love to work with fun brands that want to see their product get cut up, with care and love of course, and just have fun. It makes me think of the old 'Will It Blend?' videos."
Wallace Wong
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