“Country Life Vlog”: How an Azerbaijani Grandmother from a Village Became a YouTube Star
Recently, I happened to stumble upon a very interesting YouTube channel called "Country Life Vlog", the main character of which is Ms. Aziza Ramikhanova, an Azerbaijani grandmother living in a village.
She shares culinary recipes for a variety of dishes capturing the atmosphere of the countryside and the attention of even the most pampered gourmet. At the time of writing, the YouTube channel has more than 1.65m subscribers, and it’s growing quickly every day. The vlog has relatively smaller channels across other social networks as well.
The founder of the channel is Amiraslan Ramikhanov, the son of Ms. Ramikhanova, who is always behind the scenes by being the author and editor of videos. He had the idea of creating his own blog for a long time, but as he was working as an accomplished chef for the likes of Marriott and Fairmont, he never had the time to properly focus on his idea. Although Amiraslan created the channel before the pandemic, once the lockdowns hit and restaurants got closed, it was a perfect opportunity for him to focus on his vlog, which he did.
“I was born in Hil village and I am a cook by profession. So, together with my mother, we created the YouTube channel back in April 2019, however, as I was working as a chef at the moment, I could not fully focus on it. Now, with the suddenly freed up time, I have the opportunity to fully dedicate myself. My mother usually has a lot to do in her household, so does my father. Because they need to manage the house, take care of the animals and the garden as I am not always in the village, but they still make time for our vlog” says Amiraslan.
According to the young man, his mother gladly shared her son's idea to try herself on YouTube, so she didn't have to be persuaded. As a result, they have turned out to be a rather a creative team. It didn’t take long to see the fruits of labor, and each new video uploaded led to an increase in the number of subscribers and the channel views.
Today, according to the YouTube statistics, Country Life Vlog has viewers all over the world as the content is quite unique and relaxing no matter where you watch it from. The channel content is actively shared by TV channels and popular internet pages such as Taste Life.
In addition to traditional dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine, the videos show the process of making spaghetti Bolognese, Spanish tortilla, Paella, Lamb Burgers, Pizzas and much more. According to Amiraslan, his mother did not have bias towards these recipes. On the contrary, she loves to experiment and cook dishes from different cuisines - the main thing is that her desires coincide with the range of products at disposal. Moreover, the ingredients are usually not an issue since all the necessary products are easily found in the village.
Amiraslan also added that, the internet and the new technological advancements allow everyone to pursue their dreams. “You can learn everything yourself. If there is a desire to do something, a person will always find a way, regardless of where he or she lives”.
Speaking of the village life advantages, Amiraslan had the following to say; “Life in our village is full of its own flavor. We wake up at the dawn of the sun, send the cows to the corral. After that, we are busy with the garden until the evening. In fact, there are many advantages of village life - for example, you can provide the whole family with fruits and vegetables from your own garden. Among other things, here, you enjoy the silence, clean air, and have the opportunity to work for yourself. The list is endless”.
