(CNN) — A 1-year-old chef is cooking up a storm on social media, with more than a million followers on Instagram tuning in to “Kobe Eats” to enjoy his baby-faced tutorials.
“Chef Kobe” likes “to cook, eat & explore in the kitchen,” his bio says.
Videos show him helping to prepare recipes ranging from mac and cheese to Turkish menemen, with a fair bit of tasting and gurgling “commentary” along the way.
His mother, Ashley Wian, told CNN that the videos began as a way of sharing her son’s excitement in the kitchen with friends and family.
“Cooking is just one of many practical things that Kobe does at home. He has so much fun doing it and such a big, animated personality, I decided to record it to share originally with friends and family,” she said.
“We started his Kobe Eats Instagram at the end of February. He had about 200 followers till April 15 then it jumped! 100K, 200K, 500K … we definitely did not anticipate that!”
Wian said she and Kobe’s father, Kyle, have loved hearing that their son is putting a smile on so many faces all over the world especially at a time when it’s so needed.
“It makes us feel like we’re doing something right as parents to be raising a child who has the capability to make anyone smile with just a laugh! We always get messages from people saying how infectious his personality is,” she said. “We also love that it has encouraged parents to get their kids in the kitchen and sit down and eat as a family, something that is extremely important in our home.”
The couple are “all about hands on learning” and Wian says their kitchen is the perfect place for Kobe to learn and explore — regardless of the mess.
“He investigates new ingredients, feels new textures, learns practical skills like pouring, scooping and measuring. That is why this all started, another practical thing that he can learn so much from. He has fine tuned so many motor skills just by helping me. Yes it gets messy but that’s it. A mess is just a mess! It can be cleaned! The memories we make will last forever.”
His cooking show has also captured some milestones. On one video, he can be heard saying “Dada” for the first time.
Kobe loves the camera and testing the ingredients. His favorite thing to make? “Anything with cheese, mainly because he gets to eat it,” his mother says.
And even when he makes a mess, his loyal dog siblings, Kevin and Kelly, are happy to jump in and help with the cleaning.
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