Popular musician J’Something and YouTube have launched Something’s Cooking TV.
The channel, which has been several years in the making, is a platform for J’Something, real name Joao da Fonseca, to showcase his passion for food and cooking.
At the channel’s launch in Johannesburg on Thursday, guests were treated to a smorgasbord of pasta, sandwiches and various other delicacies like salmon cured with gin and beetroot, as well as a sneak peak of the channel’s episodes.
Foodies who log on to Something’s Cooking TV will find 21 step-by-step recipes, many from his 2017 book Something’s Cooking, and can look forward to 12 more videos every month. Among the recipes are J’Something’s favourites Jin and beetroot-cured salmon, Jin Mi Casa Were Burgers, Jin gin gnocchi, and milk tart rissóis, a popular Portuguese treat.
J’Something, who incorporates his Portuguese heritage into his recipes, said the channel is not just about food.
3 of you are invited to come to the official launch of my online cooking channel > SOMETHING’S COOKING TV 😬 at the Google HQ ... watch the video to see if you made the cut! #SomethingsCookingTV pic.twitter.com/H2tKPnL1H8
— J'Something™ (@jsomethingmusic) April 24, 2019
“Every chapter has a playlist which you can cook to. On the channel, what I’ve done is I’ve filmed every recipe that is in the book so that you can get a visual for it when you try out the recipe,” he added.
“I’ve got an episode called The best or nothing and it’s literally getting into my car with a friend and taking them to the best places around the city. I had my aunt here from Portugal and I took her to the best South African street food spots. We had bunny chows, fish and chips, Russians, some chicken feet, and shisa nyama.”
Asked which takes precedence, music or cooking, J’Something said: “Music. When I lose my voice, I lose my mojo. I go into hibernation and I don’t want to be seen by anyone if I don’t have my voice because that’s my superpower. I love cooking, not as much (as music).”
Something’s Cooking TV will provide a feel for J’Something’s cultural influences.
“I am definitely exploring who I am, which is an African and a Portuguese guy. I’ve always wondered where umngqusho (samp) comes from and I love exploring flavours - sometimes it’s pap with Portuguese chicken,” he said.
“My wife is also Tswana so our house is a mixed bowl of happiness. If we start to take a little more interest in cooking and making sure we feed our families well, we will live more and we’ll have a lot more fun as well.”