This Private Chef Gained 1M Followers on TikTok in Just a Few Months. Here's How She Did it.
Meet Meredith Hayden... she went from working at Vogue to cooking for a fashion designer... now, she's a major food influencer...
Question:
Wasn’t it just Halloween?
So, how is Thanksgiving just around the corner?
Suddenly, everywhere I look, there are emails about Thanksgiving recipes.
Turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce.
I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
Which brings me to Meredith Hayden — AKA Wishbone Kitchen on TikTok and Instagram.
Photo courtesy: Meredith Hayden
The adorable young chef has one million followers on TikTok alone.
Photo source: TikTok
Another half-million on Instagram.
And she got there in just a few months.
I first learned about Hayden this summer after a friend sent me one of her posts.
“Look at this cute Hamptons chef,” she said.
I was hooked.
I met Hayden in September at a fashion show.
Yes, a fashion show.
Read on to find out which famous fashion designer she works for… how she went viral with her videos… and how she’s making it in what has traditionally been a man’s world.
FROM VOGUE TO A KITCHEN IN THE HAMPTONS
MEREDITH HAYDEN: [The food industry] did not seem like a career field with a ton of opportunity, especially for women. And I've always been passionate about fashion as well.
ALINA CHO: So, you landed a job at Vogue, which is not so easy to do, by the way. What were you doing there?
MEREDITH HAYDEN: I was a sales and marketing assistant.
ALINA CHO: How’d you get the job?
MEREDITH HAYDEN: I DM’d one of the managers at Condé Nast on LinkedIn. And so, I went in, interviewed and I got the job.
ALINA CHO: Wow.
MEREDITH HAYDEN: I figured I would work there for a few years while I [went to] culinary school. And once I graduated culinary school, [I thought] Bon Appétit would hire me.
ALINA CHO: But…?
MEREDITH HAYDEN: Unfortunately, that was not the case.
ALINA CHO: So, how did you meet [and start working for fashion designer] Joseph Altuzarra and [his husband], Seth Weissman?
MEREDITH HAYDEN: As I was completing culinary school, we had to do an externship at a restaurant and get a certain number of hours working in a restaurant kitchen. I was still working at Vogue full time Monday through Friday, so I had to do my restaurant hours on the weekends, and we get paid for our restaurant externship. I quickly realized that the supplemental income I was making from my second job was nice to have, considering I was making about minimum wage at Condé.
ALINA CHO: [So, when the externship ended], you were, like, “I need a side hustle.”
MEREDITH HAYDEN: “I need a side hustle.” I talked to my career advisor at my culinary school. They told me to look through the job board that they send out every week. And I remember a young family in downtown Manhattan. “We have a new baby; we're looking for help cooking meals during the week.” I emailed [Seth] and I applied. I showed up, interviewed, cooked them dinner and they just hired me.
ALINA CHO: On the spot.
MEREDITH HAYDEN: The next day.
FROM 5K TO 1M FOLLOWERS ON TIKTOK
ALINA CHO: How did you get such a big following on social media?
MEREDITH HAYDEN: I've always wanted to be a recipe developer, so I had been exclusively posting recipe content on my Instagram and my TikTok. I never featured my face, it was just videos of food that I was cooking with the recipe on my website, and nothing really stuck.
ALINA CHO: Right.
MEREDITH HAYDEN: It wasn't until I decided to post a video of a weekend in my life as a private chef in the Hamptons — that was the first video that went viral.
MEREDITH HAYDEN: That's when I recognized the value of personality.
ALINA CHO: How many followers did you amass and where are you now?
MEREDITH HAYDEN: What’s funny is that [first] video, I filmed [it] last October. And I sat on the footage for months. I thought, "Who cares, nobody wants to see this, whatever."
ALINA CHO: Get out. So, you had it, but didn't post it right away?
MEREDITH HAYDEN: I kept it on my computer for a few months, and it wasn't until February 2022 that I finally just posted the Vlog. I think I had 5000 followers on TikTok this January. And that video alone got me to 50k.
ALINA CHO: You recently crossed a major milestone on TikTok. How many followers do you have now?
MEREDITH HAYDEN: I hit one million a few weeks ago.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A FOOD INFLUENCER?
ALINA CHO: I don't even know whether you want to call yourself an influencer, but the reality is, you are. And the truth is, once that happens, once you cross a certain threshold, things change.
MEREDITH HAYDEN: Right.
ALINA CHO: So, tell me, what do you spend most of your time doing these days and what brings in the most income for you?
MEREDITH HAYDEN: I’d say 25% of my time [is spent] cooking as a private chef, off season. In the summer, it would be closer to 50% to 75% of my time. So, right now, about 25% of my time is cooking as a private chef and 75% doing the influencer thing.
ALINA CHO: You have some big partners, like Fresh Direct…
MEREDITH HAYDEN: Walmart, Kraft Mac & Cheese. I've thankful to work with brands because now my income is about 90% to 95% from...
ALINA CHO: … brand partnerships.
MEREDITH HAYDEN: Yeah.
ALINA CHO: That's unbelievable.
MEREDITH HAYDEN: It all happened in just the past few months.
ALINA CHO: What's the big dream?
MEREDITH HAYDEN: My big dream has always been to write my own cookbook and just continue being a recipe developer. I call myself the Walmart Martha Stewart because I just love how she's created a career based on educating people about not only recipes, but lifestyle as well.
ALINA CHO: Yeah. Martha always says that her biggest job is being a teacher.
MEREDITH HAYDEN: My mom's a teacher. I've always just loved sharing my passion for food with other people. It's a lot more rewarding than cooking in a restaurant kitchen and not really getting to meet your customers. I find home cooking to be much more rewarding.