“Some people were bored when we spoke while we were eating. They said online that I’m not a beautiful woman and I am not sexy. They asked why I needed to show my face on screen. Some even commented that I’m not a lady because I don't have a slim body.”
These are the words of Reach Champaradh, one of Cambodia’s most influential online food reviewers, as she tells Kiripost how comments such as these hurt her feelings and made her want to stop doing what she loves. As a result, she questioned whether she should continue.
Speaking to Kiripost about her life and journey to the top, the 28-year-old said she currently has three Facebook pages with hundreds of thousands of followers. Expressions Hub has garnered the strongest following of 257,000, her Food Whisper Page has 230,000 followers and Champaradh Page has 102,000 followers.
“Some commented, “Why do I need to show my face on the screen?” and said that I am not a lady who has a slim body, while others bullied me with words,” Champaradh said. “All the words hurt my feelings. It makes me want to stop doing this. I had to ask myself, "should I continue?”.”
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“Food reporter”
Champaradh’s life as a food influencer started with the media. She finished school at Sisowath High School in 2012. Then, she went on to study for a Bachelor’s degree at the Department of Media and Communication (DMC) in 2016.
After graduating, she worked at Lotus Radio FM as a news reporter and video producer. After about two years, she found that she enjoyed reviewing food over being a news reporter.
Champaradh also has experience in media management, journalism, video editing and filmmaking. She once produced a film and was also the film director.
“After I discovered my interest, I decided to quit my work there and started running my business. I love what is relevant to food as I am a food reporter,” she said, adding that she quit her job to follow her passion.
"I have two more siblings, but none of them are interested in food," she said, adding that one of them is working with a media platform.
“When we explore food, it is the best topic to talk about. My family is opening up to get food tastes from around the country. We never think about what or food we need to eat. We explore all that food we can get. We try to accept what each food represents to each region."
“Food as art”
Champaradh said that the country doesn't accept food as art, which she regards it as. This, to her, means food made to please people and make them feel good.
"I want a bigger team so we can do more. We try to explain the taste of food so people can analyze themselves from what they see and hear if the food is good for them."
"We used to put English subtitles on our video but it dragged our views from the local so we stopped. We're looking forward to adding English subtitles again."
She said now there are a lot of food content creators, however, people have been disappointed when they follow some creators’ recommendations as the food has not lived up to the reviews.
“When I am working, I never observe only the food they give me. I need to observe the owner and staff. If the owner has a problem, it is guaranteed that the restaurant will have something wrong, so we need to observe every angle,” she said about food reviews and restaurants.
"The Best Burger in Town was our first video to release on our page and 87 year old grandpa, who owns a restaurant, was our top views among all the contents."
As a good food reviewer, Champaradh tries to include the culture and geography of the food. She meets directly with local people to share their knowledge about this. She added that in her food reviews, being clean and hygienic is important to show on social media. She said that viewers notice whether servers wear gloves, for example.
“Food on one plate comes from many steps in a process, so we call food that is clean,” she said, adding that her show always encourages reviews of clean restaurants. People also help her by recommending places to review.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Champaradh switched her content to indoors, using her personal budget as she had no sponsors.
"We began our content without any sponsorship for years even before covid pandemic but we do indoor content during the lockdown."
"We were the first food content creator to make detailed content about food so people can understand more about food through watching."
"I think my strongest key is to be able to identify each flavor from a first bite and be able to deliver it in word. "
"I am still able to continue delivering more amazing content because of supporters who can understand my goal and purpose, especially their love through their comment."
She said that she also has a survey team to keep up with the restaurants which had worked with to check on their quality.
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