Welcome back to What’s Cooking, Metro’s food series, where we find out exactly what’s going on behind the scenes in the nation’s kitchens.
This week, we’re at home with social media sensation Will Hughes, who is more commonly known as What Willy Cook.
The content creator got into Instagram in lockdown, making silly videos of what he was cooking while stuck at home, and his account gained insane traction. He now has a whopping 743,000 followers, and as well as sharing recipes, he also reviews restaurants and food he eats around the world.
If you’ve ever wondered about the weirdest thing he loves to snack on and his favourite spots around London for dinner, we’ve got the answers…
First, tell us a secret – what’s your ultimate guilty pleasure food?
When I was younger, I was at a mate’s house, and there was nothing in apart from bread, peanut butter, mayo and a Pot Noodle, so we ended up making peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches, which we then dipped in a Chicken Pot Noodle.
It’s weird, but it works. I still like to eat it sometimes, but there are rules – it has to be made with crunchy peanut butter, and you can only use s**t white bread.
Name something you always have in the fridge?
Hellmann’s Mayo. It has to be Hellmann’s, I’m really anti-Heinz Mayo.
I’ll eat it with so many things, but the most unusual thing I pair it with is probably a takeaway curry. If there’s no raita or anything creamy to go with it, I’ll add some mayo, and I think it’s quite nice – I like the way it sticks the rice together.
You’ll also find plenty of Pilgrim’s Choice cheddar in my fridge. I’ve been using it for toasties with kimchi and it’s so good.
And something that’s always in your store cupboard?
I got this Ajinomoto Japanese Chicken Powder, and I’ve recently decided I need to always have some at home. It’s almost like Bouillon, and while you can just make it as a soup by adding hot water, it’s also really great for seasoning things.
What about in the freezer?
At the moment, I’ve always got a pack of frozen gyoza in there, as there are so many different ways you can use them. I like the chicken and vegetable ones, and I put them in dumpling soup, but you can also make a great dumpling salad.
If you had to splurge on one ingredient, what would it be?
Definitely meat, which is something I do splurge on. I get a lot of meat from a butchery company called Swaledale in Yorkshire, and I tend to do a big order and put it all in the freezer. I probably spend between £250 and £300 on it every month, and I’ll get things like steak and brisket.
I haven’t noticed a massive difference between cheap chicken and expensive chicken, but there’s definitely a big difference between supermarket pork and beef and cuts that you buy from a proper butcher. You can taste the difference.
And what’s a food item you’d never waste money on at the supermarket?
It’s always nice to treat yourself, but at the same time, it depends on what you’re making. I love having some nice pasta, but equally, you could buy cheap own-brand pasta and use it as a base, and that would be fine as long as you’ve got a good sauce to go with it.
Do you have any game-changing cooking tips?
Coconut milk is great for making soups and curries, and I buy it a lot, but I recently discovered that often when you get a can of it, it’s not actually coconut milk; it’s mostly water. So my tip is to always look at the ingredients before you pop it in your trolley, as you’ll be able to see the percentage of actual coconut extract that’s in it, and obviously, you want more extract.
Some of them only have like 32% coconut in them, but I recently found one in a local Asian supermarket that’s got 82% in it, which is much better.
Do you secretly hate any foods?
I used to be a really fussy eater as a child, and I still don’t really love baked beans from a tin. I don’t like the slurry texture, so if I want beans on toast, I make my own with beans and a tomato sauce.
Are there any food trends you’d love to see make a comeback?
I never got to try Turkey Twizzlers at primary school; we didn’t have them, and so I feel like I was deprived of those. I also wish some of the chocolate from the 00s would come back, like Mars Delights. Remember them?
And finally, what’s cooking?
If I’m cooking all day and working on recipes, I don’t really want to cook dinner, so I’ll just grab a takeaway. At the moment, my go-to is Wingstop – the Ranch dressing they make is so good. It really hits the spot.
For something fancier, there are a few great spots in London I love, including Cafe Cecelia, Quality Chophouse and Bouchon Racine. These are the only places that I’ve been to multiple times, and every time it’s as good as the first time; they’re so consistent with the food, and that’s such a difficult thing to achieve these days. It’s impressive.
Want to take part in What’s Cooking and let Metro raid your kitchen at home? Email [email protected]
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
