Get to know Jean Bean: #YourMalaysianGirlJean, the homecooked food blogger!

1. Tell us a bit about your background. What inspired you and what is the idea behind your profile?

I quit my full time job as a Marketing Manager and moved to Mauritania in 2019 following my husband’s work assignment. There, I started making videos on makeup and beauty as a hobby. Being far away from home, I had severe cravings for Malaysian food so I started making my own cooking videos as a cooking diary which I can refer back to. Posting videos in Mauritania attracted some local viewers, hence I started saying “it’s your Malaysian girl Jean” as my standard intro so people would know I am Malaysian (many locals assume I am Chinese from China). My cooking videos include street foods from ‘pasar’ to popular foreign food like Thai and Korean. I'm proud to be a Malaysian as we have a rich culture with multi races and religions living together.

Hence, my cooking videos reflected that and cater to all races in Malaysia. For example, for recipes that require non-halal ingredients, I would suggest the alternatives for our Muslims friends so that they can cook their own halal version; for recipes that require beef, I would suggest the alternatives to Hindus who do not consume beef like myself.

2. How was the experience getting the first paid sponsorship, how did the brand find you, and how did you know how to price

It was a surreal, humbling and awesome experience, thank you Le Creuset! Yes, it was my first gig when they invited me to be their CNY 2021 cooking show talent. They found me through my Instagram profile and thought I was a perfect fit even though I only had a handful of followers back then. After that gig, I was more confident in being a food content creator as well as having my own brand. My marketing background helped me to gain an upper hand in maneuvering myself in this field as well as placing the right values for my content creation works.

3. What made you so passionate about cooking? How long have you been doing this for?

Again, it all started in Mauritania. Plenty of free time and immense craving for Malaysian food made me realize my passion for cooking. I must credit my fellow Malaysian friends for all the pot-luck gatherings and many other occasions for which we took turns to cook. Those instances had made me step outside of my comfort zone and cook foods that I have never cooked before. I have been doing this for the past 3 years.

4. What are the ups and downs of being a Foodie influencer?

I refer to my followers as ‘JBS Fam’, short form for Jean Bean Studio Family. It’s a community in which I am not the only person sharing stories or contents, but my followers love sharing their cooking and interesting knowledge with me too. That is what I like about being a foodie influencer. We embrace being kind to one another and lift each other. It is beautiful! The downside of being a public figure is of course having unkind people, those ‘keyboard warriors’ who only know how to criticize instead of educating me for those times when I made mistakes.

5. On a typical day, how much time do you dedicate to content creation?

Let’s just say it’s like a full-time job for me. R&D for certain recipes takes me at least 2 to 10 hours, some may succeed on the first try but some take days. Shooting the actual video takes at least 3 to 5 hours and sometimes more. Editing, writing script and dubbing takes another 5 hours at least. I haven’t even added in the time that I need to buy the ingredients. So, you do the math!

6. How was your experience working on a campaign with the SushiVid team?

I have to say I am impressed with SushiVid’s system as it has a systematic flow that is helpful for content creators. I hope we are able to work together again and thank you for this interview as I get to reflect on some of my past and experience in starting Jean Bean Studio.