Here’s all we know about the mysterious YouTuber named “ThePohto“: He speaks with a thick Tennessee drawl, he’s got some chatty kids, and his unorthodox recipes are the holy grail of guilty pleasure, country-style home-cooking.
Watch him construct a “potato soup with bacon and cheese” from can a can of evaporated milk and Campbell’s cream of chicken soup:
More than a year old, that video just launched ThePohto into the realm of Internet pseudo-celebrity thanks to Reddit, where it shot to the upper reaches of the site’s massive r/videos forum. Since then, the potato soup vid has collected more 100,000 views. That’s a bit more than the several hundred ThePohto’s used to.
If it’s not painfully obvious, ThePohto’s no high-class chef. You’re not going to find his recipes in some hip restaurant with a prix fixe menu. In his bourbon grilled cheese video, our bearded hero forgets to separate the paper divider from the cheese.
And that’s entirely the appeal: ThePohto is a true everyman’s chef. His videos are kind of like a less-obnoxious and practical version of Epic Meal Time, the YouTube trio famous for their bizarre homemade concoctions that will cause your heart to explode just from looking at them.
But where Epic Meal Team leans on the crutch of disgustingly overboard recipes to shove its otherwise mediocre humor down your throat, ThePohto’s just a humble dude making crazy recipes for his family.
Unfortunately, it seems ThePohto thinks his sudden popularity might have more to do with people mocking him than celebrating him. It didn’t help that the headline on Reddit called him a “hillbilly.” He even showed up in the Reddit thread to get a little defensive over the suggestion:
I live in East TN in the city..I’m a HVAC service Tech..And just cook for my Family and love doing it.I take alot of pride in what i cook..If you heard a real Hillbilly accent you would be in shock..I Love living in the South..Cheers :}
Here are a few of our favorite creations that have been born from ThePohto’s culinary alchemy:
1) “Hog Balls”
2) Chicken pot pie
3) Bacon porkchop wrapped hotdogs
4) “Easy cheesy baked spaghetti”
5) “Hamburger steak and gravy might fine”
6) Bourbon grilled cheese