‘I really don’t even cook very much’: We spoke to *that* TikTok pasta guy

You have been cooking pasta like a fucking moron all your life and do you know why? It’s because you don’t cook it like this guy: QCP, a TikToker who’s recently gone massive for his cooking tutorial videos. Watch him if you don’t know what I’m on about:

You see? Tik Tok is where it’s at right now, lads. You know those jokes about how Instagram memes are just old Twitter memes? Well the tables have turned now and Tik Tok has risen to power – this man is proof of that.

19-year-old Gianluca has about 1.2 million followers on the platform, where he’s posted a few episodes of The Angry New Jersey Cooking Show so far, among some other impression videos. We chatted to John about how he’s finding his newfound viral fame. 

How are you finding being TikTok famous?

It’s interesting – It was a gradual thing. A lot of people think it kind of happened overnight but I just got a big boost from that cooking video which practically doubled my following – I had like 600,000 followers not even a week ago and then now it’s almost 1.3 million. 

A lot of people will recognise me wherever I go and that’s a weird feeling. 

What kind of DMs have you had?

A lot of girls will make some sort of reference towards cooking because of the video they’ll go “cook for me” or something. 

What would you cook on a date? Would it be pasta?

I mean I really don’t even cook very much, like I’ve probably cooked no more than 10 times in my life – including the videos. So that’s pretty funny, but my dad has restaurants so I guess it’s in the family. I kind of know most of it from them, but the rest is common sense.

I’m gonna start putting more effort into the actual cooking to make it really look good and I’m gonna get longer versions on YouTube, too. 

Is there more Angry New Jersey Cooking Guy coming?

Absolutely.

Why’s the pasta water so important?

You’re supposed to use a bit of it to just thicken it and add a bit of texture to whatever kind of sauce you’re using and add the finishing touch. I mean I didn’t use any of the pasta water in any of the videos – it was just trending in the comments so I thought I’d keep it going, but you are supposed to use it.

How did you come up with the idea of the character in the first place?

I just made a video one day – I was home alone and decided to cook something and the first idea I had was to put on the undershirt and try and talk in some sort of northern accent – like New Jersey, New York, or whatever. 

That video got like three million views so I need to do this a few more times.

Is cream in carbonara acceptable?

I don’t know if there’s cream. I mean I think there is. I should know given the restaurant I work at makes it. It’s definitely egg and I think a little bit of cream.

How do you become TikTok famous?

You just have to post relatable content. It has to be relatable and it has to be structured well. It has to be rewatchable, too – rewatchability is a bit part of the TikTok algorithm. Rewatchability and shares. Who’s gonna send this to their friends? That’s what gets the video flowin’ and gets it pushed out to your viewers. You want people to want to watch the video again.

If you could fuck a pasta what would it be?

If I could fuck a pasta? Probably lasagne. I have no idea why.

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