Eight kitchens. Eight families. Eight stories exploring the migration, identity and cultural heritage behind Britain's food scene.

EPISODE ONE AVAILABLE NOW

Tasty UK, the food brand reaching 32 million followers and generating 200 million video views every month, is stepping beyond the recipe format that made it famous with the launch of Culinary Roots, its first-ever documentary series. Going beyond viral food trends to uncover the people, histories and communities behind Britain’s most loved cuisines, the series marks a new chapter for one of the world’s biggest social food publishers.

Premiering on Tasty UK’s YouTube channel on Wednesday 11 November at 5pm GMT, Culinary Roots takes viewers inside the kitchens of family-run restaurants and independent food businesses whose stories are woven into the fabric of modern Britain. Across eight episodes, audiences will discover the journeys behind the dishes: from migration and identity to family legacy, unexpected loss and resilience, and the recipes carried across oceans and preserved through generations.

Moving beyond the queues, headlines and fleeting popularity of viral food culture, the series shines a light on restaurants that may not command the biggest budgets or online followings, but have built something far more enduring: a place within their communities. Each 15–20-minute film brings together intimate personal storytelling, cinematic food sequences and the cultural histories behind signature dishes, revealing how food connects people to their roots and to one another.

The opening episode visits Golden Phoenix, the family-run Cantonese restaurant on Gerrard Street in London’s Chinatown. Founded by a man who arrived in the UK with little more than a backpack and borrowed money, the restaurant’s story is one of loss, family and perseverance. Having started out as a waiter calling customers in from the street, he built a restaurant that has become a Chinatown institution, now recognised by Time Out among London’s best for dim sum.

Other featured restaurants include Jerk Shepherd, bringing traditional Jamaican jerk to Peckham through a family story shaped by unexpected loss; FiliShack, founded by second-generation Filipino Londoners and brothers Jonathan and Justice Cacho, serving the dishes they grew up with, including chicken inasal and adobo; and Patois Kitchen, a modern Jamaican food business that grew from plates sold through social media and collected outside the founder’s home into a Canary Wharf restaurant before returning to its roots in Brixton.

“I grew up in South London, so I knew the places people stayed away from unless they had a reason to be there. Then I met chefs who grew up right there and built something of their own anyway. That’s when I realised this series was never just about food. It’s about resilience,” explains Jordan Taylor, Producer and Narrator, Culinary Roots.

Together, these kitchens represent a much wider story about Britain’s food culture: one shaped by generations of migration, the determination of independent entrepreneurs and the communities that keep culinary traditions alive.

“We’ve spent years teaching people how to cook. This time we wanted to show them why it matters. These restaurants will never trend for a week and disappear because they were never built for that. They were built to last, through loss, hardship and starting from nothing. Culinary Roots goes beyond the hype and into the heritage, and makes sure the whole country gets to meet the people behind the food,” says Homam Ayaso, Executive Director of Content, BuzzFeed UK.

The series is the culmination of Tasty UK’s evolution from the overhead recipe videos that transformed online food content into a platform built around the diversity and multiculturalism of modern Britain. Since relaunching as Tasty UK in 2022, the brand has set out to become the hub of food and culture in the UK, championing the identities, communities and creators that shape what the country cooks, shares and eats.

“When we relaunched Tasty UK on YouTube, we made a brave decision. We didn’t want another recipe channel. YouTube is our premium home for stories about the people who shape the dishes and places we love. It’s part of a bigger shift in how we approach every platform, giving each one its own voice and building it around real people, personalities and communities. YouTube is just the start. TikTok is next, and it’s going to be something big. Stay tuned,” adds Ayaso.

Each episode will be supported by short-form films, recipes and additional stories across Tasty UK’s Instagram, Facebook and X channels, extending the conversations beyond YouTube and bringing audiences closer to the people and places featured.

The launch is the beginning of a broader expansion of Tasty UK’s original programming. A new chef and creator cook-off format, Chef’s Try, is set to launch in December, alongside further developments across the brand’s social platforms.