Co Antrim woman's passion for posting traditional cookery skills a hit on TikTok
Her bakes also include a chocolate cake inspired by the Roald Dahl book Matilda as well as traybakes, pineapple creams, scones, sticky toffee pudding, wheaten farls and treacle farls as well as old-school jam and coconut sponge and meringues.
Her channel Cheryl Bakes Cakes is growing by around 10,000 followers a month since she started in January 2024, going on to hit 100,000 by December, and now at almost 170,000.
One of her first videos was surviving a gale during Storm Isla in January 2024, but soon expanded to cooking with the encouragement of her children.
Cheryl told the PA news agency she is incredibly touched by and motivated by followers who tell her she has taught them things their own parents were not able to.
'I'm just a person next door type, but I do things they can all relate to, and I'm teaching them how to cook, and how to cook good traditional meals on a budget,' she said.
'You'll see my life going on in the background, my dogs, people walking in while I'm baking, my husband, it's just a real person in a real kitchen making real food.
'I actually had a message recently from a girl who said her mum had passed suddenly, how she missed her and that actually I was teaching her things her mum never got the chance to do.
'I've had lots of those comments, that I'm the mummy someone didn't have or the great aunt, and for me, that's my measure of success when someone says that to me.
'I'm so grateful that just being me seems to connect with people.'
Cheryl, originally from Larne, also lived in Zambia and Canada as a child before her family returned to Northern Ireland.
She worked as a personal assistant before becoming a full-time mother when her first son was born, and has since also raised her birth children and foster children for the last 31 years.
While many creators with growing followings on social media aim to make it their full-time job, Cheryl said she is focused on helping people develop their cooking skills.
She said she has also turned down scores of opportunities to collaborate with companies and sell products, which she says she has no plans to do.
'If you see me promoting a nice Chinese takeaway, I bought it. If I eat a nice Chinese takeaway I'll talk about it, but I stay away from the paid promotion,' she said.
'I am not doing this for money, it's just for enjoyment.
'Eating out is becoming a treat these days, so for me it's about showing people how to easily feed their family well with really nice food that's good for them, and saving your money to have a takeaway as a treat.
'That's just how I was brought up and now I do it too.
'I'm always being asked about doing a cook book, but I just say this is my living cookbook, and you get to ask me questions and I can reply to you. I'm just not financially motivated at all.'
She has recently started a new series focused on being able to feed your family for a fiver, and has even teamed up with a butcher in Ballymena to create a £25 meat pack to help people cook on a budget.
Cheryl also said she is adapting to being recognised when she goes out, from people asking for pictures with her to telling her that they cooked her various recipes with great success.
'Nobody wants a smashed avocado any more, and a hundred ways to do it, they want a piece of soda bread and nice slice of ham,' she said.
'Our breads are so easy to make, it's one bowl, no rising, no yeast, stirred with a knife, put in the oven or the griddle, and they're incredible.
But she stressed: 'I don't want anybody to think I am something that I'm not – I'm just a normal girl in a house who knows how to cook, who was taught by my granny and my mum, and now I do it too.
'For me, it's just good fun and I love what I'm doing.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Out
6 hours ago
- Time Out
New cafes in Sheung Wan and Central that you should try
The pint-sized No Title doesn't have much space for seats, so they're mainly a takeaway spot but they're pet-friendly for those who do want to sit in. The proprietors Wing and Man are a young couple from Guizhou who love nostalgic Hong Kong vibes, so their cafe is full of Easter egg references, such as a goldfish tank that's a nod to Wong Kar-wai's films, a milk cake inspired by the long staircase at the end of Gough Street, and a playlist of Cantopop classics. Their coffee blend is from the Chinese person who won the world's best pour-over coffee, and No Title is the only place in Hong Kong where you can savour this. The nutty blend carries hints of dark chocolate and buttery caramel, while the fruity option has white floral notes. There are plenty of options on their sizeable list of signatures and non-coffee sips that come with their own stories, such as the Tiny Goldfish, the Moulin Rouge, and the Opacarophile (it means someone who loves sunsets, fyi). If you're not quite sure what to choose, have a chat with the baristas who can pick something based on your current mood and what you're sensing in that moment, which is a really cute touch. Apart from homemade Lamington cake, No Title also offers Guizhou sticky rice, featuring lard and soy sauce mixed rice topped with pork crackling – an interesting pairing for coffee, to be sure!
Time Out
7 hours ago
- Time Out
Shanghai Me
If you want to get a sense of the sort of person you'll see at Shanghai Me, the new Chinese-Japanese fusion restaurant on the top floor of the London Hilton on Park Lane, then consider this: there was a 12-year-old boy behind me wearing a Maison Margiela t-shirt. It will come as no surprise that this high rise Mayfair restaurant is chock-a-block with Loro Piana-clad, facially reconstructed wealthy elite whose means is of questionable provenance. If they get bored with Sexy Fish or Novikov or the ironically charred embers of Chiltern Firehouse, they can come here. In fact, they have come here, because the 28th floor is full on a Wednesday night a mere week after opening. There was a desire to be cynical about Shanghai Me. But it's actually fun Shanghai Me has two other outposts in Doha and Dubai, with another set to open in Monaco. I'm not sure how I feel about our beautiful capital being lumped in with these gaudy Gomorrahs but perhaps that's just where we are. The interiors are surprisingly tasteful, art deco everything and 1990s Wall Street expressionist paintings on the wall. The menu at Shanghai Me is extensive and unsurprising. All the stars are here; wagyu dim sum, cod and miso, black truffle yellowtail. At their suggestion we order a couple of dim sum, a couple of starters, a smattering of mains. First out is the tuna tataki, lightly dressed in ponzu with mini shiso leaves, and it's as good as anything you'll get in a high end omakase. Chicken xiao long bao is soft and oozing with salty, peppery broth, and wagyu beef and shiitake mushroom fried dumplings taste, slightly incongruously, like the best steak and ale pie you've ever had, with a touch of sticky red Chinese ribs. Less good was the shrimp tempura, which was drenched in an admittedly good and elevated, sweet chilli sauce, thus saturating what should be crunchy, softly fried prawns. When you order tempura you want tempura, you know? An ensemble of mains included braised beef which, while a little dry, was accompanied by a viscous and tangy sukiyaki sauce. The cod with miso seemed a no-brainer in a place like this, and while it was immaculately cooked, the miso dip took on a sweetness that overbore the fish. Just the lemon it was served with would have been more than fine. But the broccoli in oyster sauce? The prawn fried rice? Sensational. Familiar dishes that have been seasoned so deftly, and prepared so delicately and with such care that you forget about the teething issues. And that's what they feel like here: teething issues. Our dessert of a strangely deconstructed matcha tiramisu, which resembled almost nothing of an actual tiramisu, but still hits with the sugary force of a spring-loaded boxing glove, came with an erroneous 'Happy Birthday' on-plate chocolate calligraphy. It was sweet in both senses of the word. There was a desire to be cynical about Shanghai Me. But it's actually fun. The dishes are enjoyable, the people watching is second to none, the view is stunning, the mainly Italian serving staff were jovial and had character. If you're going for a silly, opulent date night to rub shoulders with London's anonymous elite, you could do a hell of a lot worse than this. The vibe Plush Asian fusion in an actual Ivory Tower. The food All-of-the-above Chinese food, elevated and carefully done. The drink They have a good selection of both baiju and sake, as well as cocktails tailored to your zodiac sign. And, shockingly for Mayfair, you can get a bottle of wine here for £40.
Scottish Sun
9 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
I paid £130 for lost Heathrow luggage to flog on Vinted – I bagged designer gear, but something made me suspicious
Find out how to buy lost luggage BAG A BARGAIN I paid £130 for lost Heathrow luggage to flog on Vinted – I bagged designer gear, but something made me suspicious Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A WOMAN has revealed what turned up after she spent £130 on a mystery suitcase from Heathrow Airport's lost luggage. TikToker Lucia, who goes by @luciasisland, shared the moment the battered case landed at her front door and admitted that she was suspicious from the start. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 A TikToker purchased a £139 lost Heathrow suitcase 2 She plans to flog its contents on Vinted Credit: tIKTOK/ @lUCIAISLAND 'There was no lock on the suitcase,' she told viewers, adding that the smell was "quite stale" and left her worried about what could be lurking inside. Hopes of a case 'stuffed to the brim with cash and mini Kellys' were quickly dashed, though she joked it could've belonged to someone brave enough to check in an unlocked bag. In fact, Lucia said she knew someone who did exactly that including putting her engagement ring inside an unlocked suitcase. "Wild," she added. Unwrapping the suitcase, Lucia found it was 'battered' with a broken handle. The dodgy smell didn't help either and she admitted she feared the case might be packed with a man's 'dirty pants and socks'. But when she cracked it open, the mystery started to unravel. Lucia discovered the suitcase likely belonged to a Chinese girl, with the first items falling out being two Chinese books and a stash of period pads. She searched the bag for ID or return tags but came up empty-handed. 'There was nothing,' she said – no purse, no name, no way to trace it back. I've made £5.6k on Vinted and here are the 7 items you need to upload now to make cash quick - white maxi skirts will sell instantly for a start There was, however, a single £2 Mexican coin inside, worth around 8p. Lucia said: 'There's really no such thing as a bad investment if you're just as nosy as me." But things soon turned around when the TikToker stumbled across brand new clothing items. Lucia found a £37 skirt with its tags still attached. She even landed a "cute Abercrombie and Fitch jacket". As the content creator continued to rummage through, she began to find random items such as a pair of men's shoes, little boys' shorts and an XXL women's dress. Lucia began to grow suspicious and even suggested the possibility of staff pre-opening suitcases and removing valuables before selling them. She said: "Does the company that I bought the case from open up all the suitcases, take out all valuables, jewellery and cash, and then top up the suitcases with other people's bits?". Fans were quick to agree, one user said: "of course they take out the valuables!". The clip racked up thousands of views and comments, with some fans eager to see what else she unearthed. However, others were curious as to why she'd want "other people's stuff". One user commented: "Why would you even buy other people's stuff". Another user said: "Buying someone else's suitcase just don't sit right to me." A third added: "I would be scared to open in my house."
