Food Wishes' Chef John Crosses 2 Million Subscribers on YouTube

SEATTLE, July 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com), the nation's leading media and marketing company serving 110 million unduplicated U.S. women and 70 percent of American Millennial women, today announced that cooking expert "Chef John" Mitzewich of Food Wishes, an Allrecipes Production, has crossed the 2 million subscriber count on YouTube, making his channel one of the top 5 most popular food channels on the video site.

Chef John's Food Wishes YouTube Channel is one of only 5 food channels to have amassed more than 2 million subscribers, and the channel has nearly 400 million views across almost 1,300 videos, more than 60 of which have surpassed over one million views.

A longtime chef and food industry veteran, Mitzewich left his job as a full-time chef instructor to pursue his dream of teaching people to cook online 10 years ago. He began creating short videos and posting them in 2007, and was among the first chefs to create long-form, how-to recipe content for home cooks. Instead of starring in the videos himself, Mitzewich "makes the food the star," including close-ups of each meal throughout its creation, and adding tips, tricks and humor to each recipe.

"When I looked at the existing recipe content on YouTube at that time, the vast majority was trying to do a Food Network-style cooking show," says Mitzewich. "I couldn't see the food, and it ended up looking like a home movie of someone in the kitchen. I didn't think it was the best presentation to actually teach someone a recipe, so I decided to go the complete opposite direction -- no visible chef to take away the main focus from the food, which ends up bringing the viewer right into the video."

Mitzewich entered into a content partnership with Allrecipes in 2011 to bring his practical, easy-to-follow cooking videos to a worldwide audience. Allrecipes is the world's largest digital food brand, with 85 million users worldwide and 1.5 billion annual visits. His cooking videos are also available on a dedicated channel on Allrecipes, as well as via the Allrecipes Skill on Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Show, and his award-winning blog Foodwishes.com, recognized as a best blog by Saveur magazine.

"Allrecipes' Food Wishes channel embodies Meredith Corporation's commitment to reaching and engaging millennial women across all platforms," said Melinda Lee, SVP & GM, Meredith Video Studios. "As a leader in the food space, partnering with YouTube creators like Chef John, allows us to collectively create quality video content and deliver inspiring programming to our audience."

As Mitzewich celebrates his channel's 10th Anniversary, he is also helping celebrate Allrecipes' 20th Anniversary through a partnership with Amazon and Char-Broil, in which users of the new Allrecipes Skill on the Amazon Echo Show will be entered to win one of 10 grill packages. Each package includes a grill, tools and accessories, and Chef John's Epic Grilling Guide.

Over the years, many of Mitzewich's videos have garnered millions of views. Here are the Top 10 of all time:

About Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com) has been committed to service journalism for 115 years. Today, Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms – including broadcast television, print, digital, mobile and video – to provide consumers with content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners.

Meredith's National Media Group reaches 110 million unduplicated women every month, including 70 percent of U.S. Millennial women. Meredith is the leader in creating and distributing content across platforms in key consumer interest areas such as food, home, parenting and health through well-known brands such as Better Homes & Gardens, Allrecipes, Parents, SHAPE, Martha Stewart Living and The Magnolia Journal. Meredith also features robust brand licensing activities, including more than 3,000 SKUs of branded products at 5,000 Walmart stores across the U.S. Meredith Xcelerated Marketing is an award-winning, strategic and creative agency that provides fully integrated marketing solutions for many of the world's top brands, including The Kraft Heinz Co., Bank of America, WebMD, Volkswagen and NBCUniversal.

Meredith's Local Media Group includes 17 television stations reaching 11 percent of U.S. households. Meredith's portfolio is concentrated in large, fast-growing markets, with seven stations in the nation's Top 25 – including Atlanta, Phoenix, St. Louis and Portland – and 13 in Top 50 markets. Meredith's stations produce 700 hours of local news and entertainment content each week, and operate leading local digital destinations.

SOURCE Meredith Corporation; Allrecipes

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