Jacint Carafí: “I have the luxury of being able to say that I am not interested in some brands”

The cook and private chef Jacint Carafí prepares dishes weekly for the 90,000 followers he has on Instagram. The content creator grew up in the family winery in San Sadurní de Anoia (1994) in a house where they were "careful" with money. At just twelve years old, he was already working labelling cava bottles to earn a small pocket money.

Carafí was initially interested in studying the human body: "I wanted to study physiotherapy, but when I was young I wasn't a very good student, and I saw that I wasn't going to make it." His first job was also his first experience in gastronomy. He worked in a hotel: "At first I was going to do everything, but there weren't enough people in the kitchen. I liked the atmosphere there and I had such a good time that I said to myself: 'I'm going to do everything.'This is more fun than I thought»".

"Without realizing it, I was chaining together jobs in restaurants and bars," the chef explained in statements toCompaniesAt eighteen, he was signed by a roller hockey team in Austria and even worked in a restaurant there. He didn't earn money from sports, they only paid for his accommodation, and he was able to pay for his living with his work. Later he went to Mexico and also worked in hotels and as a waiter.

"There came a point when I realised that I hadn't studied anything," so at 24 years old and with a lot of experience in the kitchen, he entered the Girona Hospitality School and upon leaving he entered the world of social media. First to create gastronomic content for Ametller Origen and then on his own: "At first I was a little scared because I was leaving the kitchen, from what I liked and knew."

Currently, in addition to cooking for his audience through social media and promoting products, he is also a private chef: "I go to people's homes and offer them menus for small groups. I am aware that on social media today you can be up and tomorrow you can be down, that there may be a few months when there are many brands that want to work with you, but." That is why Carafí prefers to diversify his income: "I don't want to depend solely on something that is not stable." In addition, this allows him to be selective and only advertise those products that he really likes: "I have the luxury of being able to say that I am not interested in some brands." The content creator points out that advertising campaigns in the gastronomic world are not as well paid as those in other sectors such as fashion.

When he started to gain followers, Carafí became self-employed and, as "there are many things" that he doesn't understand, he has the help of a manager: "There are things that are beyond me, if it's not my field, I prefer that a professional does it." His partner, Julia, also participates in the project: "We both manage the videos and she helps me answer a lot of things on Instagram. I'm more into the creative and gastronomic part, to create new dishes."

In home cooking, the price fluctuates according to the style of the food: "It is you who have to evaluate your work and you set the price. If you want to make a frying pan, the market is cheaper, but if you put together a gastronomic experience with four, five or six dishes, it is more work and better valued." In addition, this has a personal side: "When you enter someone's home, you connect with people. I have made friends."

As for housing, Carafí became independent at eighteen: "I have never had the chance to buy anything and I have never inherited anything. Now I am renting and I would love to buy one day. But at the moment, everything is very expensive, we will continue to rent." Regarding personal finances, the chef does not consider himself a saver: "When I am on vacation, I don't want to stop doing something for the money. I have lived life to the full, but it is true that now we look at things differently and we try to save, with the aim of being able to buy something." Carafí has never invested money nor has he ever bought big things: "When I became self-employed, I was able to capitalize on my unemployment benefits and I invested it to buy the van that I have to serve the caterings."

In the future, she would like to open a restaurant, a shop or have a brand: "I want to offer the cuisine that I like, that would be magical." In fact, she opened her Instagram account two years ago thinking about the moment when she would open an establishment.