Tefi Russo It is the standard bearer of everything that is good in the kitchen if you are not a professional chef: encourage yourself, try, screw up and do it again until you say: how delicious this turned out. She took cooking courses since she was in first grade, but her goal was never to become Ferran Adrià but rather to encourage the preparation and consumption of possible, simple, homemade cuisine.
(Not so) amateur cook, content creator, author of two books, mother of Mimi, partner of Joaquín “Pollo” Álvarezqueen of gastronomic networks with very uselessa blog transformed into a website that elevated her as a reference and virtual friend of hundreds of thousands of followers, has just been the only Argentine nominated in the category “Latina Influencer of the Year” at international awards People’s Choice Awards 2024 which will be delivered on February 18 and will be broadcast on E! Entertainment Television.
Natural, seasoned, fresh and zero pretentious. Tefi Russo is like one of their recipes.
News: She is nominated for the People’s Choice Awards, one of the most important awards voted for by the public. Can we now call it “the Tefi of the people”?
Tefi Russo: (Laughs) Well, it is a big title, but it seems to me that in this case we can take advantage of it because whether for Inutilísimas, for me, or for the recipes, I am going to represent Argentina in these awards. Let’s hope that the public accompanies this “Tefi of the people”…
News: The name Inutilísimas denotes something interesting and that is that you claim error as a way of learning. Do you consider that against the imposed perfection of networks there is no learning without mistakes?
Russo: Those of us who like to cook find it incredible, but there are many people who are afraid of cooking and it is precisely about trying it. The concept of Inutilísimas has changed in these 12 years, but I will always raise the flag of simple and homemade food. For me at the beginning it was very important to show the threads of the kitchen, because for those of us who do it as an amateur, telling those mistakes makes those who are afraid to hold a pot lower their guard and cheer up. I always wanted to talk as if a friend were giving you recipes, with less technique because it’s not going to be a dish from a Michelin restaurant, but you’re going to eat delicious food..
News: Inutilísimas is a name as conceptual as it is risky. Did you ever think you could be piantavotos?
Russo: Useless is a strong word that I became very close friends with. Because I have been cooking since I was very little, when I was 6 years old I took my first course, I still couldn’t reach the stove and I climbed on the counters in the kitchen of my house. When I opened my first blog I was a big consumer of Utílisima and El Gourmet and since I wanted to be respectful of the profession, because I took a thousand courses but I don’t have the title of cook, I said: “Well, I’m not Utilísima, I’m Inutilísima.” It seemed to me like a nice hook that opened the doors to those who found it a little more difficult to cook. The crazy thing is that people have written to me who, as a result of the blog or the Instagram account, were encouraged over time to follow the professional career of Chef and that is spectacular. It’s always good to perfect yourself, obviously there are many above me, super outstanding professionals, my cooking is to encourage you to try, I put a lot of effort into production so that it turns out well and aesthetically, favoring recipes that work without an inaccessible technique.
News: Networks have their own way of communicating, but traditional cooking shows greatly influenced chefs of their generation. How did he escape that mold?
Russo: I think that the television mold does not fit on the networks, without being opposed it seems to me that they are two totally different ways of communicating, there are people who will always prefer one over the other, but the offer is completely different. In the digital world we could not repeat the television formula because in the networks what you have to feed, value and preserve the most is that it is you face to face with the follower. Authenticity and honesty, at least in my case, are points where I do not give in, because by having a personal treatment you are much more exposed, you open the door of your house and allow them to enter your kitchen, to your family, your life. In the feed I produce content that I try to be of very good quality for the brands I represent and in the stories I take my licenses, there I manage humor and I have a lot of fun with people, that should not be lost because if not directly you become a brand. The essence of networks is credibility, without that there is nothing.
News: With respect to credibility, one of the things that is most attributed to influencers is the issue of goats, in some cases with the promotion of unusual products. How do you get along with that?
Russo: It is very curious because it is totally accepted that in the middle of a television program you make the number of PNTs that you have and no one questions it, we understand that this is how it works. It is very crazy that it is still not understood that producing content on the networks has a significant cost, especially if you do it with quality. You have to hire a team, cameraman, kitchen assistant, there is something very thought out with the brand or agency you work with. So if you want to dedicate yourself to this seriously you are not going to get away from advertising, but he is not a goat, it is your job. You give content to the public for free, in my case they keep my recipes that I try to be pretty and enjoyable to see, but for that I need to make it profitable because you can’t just show solidarity with your work or with that of others. At first you do everything ad honorem, in your free time and the beginning on a social network is beautiful because it is authentic and direct although it is impossible for it to last in the long term, but I am very responsible when choosing brands.
News: The uncomfortable question we all ask ourselves. What happens if a brand arrives that wants to position itself in the market through its account and you don’t know it? Or maybe it’s not one of your favorites, but it offers a good number to close a business deal, how do you handle it?
Russo: I don’t work with brands I don’t like.. Many times they call me from agencies to put together actions and if we talk about a brand that I would not consume, I am honest with them, I look for an elegant way to tell them no, but I tell them. When the call is from a brand that I consume, that is in my refrigerator, I love it, but when they call me to promote a new one I ask them to send me the products and give me a few weeks to try them.
News: This is a great moment in gastronomy in fiction, we all watch “The Bear” and give our opinions on Michelin stars as if we knew. Do you enjoy those fictions that delve into the world of cooking or uncover the threads?
Russo: I love all fictions and documentaries that have to do with cooking, I really like “The Bear”. As a girl I was already interested in movies where food was the protagonist, I think “Ratatouille”, although trite, marked us forever. When you see someone cook and enjoy food with the entire process involved in preparing something for those you love, it is impossible not to be moved. There is a global phenomenon with gastronomy, I don’t really know what the starting point was, I don’t know if those of us who work in networks in some way contributed to making it more accessible, because it would be taking too much of a toll, but it is true that movies and series, books, gastronomic fairs exploded and, what is very important, a desire to learn to eat good raw materials and seasonal products was generated. This boom in gastronomy is a force that generates a lot of work, from the producers, to those who award or teach, those who cook at home and also those who work in audiovisuals, so welcome.
News: Her husband, Pollo Álvarez, recently interviewed her. Was it the most difficult recipe she had to face?
Russo: (Laughs) He interviewed me and the reality is that we had a great time. We have a couple that I can proudly say is beautiful, there are many more traditional people who do not understand our independence and that at the same time we accompany each other so much. It’s hard for me to go out and show my love publicly, I’m more of a closed person and many times that’s hammered on us. Maybe it’s wrong, but we are very friends and I think it’s very good. We ended up talking for an hour and twenty in that interview, it was the longest of the cycle and the most beautiful thing happened when we finished: The entire studio production came out saying “Ahhhh, how they love each other!”
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