Cathy Yoder stands out among the ranks of culinary online influencers through her strong expertise in air fryer cooking techniques and her down-to-earth, easygoing manner that invites viewers to try out new recipes and become confident and enthusiastic cooks. This mom of 8’s rise to online superstardom is an inspiring story of how a genuine passion for a specific field and topic can help create an online community where people feel welcome, connected, and inspired.
Cathy’s journey to founding the Empowered Cooks brand began when she started the lifestyle blog Fabulessly Frugal in 2008. While the blog initially focused on ways to save money while shopping for groceries, as Cathy’s interest shifted towards finding the best ways to cook delicious food with an air fryer, her journey to becoming “The Real Air Fryer Queen” began in earnest. By 2020, the recipes section of Fabulessly Frugal had grown enough that Cathy felt inspired to start her own YouTube channel focused on air fryer cooking.
From this inspiration, the Empowered Cooks channel was born. Cathy began regularly uploading air fryer-related content, including recipes, tutorials, and tips for taking air fryer cooking to the next level. Her expertise and welcoming style of addressing audiences helped her channel attract more fans and followers. Today, her channel boasts over 750,000 subscribers, with her most popular videos pulling in over 7 million views.
Cathy has gone on to grow Empowered Cooks from just a YouTube channel to a complete lifestyle brand offering a variety of useful products and services for her fellow air fryer cooking enthusiasts. Through the Empowered Cooks brand, she has offered a best-selling cookbook, Air Fryer Recipes: 150+ Yummy Air Fryer Recipes, which has gone on to sell more than 35,000 copies worldwide. Cathy’s Pine & Pepper e-commerce label sells kitchen tools such as air fryer liners and food thermometers. The brand also provides helpful resources for home cooking, such as digital recipe lists and even an opportunity to join the Cooking with Cathy live cooking course.
Cathy’s ability to make home cooking easy, delicious, and fun has endeared her to many viewers around the world. Through all of her efforts, she has cultivated a supportive, passionate community that continues to grow as more and more people discover her unique blend of home cooking expertise and engaging content. Her passion and tenacity in creating memorable cooking experiences have made her a significant contributor to the online cooking community.
Cathy’s ability to connect with her audience on a personal level has been a key factor in her success. She’s not just a cooking expert; she’s a mentor who understands the challenges of everyday life and the importance of making home cooking enjoyable and achievable. Her warm, approachable personality shines through in every video, creating a space where viewers feel comfortable asking questions, sharing their experiences, and learning alongside her.
Cathy’s transparency about her own journey, including the ups and downs of balancing family life with building a business, has made her an even more relatable figure. She shows her followers that cooking with an air fryer doesn’t require complicated skills or expensive ingredients, only creativity, patience, and the willingness to try something new. This approach has helped foster a loyal community of cooks who not only follow her advice but also feel inspired to share their own successes and challenges.
Aspiring home cooks can follow Cathy’s culinary adventures through the Empowered Cooks YouTube channel. For additional tips, resources, and air fryer products, they can visit the Empowered Cooks website, the Pine & Pepper website, and Cathy’s personal website.
Published by Elle G.
