Zaynah Din is a celebrated young author whose passion for cooking has cultivated a loyal community of more than 750k followers across TikTok and Instagram.  She became a TikTok sensation when her Ramadan recipes became viral in 2020, drawing the attention of a literary agent. Desified is her debut cookbook, where she shares her signature South Asian‑inspired and easy-to-follow recipes.  

In this conversation, Zaynah delves into who inspired her passion for cooking, exploring the ways in which food shapes identity, the process involved for creating content on social media and her journey to publishing her debut cookbook.  

Tell us about yourself

Before I became a Content Creator, I used work in tech for about 4 years. My background and experience is in digital marketing and creative strategy. During lockdown in 2020, I started a recipe series on TikTok called Ramadan Recipes, where I posted 30 recipes for 30 days of fasting. Didn’t really expect much to come off from it - I was bored in lockdown and just wanted to share my recipes.

Basically, it blew up overnight and I kept going with that momentum. Every day, I’d post and each one would go viral. At the time, I was the first to create the 30-day Ramadan recipe series and now it’s a huge trend. Because it was new and original at the time, every video was getting a million views, 5 million views, half million views. By the end of that Ramadan my following had grown from 0 to 100k. I decided to then take the leap and quit my TikTok job to focus on food full-time.

Has food always played a central role in your life?

Yes, we’re a big foodie family. When I was younger, I used to spend a lot of time in the kitchen with my mum. She will have me do the little jobs, like roll the roti, wash the rice or taste the meat in the pot; and through all of those little experiences, I learnt how to cook Pakistani food.

Who were your early influencers in the world of food?

My early influencers in the world of food was my mum and grandma. It’s all the women in my life who love to cook. As I got older would watch cooking shows, actually when I was a kid, I had watched Big Cook, Little Cook on Cbeebies.

What’s one food memory that shaped your identity?

It’s tricky to pinpoint one, but have a few different memories. I would say there was one certain dish that we would eat. I think a lot of 2nd and 3rd generations of Asian families will say that they used to eat that, too. If we wanted to eat something Western like spaghetti bolognese we wouldn’t have a traditional Italian ragu, it would be a spicy keema curry mixed in with pasta – that’s our version of spaghetti bolognese. That recipe is what inspired the name of my cookbook, Desified.

It was when I got older that I realised the rest of the world does not eat like this, it’s only us.

Which cuisine do you enjoy exploring the most?

It changes all the time. At the moment, I’ve developed a fixation for Malaysian food. Ive eaten Malaysian food in the UK before and liked it, but never considered it to be outstanding until I went to Malaysia. The food there – never had food like that before in my life. Since I returned in January, I have been testing Malay influenced recipes.

How do you come up with fresh ideas for your content?

I get my inspiration from different places, sometimes it’s literally just experimenting in the kitchen and then accidentally coming up with something. Sometimes, it’s something that I have eaten on my travels or in restaurants; and sometimes it’s things that we have grown up with or I have kind of reinvented.

I think it’s really difficult with social media to keep things original, because there are loads of food creators and there’s not many original recipes anymore. I try to keep mine inventive and new.

What does a typical day of creating look like for you?

There’s no typical day, but usually I would start filming in the morning, that’s where I have the best light. Sometimes, I will literally have a dream or wake up with an idea, and then write it down on my phone.

Usually I start my day by going to the local shop to pick up fresh ingredients. As I like to use fresh meat and herbs when I am filming.  I’ll do a recipe test – sometimes I’ll cook something twice, especially if it is new. I would do the first round of recipe tests, writing the recipe as I go along, making tweaks. The second time round, I would film it and eat it.

Every day, is really different. I may have events going on or might have a brand deal to focus on, or recipe testing, where I would shoot 4 to 5 recipes and whichever is the best one; the next day, I would do the final shoot for it.

I film everything on my phone – I have my iphone on the tripod. My setup is the kitchen counter, in front of the window – everything is done at home.

Did you ever imagine you’d end up publishing a cookbook?

What does your cookbook, Desified represent and mean to you?

On a deeper level, I think it represents how 2nd and 3rd generation of immigrant kids grew up eating food in this country. Food is so important and is the biggest part of my life; and one of the things that brings people together. This book celebrates the authentic Pakistani recipes, but also a fusion of flavours from every region of the world.

Since publication of Desified, how have things been for you?

I guess crazy. The social media content and my work online, everything together, life has just been completely different. It has changed a lot. Now, my job is to cook food, share recipes and travel the world.

I think the best part is meeting people and hearing their stories, especially hearing how young people and students have fallen in love with cooking and food. To be honest, when I grew up, I was ashamed of home food, because sometimes our lunchboxes would have leftover curry fried with rice or leftover chicken curry in a sandwich - now those kind of food have become trendy and popular. I’m glad that I can contribute to that.

What do you want people to take away when they watch your content or read your cookbook?

Ultimately, I try to make Desified accessible to everyone. I think that sometimes it can be quite daunting; I try to simplify it, so that everyone can cook and enjoy our food.

What advice do you have for someone wanting to become a Food Content Creator?

Try to find something that is unique and you genuinely care about. Don’t chase the numbers, don’t try to become famous and don’t focus on the followers. I’ve never done that. What you should be doing is sharing your passion and just being authentically yourself, and that would naturally resonate with people.

What's next for you?

Oh gosh – everything! I’ve always been someone who dreams really big, takes massive risks and so I have many goals.

To give you a specific answer, recently I’ve really loved travelling and want to focus on that for a while. And to also try to improve my own craft to become a better chef and more diverse in the range of food that I can cook.

Desified by Zaynah Din celebrates the bold, comforting flavours of South Asian cuisine. Inspired by the essence of Ramadan, it offers more than 90 recipes, including speedy morning bites, eye‑catching brunches, easy everyday meals, and generous feasts to enjoy together. It is available to purchase from most book retailers. 

To keep up with Zaynah's recipes, follow her on Instagram or TikTok.