She considers herself to be “… simply Dana Hamad, a Lebanese girl who loves life and food.” But we see her slightly differently, to us and her large online audience, she is @danacancook, social media superstar, foodie and our favorite source of online recipes and cooking tutorials.

“I used to watch a lot of cooking shows and spend time helping my mom in the kitchen since I was a little girl. What I still remember is me preparing sandwiches and easy dishes all the time for my family,” Dana tells us. If you started following Dana in 2017 when she created her account, you’ll know that she shared photos of her favorite dishes at restaurants and meals that she cooked at home. She then started sharing the recipes on her IG stories, and her friends and family were very encouraging. So she started filming more often and slowly transitioned from basic videos to more advanced and visually appealing videos.

Dana takes so much care to ensure that her videos are accessible and easy to follow. She has given a lot of thought to her setup, and has consistently improved the quality of the videography, lighting, and angles she chooses to capture her recipes. What really sets Dana’s content apart is the simplicity. Her voice-overs are clear, calm, and easy to follow. Anyone can follow her instructions. She walks us through each recipe in simple steps that are easily replicated by even the most novice of home cooks.Even the grandest version of traditional Maqloobeh looks easy to replicate! And this is truly her recipe for success, as Dana makes cooking more accessible and less scary.

This is a conscious decision on her part. We asked her what it has been like adapting to Instagram’s constant changes. “Content is key, no matter how many new features are introduced. I keep focusing on what I want to share with my followers and adapt to what changes the platform introduces,” she explained. Her content truly is king. There are no gimmicks, no trend-chasing, just high-quality content, delicious recipes and Dana’s calming voice guiding us through it all.

Many of her recipes are Middle Eastern, which makes sense because it is her favorite cuisine. And her favorite recipes to make are traditional Lebanese dishes like Lobiya B Zeit, Kishik, Warak Enab and Fatteh. We never thought we would attempt stuffing grape leaves until Dana showed us how simple and fun it could be.

We asked her what dish still evades her, she said “Croissants! I would love to learn the proper way of making them”. We really hope she does because that means she will find a way to make it easy for us to try too. She is also interested in trying out sourdough breads and different bread baking techniques in general. Dana is always curious for more and has an insatiable appetite (pun not intended) for learning new things.

This all started as a fun personal project, but Dana’s following has grown. Last November she hit 100k followers and today there are more than a quarter of a million of people interested in her recipes. “Honestly speaking, hitting 10k followers was a big achievement for me, and it made me want to develop myself even more and share better recipes. I started investing more in the utensils and the pots I use. As you can see in my videos I am in love with STAUB pots. Then when I hit 100k, I realized that this is becoming serious and requires a lot of attention and dedication. I really enjoy and love what I do; however, I wouldn’t have reached to where I am now without the support of my family, friends, and most importantly my followers,” Dana tells us.

She has an ongoing collaboration with Ahmed Al Zamel, another of our favorite social media foodies. And it is always fun watching both of them interact and create fun dishes together. “Ahmed Al Zamel is a good friend and I can’t thank him enough for his support when I started and until now, he still is a great support. He shared valuable tips and tricks, especially since he has been in the field for a long time and his success is spectacular,” she tells us. We love the energy that is created when different creators come together and Dana tells us that she has more plans of collaborating with other people in the near future.

We asked her who she follows on Instagram and she told us that some of her favorites were Ahmad Al Zamel (@ahmadalzamel), Sawsan Da’ana (@sawsansmatbakhi), Fatmee (@fatmee_kitchen), and Tieghan Gerard (@halfbakedharvest).

She is still not done yet and dreams of opening her restaurant where she can share her delicious recipes with everyone. We are definitely rooting for her because we would love to everything. Until then, Dana tells us that if you are a total newbie, get started with stews, since those are the recipes that anyone can pull off.

TRUTH OR DARE QUESTIONNAIRE
How would your mother describe you in one word?
Achiever.
How would you describe your mother in one word?
Life.
What is the most ridiculous question you’ve ever been asked?
Don’t you ever gain weight? I get this question at least 3-5 times every day.
What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
I can’t think of anything.
What is your theme song?
Any Lebanese old song.
What word in the English or Arabic language do you wish you had invented?
Arabic phrase that I use in every video:
بتعقد شو طيبة
Where would you like to live?
Any place where my kids can live happily in a safe environment.
What is your dream retirement location?
Lebanon, if the situation is better.
What is the first famous quote that comes to your mind?
There are many famous quotes, however, there’s a quote that I love,
“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.”
Which animal best describes your perfect partner, be it in business, or in life?
An Eagle.
Do you miss anything from your childhood and if so, what is it?
I miss when life was stress-free as a little girl.
If you could change your name, to what would you change it?
I’d rather keep it as Dana.
How would you describe your handshake, in one word?
Warm.
What is the toughest part of your character?
Stubbornness.
Who is your favorite historical figure?
Gibran Khalil Gibran.
Finish this sentence: “Happiness is… … good FOOD!”

Follow @danacancook to follow along her culinary adventure, but don’t blame us if you fall into the rabbit hole of deliciousness.