Aileen Chin, a 96-year-old Jamaican grandmother and social media star, has been officially granted the Guinness World Records title of the oldest living food/cooking YouTuber (female) in the world. She received the honor this March at the age of 96 years and 89 days old.
Viral Fame and Heartwarming Content
Aileen's social media career began when her grandson, Lucas Wong, started filming home videos to preserve family recipes. Their first video captured her joyful reaction to homegrown bananas from his backyard. However, they skyrocketed to fame after posting a video of Aileen making authentic Jamaican beef patties, using skills she perfected over decades. With approximately three million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, her signature catchphrase "mi rahtid!" — a Jamaican expression meaning "my goodness" — has become iconic.
From Bakery to Online Stardom
Aileen started cooking at age five and, with her husband Aubrey Chin, opened a wholesale bakery in Highgate, Jamaica, in the 1950s. She ran the bakery for 58 years until it closed in 2008. Afterward, she relocated to Miami, Florida, where she now lives with her daughter and grandchildren. Reflecting on her bakery days, she said, "My love, you know, sometimes I look back on those bakery days and remember it… it just can't leave your head."
Sharing Jamaican Cuisine with the World
On her channels, Aileen teaches viewers how to make traditional dishes such as oxtail, jerk chicken, stew peas, goat soup, fried fish, and coco bread. Her grandson Lucas told the Jamaica Observer that the first video was posted in 2023, but the beef patty recipe truly propelled her to fame. The classic Caribbean street food features spiced ground beef in a flaky yellow pastry crust. Aileen recommends it as the perfect introduction to Jamaican cuisine. "People always say 'mi rahtid, it nice!'" she said.
Connecting Through Food
For Aileen, food is a way to connect with culture. She and Lucas often let their followers decide what recipes to make next. "We usually go and ask the Online Family what they would like to see next," she explained. Sharing advice for chefs, she emphasized using high-quality ingredients and proper seasoning, adding, "Cook what you love to eat." Aileen creates content alongside Lucas on their joint channels: @chinfamilyfromjamaica on YouTube and Zion House on TikTok, with Instagram accounts @zionhousetv and @chinfamilyfromjamaica_.
