A Florida family’s efforts to preserve their Jamaican matriarch’s recipes, passed down through generations, have transformed the 96-year-old woman into a social media sensation.

Aileen Chin, who originally hails from Highgate in St Mary and now resides in Miami with her daughter and grandchildren, has been taking TikTok, Instagram and YouTube by storm with her viral dishes and popular catchphrase, “mi rahtid”.

She has amassed a large online following with the support of her grandson, Lucas Wong, through their social media channels, Chin Family from Jamaica on YouTube, and Zion House on TikTok.

“We started just making home videos. We wanted a chronicle. We just wanted to save our recipes for the future. So we just started as home videos, really, just making them for our family,” Wong told Observer Online.

Wong explained that their content creation journey began in 2023, with the very first video capturing his grandmother’s joyful reaction when he surprised her with bananas he had grown in his backyard.

“I grew some bananas in my backyard, and I just surprised her with it one day, and the reaction from that really started everything else. So it really started from just her reaction from seeing some bananas I grew and how happy she was,” he said.

However, Wong noted that it was a video of his grandmother sharing her patty recipe that truly launched their online fame.

“It’s really the patty that really set us up, that one went viral more than anything else,” Wong said, adding “Grandma and Mommy used to own a bakery in Jamaica, making patties.”

Indeed, making patties was nothing new for the 96-year-old, who, along with her late husband, ran a wholesale bakery in Highgate during the 1950s.

Her daughter, Maxine Chin recalled: “Mommy and Daddy had a bakery. We were wholesale. Patties, cocoa bread, bun. We used to ship buns all over the world. Germany; we had a big order from several people who had kids in Iraq; Canada; here in the US, too, and then I retired in 2005.

“My mom had retired, daddy died in 1997, and we kind of scaled down,” Maxine added.

Reflecting on those early days, Aileen said, “Children used to come to the bakery and buy things and go home and sell.”

From her rich Jamaican patty recipe to her stew peas, the 96-year-old offers viewers a wide array of traditional dishes that many people can explore and enjoy.

Her grandson said the videos are rooted in his deep love for his family, particularly his grandmother.

“It’s the love I have for my grandmother, for my elder, for the people that raised me and showed me how to cook and take care of myself. Because I was raised by my mother and my grandmother. My grandfather passed away at a pretty young age. So both of them really were my mom, my father, and my grandfather,” Wong said.

He said one of the most important lessons he has learnt from his grandmother in the kitchen is the importance of seasoning.

“Seasoning is very important. Make sure you season the food properly. Wash it, clean it, and season it well. Basically, understand flavours and how certain ingredients develop, and try to use as many fresh ingredients as possible,” he said.

Aileen revealed that her favourite dish is chicken, whether fried, baked, roasted, or even Chinese-style roast chicken.

“You must also have your roasting sauce to put on your chicken, and make sure the food is not fresh,” Aileen said.

According to Maxine, her mother has been receiving positive feedback not only online but also in public.

“Very positive, and it’s overwhelming. We never expected it. At least I didn’t. She’s like a celebrity because right now, taking her to the supermarket, people recognise her. I have friends in the Midwest, like in Cleveland, Ohio, and Boston, who send notifications to me about mommy. So it has been positive,” Maxine said.

The 96-year-old agreed that she did not anticipate the level of response she has received from her online community.

“Neither did I,” Aileen said. “I feel like something has opened up.”

Maxine shared that her mother enjoys socialising, going out and dancing. However, after suffering a mild stroke in 2022, she is now mostly at home.

To preserve the Chin family’s culinary legacy, Maxine revealed that a cookbook is currently in progress.

“Mommy doesn’t like to share some recipes. They were handed down from her mother, her aunt, and even from my father’s side, going back to China,” Maxine said.

“We will be sharing recipes in an upcoming cookbook, which we hope to launch around April or May. We’ll go in-depth, but not everything, some recipes are just too old and special. We’re working on it now,” she continued. “This project really started because of mommy’s age and because there are things I don’t remember. We wanted to compile everything, all her handwritten books, and preserve them.”