Nine million followers, thirteen million views per month on Youtube only, four recipe books published by Mondadori for 500 thousand copies sold and a television program on the Food Network that is shot in his kitchen, committing away crews for whole weeks. These are the results of Benedetta Rossi, food blogger, graduated in biology, but above all a woman who cooks, and who shares simple recipes, within everyone's reach, greeting the public with a raised thumb and the motto: "I did it for you at home".

Who is Benedetta Rossi?

Benedetta Rossi is one of the web's phenomena perhaps among the most studied by marketing professionals and professionals. Many of these still cannot explain how a woman, completely independently, managed to build a viral empire with dizzying numbers based on homemade recipes. And what about professionals? Many write and comment on them. Some cannot accept what they consider "aberrations", such as custard made with whole eggs or shortcrust pastry with yeast. "But in the countryside it has always been like this," says Benedetta, and claims her way of cooking: "It's homemade, for you." Which, after all, is nothing more than that plus highlighted among the proposals of the trattorias and popular restaurants, and often able to guide the customer's index on the menu.

His smile is frank and sincere, equal only to his genuine Marche accent, specifically stop. The stoves you see appearing on TV or in videos on the web are truly hers. Nothing is artifact, not even the bench under the large poplar behind the house, where at the end of each recipe Benedetta goes "to enjoy the countryside". Her husband Marco Gentili has become game force his manager and when not working in the kitchen they love to travel, so much so that they got married in Hawaii.

The farmhouse that is not there

Over the years it has fed on the web, but also in the press, a real myth: the hunt for Benedetta Rossi's farmhouse. Fans and tourists around the Marche leave the highway at the Pedaso (FM) exit in search of the farm. On google there are many indications and telephone numbers, but know that Benedetta left him in 2011. So the pilgrims of the "homemade for you" will have to be content with shopping in the beautiful orchards of the Val d'Aso, along the road that leads straight to the wild Sibillini mountains.

Do you want to know the recipe for this success? Here's what Benedetta Rossi told us in front of the stove in her home in Altidona (FM), in the Marche region.

How are Benedetta's recipes born?

"In the tradition of the Marche countryside, when visiting neighbors or friends, the custom was rooted in bringing a homemade dessert as a gift and, along with this, the recipe. A physical exchange, in its small viral, which also allowed the spread of new ideas. The concept, declined on the web, is the same. That's what I'm still doing today. "

What was your first recipe?

"The first videos of recipes I made them in 2009. They were a kind of courtesy for the customers of the family farm. After greeting the guests, I sent them the video with the recipe they had tasted made step by step. They were excited and I enjoyed it. I noticed even more when one of these recipes published on youtube quickly reached 100 thousand views. So it was that in 2011 I opened my channel Homemade by Benedetta. The first recipe was the sweet and sour gardener; by Aunt Daniela. It was a great success .

And how did you go about choosing the recipes? What are the strong points?

«I choose them by listening to the requests that come to me directly from the followers. Indeed, from friends. In this way I know that I can be useful for them. In addition, I provide practical tips: how not to waste food using all the available ingredients; which equipment is useful in the kitchen to do a certain function, without having to buy professional ones. I always follow the seasonality of the products and try to indicate the necessary doses well, even if I do not abandon the art of quantity by eye. On the other hand, Marche cuisine is based on experience and instinct. At the beginning I thought that most of my women would appreciate the recipes; then, with surprise, I was able to see that my most active fans are even children .

What is the recipe you are most fond of?

«Definitely the Smart Cake. It has solved many birthdays. Everyone wrote to me! To the point of becoming a real culinary neologism, as well as a Google topic trend. In practice, I gave some “clever” suggestions to easily make the sponge cake in ready-made thin layers, cooking it in the pan and eliminating the most laborious steps. I was surprised myself by the success of this recipe and today it is still one of the most shared in its various versions .

And what are the dishes you prefer to eat? At home or in a restaurant?

«Let's say I'm a pasta-maker, with a great passion for polenta. I don't want restaurateurs, but my favorite restaurant remains Aunt Juliet's house, who at ninety-six still cooks great. "