She has cooked everything from crabs and cake to barbecued meats and roast fish — from her office desk. Her unconventional choice of cookware: CPUs, office fans, water dispensers, and even stationery.

While most plebs microwave their food in the office pantry, Ms Yeah (whose real name is Zhou Xiaohui) would rather cook beef slices at her desk with an iron. Two years ago, she did it, uploaded a video of it, and of course it went viral. She became one of the biggest Internet sensations of 2017 and the WWW was, and still is, obsessed. Two years later, her recipe for Internet fame is still a winning one: use everyday office supplies to whip up lavish meals at her desk, always with a deadpan expression on her face, and never not surrounded by nonplussed co-workers.

Two years ago, Miss Yeah posted a video where she used an iron to grill beef slices at her desk. This vid has garnered over 4.4mil hits on YouTube.

The 24-year-old, who hails from Chengdu, shot that first video with just one colleague using an iPhone. Today, the content creator in a creative media company now has a team to come up with even more out-of-this-world cooking shenanigans in the office. Miss Yeah has since churned out close to 100 videos in the past two years, each outdoing the last, and boasts over 14mil followers in total on YouTube and Weibo.

She’ll also be featured on Discovery Channel’s Beauty and the Feast, a programme which explores the online phenom of mukbang (that is, the social media fad of eating on camera). In the docu, Miss Yeah lets viewers in on some behind-the-sscenes secrets. “What was most memorable about filming this was that we went to a flea market that day, not far from my office,” she tells 8days.sg. I was very inspired by some objects at the market. Then, I went back home and had a meal with my family, and we got talking about the inspiration [I get from my videos] from everyday life. For example, I was doing a facial treatment and there was a facial vaporiser, which is just like a garment steamer I would use at home. I thought, that could perfectly replace the facial vaporiser, [and I’d continue working on ideas from there].”

8 DAYS: Growing up, what was your family’s dining habits like? What’s your fondest memory about eating at home?
MISS YEAH: My dad cooks for us. Actually, in Sichuan [where I’m from], most fathers cook for their families. In terms of cooking, my dad always strives for excellence. Chinese cuisine is an important part of Chinese culture. When we eat at home, my dad asks us to distinguish what ingredients he used, and he enjoys it a lot when we judge his food, like whether his knife work is good enough to cut the potato as thin as hair, or the texture. I live by myself now, and sometimes I have to eat alone. When I think of these memories, it really puts a smile on my face.

You visited Singapore a couple of years ago, and tried some local dishes. How would you cook satay or chilli crabs in the office, in true Miss Yeah style?
There are so many tools in my office that I can use. For example, I’ve previously used an e-heater for sukiyaki, the office cabinet for BBQ, the perm machine for [meat skewers] — any one of these items is suitable [for cooking satay]. If you watched the Korean [army stew hot pot] episode, [you'll see that] the cookie box is perfect for chili crabs.

Using an e-heater to cook sukiyaki.

A metal cabinet is transformed into a BBQ pit in the workplace.

Who knew empty cookie tins were perfect for cooking Korean army stew?

What is the process like to make one video, from generating ideas to the shoot?
We spend two to three days thinking of ideas and three to four days filming the video. So, the process of content production is actually quite hard. We never thought this could attract so much attention. We found out that the audiences like to watch people being rebels in the office after our fourth episode where I used a water dispenser in the office to have hot pot (above). It was unbelievable, but we made it happen.

Are you ever worried about ruining office equipment?
Well, our intention when filming videos, of course, is not to ruin the office. So, don’t worry about that. We also try our best to restore any equipment we dismantle.

What was the last thing you were most inspired by?
The most inspiring thing for me recently is to lose weight. Well, not myself, but my colleagues. They talk about weight loss every day. Dieting is almost the most common way to cut down on calories. However, we shouldn’t have to starve ourselves to lose weight, because that’s a little extreme. I think there are relatively healthier ways to lose weight, so I recently made a video about how to make veggies look and taste just like meat, hoping to show my viewers on a diet how to make it in a healthy and interesting way.

Faux pork belly made from beancurd.

Which dish was the most difficult to make in the office?
In one video where I roast fish at my desk, I used hand soap and water to create some bubbles, then I lit a fire and cooked the fish with my hands. While experimenting, I accidentally set the table on fire. My eyebrows and eyelashes were burnt off. I was even too scared to cry. But fortunately, my face didn’t suffer any injuries. Afterwards, I still used the method on many occasions. It’s safe, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

What would you never cook in the office?
Smelly food, such as herring.

How do you test your ideas before a shoot? Which one was the hardest to work out?
Yes, for sure, we test our ideas before filming. The hardest one is probably Episode 79, where we made a robot chef from scratch (above). It was pretty interesting that we made an actual robot [that makes knife-cut noodles], but it was also challenging because we had to apply industrial design and engineering knowledge, and yet still had to make it creative.

What was the process like for making the robot? How long did it take?
The process of making the robot lasted about a week. The main function of the robot is to shave noodles, so firstly, we had to design an automated procedure to make it, which is the hardest step for us. It required some professional knowledge like engineering, and it’s just not something we are good at. After that, we designed a shell for the robot, and that’s relatively easier.

How often do you cook at home? What do you usually cook?
At home, I prefer making easy dishes, like braised pork belly and eggplant with garlic sauce.

What was the last meal you cooked in an actual kitchen? What did you make, and what did you use?
I made stewed beef noodles at home using a pot and the stove, just like you do at home.

Beauty and the Feast premieres on Discovery Channel (Singtel Ch 202) on Jun 24 at 8.05pm, with a repeat telecast on Jun 30 at 9.55pm.

Photos: Discovery Channel and Miss Yeah’s YouTube channel