From Television To The Hearts Of Millions

For Ghada El Tally, cooking has never been only about preparing food. It has been about creating a connection. Over the years, she has transformed her passion for culinary arts into a career that combines television, education, digital content and community engagement.

Born in Jordan to a Jordanian father and Egyptian mother, Ghada spent most of her life in Egypt, where she completed her schooling and university education. Her professional journey began in media around 15 years ago with Roya TV in Jordan. She later moved to Egypt and became associated with CBC Sofra, where she has built a long-standing career as a television cooking personality.

Her journey has also taken her beyond television. She has worked with commercial brands, published cookbooks, taught culinary skills and participated in food festivals and competitions across the region. Roya TV identifies her as a celebrity chef, author and television personality, while Ahram Online has also documented her career in Arab culinary media.

The Simple Idea That Built A Strong Connection

One of the biggest reasons behind Ghada’s connection with her audience is surprisingly simple. She does not want cooking to feel intimidating.

For many home cooks, complicated recipes can become frustrating because of unfamiliar techniques, difficult ingredients or lengthy instructions. Ghada took a different approach. She focused on breaking complicated dishes into manageable steps and presenting them in a way that people could realistically follow at home.

This philosophy has become an important part of her identity as a culinary creator.

Ghada explains that her relationship with viewers grew because she always tried to simplify difficult recipes while remaining honest about the process. Her aim was not simply to make a recipe look attractive on screen. It was to make sure that someone watching could actually prepare it successfully in their own kitchen.

That approach has helped her earn something more valuable than views: trust.

“A recipe becomes meaningful when people can take it from the screen into their own kitchen and make it successfully.”

Her belief in accuracy also extends to the details behind a recipe. Ingredients, quantities, preparation techniques and cooking steps all matter. When a dish does not turn out as expected, she believes the reason can often be found in differences in ingredients, measurements or preparation rather than in the recipe itself.

A Digital Community Of Around 10 Million

Ghada’s influence has grown far beyond traditional television.

According to the figures she shares, she has approximately 10 million followers across her social media platforms. Her audience includes more than 7 million followers on Facebook and more than 2 million on Instagram, alongside audiences on YouTube, TikTok and other platforms.

Current third-party influencer data also lists her Instagram following at around 2.3 million, reflecting the scale of her digital presence.

But numbers alone do not explain the relationship Ghada has built with her followers.

Her content works because it meets people where they are. Instead of presenting cooking as something reserved for professionals, she makes it approachable for families, beginners and everyday home cooks.

Her digital presence has therefore become an extension of the philosophy that shaped her television career: simplify, explain and make people feel capable.

Learning Never Stops For A Professional Chef

Despite years of professional experience, Ghada has never considered herself finished with learning.

Her belief that people should continue developing throughout their lives led her to study at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts. She completed a full one-year culinary programme, adding formal culinary education to the practical experience she had gained through years of working in food media.

This step is significant because Ghada’s career was already established when she chose to return to structured education. Rather than seeing experience as a substitute for learning, she treated education as another way to strengthen her craft.

Her earlier journey also reflects this willingness to keep learning. In an interview with Ahram Online, she recalled teaching herself cake decoration and pastry techniques through books and the internet at a time when specialised opportunities were limited. She later established a culinary and cake decoration centre in Amman.

From The Kitchen To Culinary Education

Ghada’s work has never stopped at sharing recipes.

She also created a centre where women could learn cooking, desserts and cake decoration. This educational side of her career reflects another important dimension of her personality: the desire to pass knowledge forward.

Teaching allows her to move from simply demonstrating a finished dish to helping others understand the skills behind it. It also gives aspiring cooks an opportunity to develop confidence and discover their own creativity.

Her professional profile has included cookbook authorship, television presenting and brand collaborations, while industry sources identify her as a cooking presenter associated with CBC Sofra and Roya TV.

A Career Built Across Jordan And Egypt

Ghada’s background has given her a natural connection to two important Arab cultures.

Her Jordanian and Egyptian heritage has influenced the way she approaches food, media and audiences. Having been born in Jordan and spending much of her life in Egypt, she has developed a career that crosses borders rather than remaining tied to one market.

Her television work began with Roya TV, where she appeared in programmes including Maleket Al Matbakh. She later became associated with CBC Sofra and programmes such as Zaafran W Vanilla.

Ahram Hebdo previously described Zaafran W Vanilla as one of the highly watched culinary programmes on CBC Sofra and highlighted Ghada’s belief that professional chefs should continue learning about ingredients, techniques and quality.

Her work with Roya has continued in different formats. Roya currently describes her as having hosted Maleket Al Matbakh, Mashrou Chef with Mandi and Roya Kitchen within Donya Ya Donya.

Taking Culinary Knowledge To The Region

Ghada’s career has also taken her to festivals, competitions and workshops across the Middle East.

She has participated in events in the UAE, Egypt and Jordan, served as a judge in culinary competitions and conducted workshops, particularly in Sharjah.

Her regional presence has extended into major culinary and cultural programmes. In 2023, she was listed as host and moderator for the Gastronomy and Culinary Arts programme at the Intra-African Trade Fair, where she took part in discussions focused on African cuisine and its position in local and global markets.

These experiences show how her role has evolved. She is not only a chef appearing on television. She has become a presenter, educator, moderator and public culinary personality.

Balancing Career, Family And Personal Growth

Behind the public career is also a personal life grounded in family.

Ghada is married and has three sons. Her story therefore reflects the challenge of building a demanding professional identity while maintaining responsibilities at home.

Her journey demonstrates that professional growth does not necessarily require leaving personal values behind. Instead, the different parts of her life can develop alongside one another.

For Ghada, cooking became a profession, education became a lifelong commitment and communication became the bridge connecting her work with millions of people.

Trust Is The Ingredient Behind Her Success

In an industry where online content can move quickly, trust is difficult to build and even harder to maintain.

Ghada’s approach has been to make honesty part of her professional identity. She believes viewers invest their time, money and effort when they follow a recipe. That makes accuracy a responsibility rather than an optional detail.

Her philosophy was also documented in earlier interviews, where she stressed the importance of not misleading viewers and of being transparent about culinary information.

That principle helps explain why her work has remained relevant across television, digital platforms and culinary education.

A Journey That Continues To Evolve

Ghada El Tally’s journey is ultimately a story about making expertise accessible.

She began with media, developed her identity through cooking, expanded into education and eventually built a large digital community. Along the way, she continued studying, teaching, collaborating and participating in culinary events across the region.

Her greatest contribution may not be a single recipe or television programme. It is the confidence she gives people to believe that a difficult dish can become achievable when someone takes the time to explain it properly.

For the millions who follow her, the kitchen becomes less intimidating and more inviting. For aspiring culinary professionals, her journey offers another lesson: expertise becomes more powerful when it is shared.

And for Ghada, the story is still being written, one recipe, one student and one connection at a time.

Follow Ghada El Tally on Instagram

Read More – Reham Makhlouf Is Turning Digital Influence Into Lasting Impact