This Chef Has a Secret Cooking Account to Avoid Abusive Family, But Her Supportive Mother-in-Law Found Her

A chef posts cooking videos without showing her face, using nicknames to protect her identity. She says she will never appear on camera because she is shy and because family members could identify her. Her mother-in-law, however, recognizes her immediately by the way she speaks. The chef reports that her mother-in-law found her secret cooking account even though she never showed her face. The chef posts Vietnamese canh chua and other recipes while describing childhood experiences. She says she was not allowed to cook and that her food and groceries were trashed when she came home after school. She also describes a home environment where treatment differed from school life.

"“I just recognize the way she speaks,” Tee, the mother-in-law, tells TODAY.com. “I would recognize it right away, 'Oh, that's Caroline, that's Caroline.'” Caroline, or Caro, goes by @derpycook on Instagram and TikTok. She also goes by something else entirely on a secret writing account, but that secret was no match for her CIA-like mother-in-law."

"“It doesn't even have my nickname; it has me, my Vietnamese name and a made-up last name,” Caro tells TODAY.com. “She saw my drawing, which she's never seen before, but she knew my style.” On April 3, Caro posted a video making canh chua, a sweet and sour soup from Vietnam, where her family is from."

"“My mother-in-law found my secret cooking account,” Caro says. “Despite not showing my face, I've been spotted.” A screenshot of her mother-in-law's message reads, “Found you again, lol.” “If you look through my page, you'll see that I don't show my face, not only because I'm shy, but I have a lot of haters in my family and don't wish for them to find me,” Caro says."

"“I wasn't allowed to cook. My food and groceries would be trashed every time I came home after school,” she says in the video. “They only felt comfortable treating me thi"

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