Hello
My name is Jamel Spalding & I am a Food Vlogger from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Yummo Bucko is my expression for good food. I predominately promote mom & pop restaurants, food trucks, & certified chefs. I knew I belonged in front of a camera, ever since I was a child. I used to dream about being on television. I never imagined that I would become a popular social media influencer. I believe God allows food & conversation to bring people together. I like to eat, critique, & converse with my followers (Bucko Buddies).
Jamel Spalding
Yummo Bucko - Food Vlogger
My Story
I fell in love with the camera as a child. I often expressed myself creatively in front of the camera. While attending Oscar Smith High School, I took Television Communications for two years at the Chesapeake Career Center, formerly known as the Chesapeake Center for Science and Technology. During that time, I wanted to become a news reporter/anchor. I had no idea that I would become a prominent Food Vlogger, Influencer, and Social Media celebrity.
I learned the term “Bucko” from my favorite Aunt Lynn, who would play wrestle with us children saying, “You’re going down Bucko.” Fast forward to adulthood, around 2006-2008, I was eating some food in my apartment, & I remember saying, "This food is Yummo Bucko!" From that point on, I began using that phrase to describe how good food was to me. I started posting pictures and videos of my food on my personal FaceBook page, using my quirky phrase. “Yummo Bucko” started as a phrase to describe good food and then it became my nickname as my brand became more popular.
My Best Friend & Business Manager Cory Johnson, urged me to start loading content to my Yummo Bucko FaceBook page, which I created in 2017. I thought that no one would watch me eat food, because some people told me that no one is going to want to watch me eat food. In 2017, my mother (also known as Momma Bucko) urged me to try a seafood boil at Shaking Crab in Virginia Beach. During our visit, I decided to capture our experience on video. After about two weeks, I decided to overcome my laziness, & edit those video clips and upload the compiled video footage to my personal FaceBook page. That Shaking Crab video went viral overnight. To this date, that Shaking Crab video has been shared over 5K times with over 300K views, making it my first viral video. My second viral video was my chicken gizzard video at Chic-A-Sea (Newport News) in 2019. That video has received more than over 12 million views and shared over 13.7K times on my Yummo Bucko FaceBook page.
I've been a special guest on numerous podcasts, featured in the Southern Grit Magazine, self-hosted two sold out Yummo Bucko events (2018 & 2019), and was also nominated by the Cova Best Reader’s Choice Awards for Best Local Instagram Account-Foodie. I've hosted and judged numerous food tasting events. I was invited as a special guest for VA’s own Heartbeat Gala, & critiqued desserts created by a popular celebrity baker.
As of today, Yummo Bucko has acquired over 210K followers on Facebook, over 15K on Instagram, and a growing YouTube audience. I credit my success to God, the people in my circle, & my supporters (Bucko Buddies). My desire is to fulfill God's will for my life, eat Yummo Bucko food, meet new people, & travel the world.
“Now Let’s Eat and Critique! Yummo Bucko!"
