Chef Matty Matheson worked with WeTransfer to release a free cookbook as a downloadable file

Matty Matheson‘s latest collection of pared-down recipes is taking an unusual path to distribution. The new cookbook is exclusively available as a downloadable file thanks to Matheson’s brand sponsor, WeTransfer.

The cookbook is titled Cookin’ Somethin’ For College, and it includes 12 simple recipes designed with students in mind. In a move that will delight their college-age target audience, Matheson and WeTransfer have made the cookbook available for free. Dishes like “cheesy chili spaghetti,” “fried chicken with mala spice,” and the “ultimate breakfast sandwich” are just a few clicks away.

Matheson brought in millions of views on the Vice-owned Munchies channel, where his wacky personality and decadent dishes stood out. He parlayed his culinary fame into a role as Neil Fak on the FX series The Bear. After departing Vice, he linked up with Made In Network, which also works with creators like Marty Music and Andrew Rea of the Babish Culinary Universe.

Matheson’s arrival at Made In served as a reunion of sorts: Made In COO Ryan Mack worked at Vice before taking his current role at Made In. Mack told Tubefilter that his colleagues include “10 to 12” former Vice employees.

Mack connected WeTransfer and Matheson after the digital file service came to him with a proposition. Members of WeTransfer’s Brand Marketing team, including Michael Fitzsimmons and Megan Falcon, pitched Mack on a series of “creator drops.”

Cookin’ Somethin’ for College is one example of that concept. Matheson’s free publication is meant to serve as an easy-to-follow guide in a world filled with overlong and overpriced cookbooks. WeTransfer approved of the decision to target tight-budgeted college kids. “They also had ambitions to drive awareness of the WeTransfer product among that segment,” Mack told Tubefilter.

The cookbook’s nonexistent price tag helped it gain traction in the days after its release. It was downloaded more than 10,000 times in its first 48 hours of availability, according to WeTransfer. Mack told Tubefilter 

that the response has been “fantastic” so far. “It’s free,” he said, “and you’re getting another dimension of Matty’s brain in this style of recipe and this style of food and the way that the file itself, the actual digital cookbook, came together.”

Made In plans to push that download number much higher over the next three months. That’s how long the network will spend actively promoting Cookin’ Somethin’ For College. Matheson will recreate his elemental recipes in YouTube videos that will feature custom WeTransfer ads. He’ll also plug the cookbook on YouTube Shorts, where he publicly announced the project. “You wanna impress somebody? You wanna make your teacher feel cool? Your best friend just got one of those, what are they called, degrees?” Matheson asked. “Cook ’em something.”

Mack told Tubefilter that Made In will keep Matheson’s collegiate audience in mind by launching content around themes like finals week and back-to-school. “You have multiple channels on the brand side and on Matty’s side that are all driving audience to this thing,” Mack said. “And there’s different hooks.”

After the 90-day period elapses, Cookin’ Somethin’ for College will test the contemporary shelf life of digital downloadables. Mack speculated that fans of the cookbook could continue to pass it around as an email attachment or file transfer. “When you have a digital good out there, especially something like this where people are downloading the file and using the file, it’ll likely exist out there somewhere forever,” said in the Made In COO. “Who knows what the shelf life is?”

Mack imagined a scenario in which a downloader of Cookin’ Somethin’ For College rediscovers the document later on. “You’re clicking around, you’re like, oh, what the heck, look at this thing,” he said. “You open it and it’s like, ‘Oh my god. Look at that chopped cheese sandwich.”