A Macclesfield food influencer has hit the 40,000 follower milestone on Instagram.

Dad-of-two Samuel Bradbury has racked up an incredible following on his food blog account @fat.sam.eats.

The Macc-based foodie has 1,050 posts, averaging about four delicious posts a week.

Recent posts include a curried hot noodle burger, and a macaroni cheese burger with pulled rib.

He also visits eateries in Macc eateries and even uses local ingredients for his own creations.

A recent post had him making mozzarella balls with chilli and lime cheese from Sutton-business The Cheshire Cheese Company.

"I started by posting random photos of like toast, cups of tea, crumpets silly things like that on my personal account", he said.

"One day I noticed an old friend of mine put a post up on his Facebook saying 'why would anybody want to see what food you're eating'. Next thing, I looked at his page and saw he had blocked me.

"So I said to my wife 'do you think I should set up a page just for food, and can follow me on there?'.

"It was first called @i_heart__bacon, but I later took pictures of other food and came up with the name @fat.sam.eats, because at the time I was a bit podgy. I suited the name and it had a nice ring to it and the rest is history.

"I've had the page coming up to four years now and I've just got to 40000 followers which is awesome."

His most popular post was when he shaped hash browns to look like Space Raiders - a very Northern snack - as part of a full English breakfast.

Sam even made these starchy Space Raiders into a Chinese Salt and Pepper chips-style dish.

Despite the huge meals Sam's has garnered thousands of fans for, his favourite-ever meal is a simple crispy bacon on white toast with HP Sauce.

"I geotag Macclesfield quite a lot but that's because that's where I live and most of the things on my page are things that I've made at home and eaten," he added.

"But sometimes I post from places in Macclesfield. The top two places that I like to go to are the Picturedrome and Gastown Café [both on Chestergate].

"It is close but my favourite place is Gastown. The staff are so friendly the food is fantastic, I've never had a bad meal in there, and they're really good with my two daughters."

Every 10,000 followers he gains, the Maxonian does a big giveaway.

When he hit 20k, he treated a follower to a stay over in Manchester with a few restaurants and bars to give the winner an amazing weekend in Manchester.

At 30k he did a huge BBQ giveaway this summer, and will announce his next competition for his latest milestone in due course.

Last month, Sam introduced merchandise for the first time, in the latest chapter of his online empire.

"My wife definitely found it hard at first, because the food was taking up a lot of my time and I was not giving her the attention she deserved," he recalled

"Especially looking after two small children whilst I'm out eating amazing food or messing up the house with my stupid use of using every pot or pan I can get my hands on [laughs].

"But she's come around to the idea now with all the awesome food I make. My two daughters also love it, and my mum absolutely loves it because I get some free clothing from KFC so she gets to wear it."

In addition to the American chicken fast-food chain, Sam has also earned money doing sponsored posts for Sainsbury's, Bullseye BBQ, Hooch, and Weber & French Mustard.

He also hosts a regular food review show on YouTube for The Manc titled Scran Review, trying Manchester's takeaways.

"My advice to anyone wanting to up their food game is just practice, practice practice and one day you'll crack it," he added.

"If you truly have a passion for food then cooking will never feel like a chore but more of a therapeutic experience.

"I could have the worst day ever but if I can cook a great meal at the end of it my troubles seem to all but disappear.

"The dream one day would to be able to quit my full-time job and pursue this thing a bit more professionally but we're a way off that yet.

"I also want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has followed me and supported me over the years doing this.

"Hopefully they'll be many more years of me stuffing my face with burgers and meaty goodness haha. Also a huge huge thank you to the supportive Mrs B. And of course, thank you Macc."

You can follow Sam on Instagram.

In addition to his 40k on Insta, he also has a further 3,000 followers on Facebook.

Macclesfield Nub News congratulates Sam on his online success.

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