Los Angeles woman says she’s a private chef for a World Cup player and shows how she makes steak for him. Now viewers think they’ve cracked the code

A food content creator made a post claiming she’s a private chef for a World Cup player. But have her commenters truly figured out who she works for?

Zarina Makhanbetzhan (@zarinamkhn), a Los Angeles-based food blogger, posted a viral video in which she made a steak sandwich. Makhanbetzhan wrote in the post’s on-screen text, “pov: you’re a private chef for a World Cup player.”

Thousands of commenters replied to her video and tried to guess who Makhanbetzhan works for. Others said that Makhanbetzhan may not even work for a World Cup player after all.

As of this writing, Makhanbetzhan’s post has more than 14.1 million views.

So have sleuths cracked the code?

Who does she supposedly work for?

Makhanbetzhan made a steak sandwich in her video. It included caramelized onions, a chive garlic butter sauce, soft white cheese that appears to be provolone and hand-cut bread, and became so popular that other creators made their own version with the same video hook.

Some commenters said they’d be jealous of whoever ate the sandwich, while others made genuine attempts to guess who Makhanbetzhan works for.

Multiple viewers claimed that she works for professional Norwegian soccer player Erling Haaland, who recently competed in the World Cup’s quarterfinals. They cited a video of Haaland eating a similar steak sandwich to the one Makhanbetzhan makes in her viral clip.

“The video of Haaland eating a sandwich is right under this,” one said.

“She is Haaland’s chef. I saw him eating that same sandwich,” another claimed.

A third said, “That steak knocked Brazil out the World Cup and retired Neymar.”

Makhanbetzhan hasn’t confirmed what soccer player she works for, if any.

Does she really cook for Haaland?

Upon further scrutiny, the steak sandwich Haaland ate does not match the one in Makhanbetzhan’s post. Haaland ate his sandwich in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston is roughly 1,500 miles from LA, so unless the Makhanbetzhan flew the sandwich from her California-based kitchen, it’s unlikely she made it.

There are other clips of Haaland eating on the internet, but they, too, don’t exactly point toward Makhanbetzhan’s sandwich

Additionally, Haaland has posted multiple videos of him cooking his own meals on YouTube. While that doesn’t necessarily refute the idea that he has his own chef, most of the footballer’s day-to-day content doesn’t include any mention of a professional hand crafting his meals.

It’s possible Haaland’s team hired a professional chef in the United States during the World Cup. But Norway has only played in Miami, New York / New Jersey, Boston, and Dallas. Makhanbetzhan hasn’t posted any content outside of her home kitchen that indicates she’s traveled.

The mystery of whether Makhanbetzhan cooks for a World Cup player remains uncracked.

The Big Lead reached out to Makhanbetzhan via email and the Manchester City Press office for comment.