Oobah Butler facts for kids

Oobah Butler is an English author and filmmaker. He is known for creating a fake restaurant called The Shed at Dulwich in 2017. This restaurant became the top-rated place in London on TripAdvisor, even though it never served any real food!

In 2019, Oobah released his first book, How to Trick Your Way To Number 1. It became a bestseller. Later, in 2021, he started co-hosting Catfish UK, a TV show about online hoaxes. In 2023, he released a documentary called The Great Amazon Heist on Channel 4.

Oobah's Career Journey

Oobah Butler started writing for Vice Magazine in 2015. He wrote an article about trying to be a better door-to-door salesman. For the next two years, he wrote many articles for Vice. He also began making short films that were shared online.

The Shed at Dulwich: A Fake Restaurant

In 2017, Oobah had a clever idea. He had previously been paid to write fake good reviews for restaurants on TripAdvisor. This made him wonder if he could get a fake restaurant listed as real on the website.

He created a website for his imaginary restaurant, The Shed at Dulwich. He even made fake food photos using things like shaving foam and dishwasher tablets! After buying a phone for the "restaurant," it was officially listed on TripAdvisor.

For six months, Oobah asked his friends to post fake reviews. His goal was to make The Shed the highest-rated restaurant in London. There were 18,149 restaurants on TripAdvisor's list!

On November 1, 2017, The Shed became the number one restaurant in London. Later that month, it opened for one night. Ten guests were served simple microwave meals, which were free. The meals were based on different "moods."

Oobah wrote an article and made a documentary about his experiment. It was called How to Become TripAdvisor’s #1 Fake Restaurant. The story became very popular online. Vice says the video has been watched over 100 million times worldwide.

Oobah became very famous because of the story. He appeared on TV shows around the world. People had different reactions. Some countries even used his story to think about new laws against fake news.

Oobah realized that people were more interested in his story than in him personally. He said, "It's not really me being interviewed." So, he started sending other people who looked like him to do interviews instead!

He successfully sent lookalikes to interviews in Australia, India, Bulgaria, and on BBC Radio 2.

Films and TV Shows

Oobah documented his fake restaurant project in a video for Vice Magazine's YouTube channel. He also made a short video about sending his lookalikes to interviews.

In 2018, Oobah released a short film. It was called How I Faked My Way to The Top of Paris Fashion Week. In this film, he pretended to be a fake fashion designer named “Georgio Peviani.” The film was very popular, getting over 30 million views. It was also shown at the LA Fashion Film Festival.

In 2021, Oobah became a host for the UK version of MTV's Catfish: The TV Show. He hosted alongside Julie Adenuga. In 2022, a second series of Catfish UK was announced. YouTube star Nella Rose joined Oobah as the new co-host.

In October 2023, Oobah released a new documentary on Channel 4. It was called The Great Amazon Heist. The film was about the company Amazon. In the documentary, Oobah secretly worked at an Amazon warehouse in England. The documentary received good reviews from critics.

Oobah's Book

In 2018, Oobah announced his first book, How to Trick Your Way To Number 1. When the book was released, Oobah explained that it was about helping people to be less afraid. The book became a bestseller in the US. It reached number one on a US book chart and was a top seller for the Los Angeles Times.

Awards and Recognition

Oobah Butler has received several awards for his creative work. In 2018, he won three awards:

• Best Content Idea 2018 from the British Society of Magazine Editors.
• Video Project of the Year from the British Media Awards.
• Content Creator of the Year 2018 from the DRUM Agency. He even sent a stand-in to accept this last award, and no one noticed!

In 2019, Oobah also received a Webby Award. He used artificial intelligence (AI) to write his acceptance speech for the ceremony. In July 2023, he won Best Male Personality at the National Reality TV Awards (NRTAs) for his work on Catfish UK.