“I told some people at church, I says, ‘You wouldn’t believe it. God has plans, and His plan and my plan is completely different,’” Rudy Neish tells TODAY.com on a sunny Friday. The 77-year-old lives in a Virginia town with a population just above 10,000. “I said, ‘You wouldn’t believe it, I’m doing cooking shows now,’” he says. “They go, ‘Yeah, right, sure.’” He’s sitting in the kitchen of his 38-year-old neighbor Tyler Butterworth, whose family farm has two houses for his family and his parents, as well as a barn, stables and a newly built content studio space. “I’ve always thought Rudy’s a good person, and I’ve always wanted to be able to help Rudy in any way I can, for him and his family,” Butterworth tells TODAY.com. They’ve known each other for a decade and, over the years, helped the other with farmwork, paperwork and, now, at Neish’s request, cooking. “We ran into each other at the little shopping center and I was telling Tyler that I’m just tired of popping this processed food in the microwave for my wife,” Neish says. “I wish I knew how to cook better, give her better meals.” “That’s how the conversation went, and it was just as simple as Tyler says, ‘Well, I love to cook, won’t you let me teach you to cook and we’ll film it.’” Neish says his wife, Linda, handled the cooking until her health declined. They’ve been married for 26 years. “She has dementia, and she’s had both hips replaced,” Neish says. “I’m a full-time caregiver now, as opposed to being a farmer. I’m kind of a part-time, sometimes farmer, so my full-time job really is taking care of her.” Butterworth is already well-known on social media; he racks up millions of views for his humorous videos on life with a wife and kids, as a farmer, in military and law enforcement. He has more than 5 million followers across platforms. “He’s a go-getter,” Neish says. Butterworth first posted about his neighbor’s request in late February. “My 77-year-old neighbor asked me to attend a cooking class with him, which I just got out of. I’m now at Walmart buying an Instant Pot to teach him how to use it,” he said in the video. “I hope you’ll stay with me on this journey.” The first cooking video, in which they made chili, was a hit with viewers, who sent words of encouragement. One wrote, “Please protect Rudy at all costs. He’s everything we need right now!” Another said, “We are seated 🪑. We are prepared to love Rudy. Please continue.” “Normally, I try to do it so that it’s as easy as possible and it’s not to insult Rudy’s or anybody’s intelligence, but it’s the ease of use in making it,” Butterworth says, adding that he made Rudy a binder with all his recipes. He also shares them in the captions. “Me and potatoes have gone way back,” Neish joked while making chicken potpie soup, which Butterworth filmed in a longer format for YouTube. His studio may be where they film future lessons. Butterworth has taught Neish to make quite a few dishes now, including marinated pork tenderloin, kale salad and peri-peri chicken. “As I learned to cook better meals, more nutritious ones, my wife is doing better as a result,” Neish says, but he’s shocked to learn he’s made fans through this endeavor. “One thing that amazes me is the amount of people that are on a phone and watch this stuff,” Neish says. “On one video, people were asking me my opinion on things, and I’m going, ‘I don’t know about that.’” Outside, Butterworth snacks on a leaf of lettuce while making a face like Garfield with lasagna. He points out snap peas grown for his daughter to sneak off the vine, and potatoes and kale to use in future “Cooking with Rudy” videos. “I’m sure we will do a lot with vegetables because of getting stuff out of our gardens,” Neish says. Butterworth adds, “Rudy and I are going to continue to be friends and continue to help each other.” This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: 9 anti-inflammatory fruits to boost health with antioxidants and fiber 11 nutrient-dense foods you should eat instead of taking supplements, according to a dietitian Do any supplements actually boost fertility? This 1 might be worth trying, expert says This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less