EDMONTON -- An 86-year-old Edmonton man has turned his passion for cooking into a hit series online, thanks to two of his grandsons.

Mariano Trivelin's YouTube and Facebook show features him making Italian dishes from scratch and has been viewed over a quarter million times.

“I love cooking," says Trivelin. ”I don’t cook because I have to eat, I cook because I like it.”

Trivelin, who worked in construction most of his life, has been cooking for his family for over 50 years. It was those family meals that cooked up the idea for the online show called Mariano's Cooking.

“We’ve grown up eating this stuff. If you come here, you never go home hungry," says his grandson Stephen Komarnicki, whose company Capital Fine Meats sponsors the segments.

Another one of Mariano’s grandsons, Alexander Trivellin (who spells his last name differently), shoots and edits each episode.

“The goal of the show when we’re making it, is just to really let the viewer feel that they’re in Mariano’s home for lunch or dinner or whatever it may be,"  says Trivellin.

There are 22 episodes recorded showcasing Mariano’s homemade Italian recipes, with many ingredients grown in his own garden.

“I like my own food because I know, I know what I put in there," he says.

Mariano also mixes some colourful stories and unique approaches to preparing dishes ranging from lasagna to gnocchi to even wonton soup.

“I never say I’m a good cook I say I cook a little bit different than the others,” says Mariano.

The show is becoming so popular they’ve started to sell hats, aprons and soon cookbooks, with money going to support the Capital Care Foundation.

“I didn’t think that was ever in the cards, but it’s definitely very cool,” says Komarnicki.

Mariano, who likes to drink a glass of homemade wine while he cooks, thinks it’s cool that so many people are learning the recipes taught to him by his mother in Italy. And he hopes to keep featuring the dishes he knows how to make, for as long as he can.

“Until I can’t walk, until I can’t stand, I cook because I love to cook.”