[LifeStyle] TikTok, the fastest way on earth to become a food star

[Mr.BaZzAr]

 

Newton Nguyen films a cooking video for TikTok at his home in Los Angeles. (Photo: The New York Times)
By Taylor Lorenz

Eitan Bernath, a 19-year-old TikTok star with more than 1.6 million followers, began posting cooking content to the platform in 2019. Like many Generation Z TikTok chefs, he taught himself to cook by watching YouTube and the Food Network. He would share the things he made to Instagram but never gained much traction.

Within 24 hours of posting his first TikTok, however, he had accrued tens of thousands of followers. Bernath, whose demeanour is bright, upbeat and approachable, began sharing short, easy-to-make recipes that other beginner cooks and his teenage peers could make at home. The videos took off.

“TikTok is the biggest thing that happened to me in my career, and honestly the reason why I am where I am today,” he said.

 Halle Burns films a TikTok in Alpharetta. (Photo: The New York Times)
In 2018, when TikTok was officially introduced in America — it was already enormously po[CENSORED]r elsewhere around the world — the app was synonymous with lip syncs and dance challenges. But food content exploded on the platform in early 2020, when millions of people were stuck at home during quarantine and cooking became a pastime. Videos with the hashtag #TikTokFood have collectively amassed 25.2 billion views, and the app regularly spawns viral food crazes, such as whipped coffee and a pasta dish with baked feta and tomatoes now known as the “TikTok pasta.” A video that shows you how to make a three-ingredient Oreo cake has gotten more than 42.1 million views.

TikTok has also birthed a new generation of cooking stars who didn’t put in years in a professional kitchen or at a glossy food magazine, and who are often showcasing recipes they find online rather than developing their own. They’ve become famous on the internet remarkably fast.

 “A lot of my recipes are from the internet,” said Nguyen. “I’ll find something on a friend’s Instagram story that looks interesting.” (Photo: The New York Times)
“The thing that makes TikTok outstanding compared to any other platform is the speed of scale,” said Eunice Shin, head of media and entertainment at Prophet, a growth strategy firm. “If something goes viral, you can go from zero to millions of followers in a matter of months. That’s really hard to do if you take a traditional trajectory.”

No one has seized on this opportunity faster than members of Gen Z.

“The trend we’re noticing is younger and younger talent making a name for themselves as a result of adopting the platform,” said Jad Dayeh, the head of digital media at Endeavor, a top talent agency.

Many Gen Z stars on FoodTok, as some call the food community on the app, wonder why anyone would pay their dues at a gruelling restaurant job when they could be building their own brand online. Others are leaving the restaurant business to pursue full-time careers as content creators. And several are monetizing through TikTok’s creator fund, which pays content creators based on how many views their videos get, and through advertising deals and sponsorships.

Creators on TikTok can earn anywhere from a few bucks to millions of dollars. TikTok star Addison Easterling, who produces lifestyle content, earned more than $5 million in 2020 alone, according to a Forbes report. Tabitha Brown, a vegan cook, has attracted more than 4.7 million followers on TikTok and will release her first book of inspiring personal stories in the fall. Christian Paul, an Atlanta-based baker with more than 1.3 million followers on TikTok, created his own line of chocolate bars.

 Eitan Bernath films a cooking video at his home. (Photo: The New York Times)
Some up-and-coming food creators say they’re already making six figures. Ultimately, what they want is to build their own businesses, whether by launching a cookware line, publishing a cookbook or opening a restaurant. What they don’t want is to work for someone else.

Many say their lack of conventional training is a key part of their success.

“If you look at the primary people in traditional food media,” Bernath said, “they’re all classically trained or restaurant chefs. They have a ton to offer and a great amount of culinary knowledge, but I think what TikTok has done with Gen Z and teaching people how to cook, it’s just more relatable. The feedback I hear all the time is, ‘If this 18-year-old Eitan can cook this so effortlessly, then I can, too.’”

Every platform pioneers a new type of viral food content. Facebook and BuzzFeed Tasty ushered in an era of easy-to-follow recipes prepared by a pair of disembodied hands. YouTube offered a home for more complex recipes and 20-minute cooking vlogs. Instagram brought camera-ready viral treats to the masses with photos of Cronuts and ramen burgers.

 Eitan Bernath, a 19-year-old TikTok star with more than 1.6 million followers, at his home in New York. (Photo: The New York Times)
If TikTok has a dominant food-video format, it’s a ca