TikTok Stars Teach Followers Authentic Ethnic Food Preparation

August 7, 2023
Sally Smithwick
Trends

By Sally Smithwick, RDBA Contributing Editor 

In June talked about America’s growing interest in ethnic food options. Specifically, a study by Datassential shows the shift from Italian to Mexican and Chinese leading in top preferred ethnic food among Gen Z. As our ethnic population in the US continues to grow, so do the availability of multicultural food in our supermarkets, restaurants, and online.  

Since its beginning, TikTok has become a center for food culture, providing massive accessibility for fans and creators to exchange skills, creativity and entertainment around our cooking, eating, and food shopping interests. That trend includes multi-cultural TikTok chefs teaching authentic preparation of their traditional foods. What’s even better, the recipes more often than not require simple ingredients and have easy-to-follow steps. As a significant food trend, these collections of viral content tell a bigger story about what your shoppers could be learning from star chefs on TikTok and what they’ll be looking for in your store.  

Here are 5 ethnic TikTok chefs that are reaching followers through their own unique connection to food:

@saltycocina is Mexican-born Ana Regalado who now has 2.5 million followers since she started posting videos during the pandemic. Her top videos are for barrio tacos and flour tortillas. You can find videos on her profile for everything from salsa to ceviche or flan to horchata. Enchiladas are a crowd favorite, and she demonstrates different versions, but the common thread is how simple and easy her videos break down the preparation. This video gracefully addresses her Lazy Enchiladas. 

@thekoreanvegan is Joanne Lee Molinaro who takes a modern and emotional approach to her cooking videos by telling stories about childhood memories, her personal relationships, good days, bad days, and even her experience when she was invited to the White House. Molinaro has 3 million followers, and while she demonstrates preparation and cooking of vegan Korean dishes, she somehow makes you feel like you’re in the kitchen with her having a visit with a friend. In this video, she tells a touching story about her younger brother and his best friend from teenagers to adults while she makes Banquet Noodles. 

@theroamingchef is Dennis Ombachi an Olympic rugby athlete from Kenya that suffered a severe leg break that took him out of the game and left him struggling with depression. With 2.3 million followers, the self-taught cook now demonstrates an array of exotic dishes like Peanut Matoke and Beef Stew in a “rapid fire” style and declares “done” after each step. Ombachi has partnered with brands such as KFC and Carrefour to enhance and monetize his content. Fans love him not only for his recipes, but for his authenticity and openness about battling mental illness. In this 90 second video, he prepares Spicy, Ethiopian Tibs served over a bed of Injera. 

@seemagetsbaked is Seema Pankahania is an International TikTok food star that takes her fans across the globe experimenting with a variety of dishes, ingredients and flavors. In a special series, she is known for tackling 195 national dishes from around the world. Her top viewed video is a quick simple demo on how to make scissor cut pasta with just eggs and flour. Here she is with her 2 Ingredient Mango Lassi. 

@dimsimlim is Vincent Yeow Lim, dubbed in Australia’s “Wolf of Wok Street” is 28 years old and went viral during lockdown when it was difficult to ingredients from suppliers for his Chinese restaurant. He posted his “KFC Chicken Rice Hack” that has 23 million views, and in one night gained 150K followers which has now grown to 1.8 million. In this video, he demonstrates his “no money, honey chicken.”