The Covid crisis forced many restaurants to close, leading some chefs to turn to TikTok to reinvent their careers. Thara Moise, a 29-year-old chef from Philadelphia, used the platform to relaunch as a private caterer after being furloughed. Her account @chefmoise_ now has over 558,000 followers and 13 million likes.
Ms Moise says she left the restaurant world due to sexism, describing the misogyny as 'crazy'. She now does 12 to 14 private catering gigs per month, earning about $100 every four weeks from TikTok's creator fund. 'I couldn't believe I reached 500,000 followers as fast as I did,' she said.
Similarly, Los Angeles chef Brandon Skier, 29, quit fine dining during the pandemic and now has 1.9 million followers on @sad_papi. He said the industry's long hours and low pay were 'not normal'. 'I drank the restaurant Kool-Aid... but the further I stepped back, the more I realised,' he said. He now earns more from TikTok, social media ads and product placement deals.
Young chef Karen Rosenbloom, 21, has worked in seven professional kitchens. She uses TikTok to promote her private chef work, with 124,000 followers on @karens_cooking. One video of a posh cheese and ham sandwich went viral with 4.5 million views. 'The restaurant industry is very male-dominated,' she said, adding that TikTok helped her document her life as a private chef.
All three chefs highlight the freedom and satisfaction of working independently, though hours remain long. 'The pandemic opened a lot of doors,' Mr Skier said. 'There are other ways to cook and make money that don't involve being in a restaurant.'
