If the pandemic had never happened, Ali Z. might never have joined TikTok.
But by the time the short, dark January days arrived, she was getting restless. Nearly a year into quarantine, her go-to hobbies—cooking, baking, and playing video games—felt lonely. In particular, she missed cooking for friends and family. “It's not quite as fun if you're just doing it on your own,” Ali told me in a recent phone call.
In the midst of this reflection, Ali realized her favorite video games involved aspects of cooking. Her favorite, Stardew Valley, includes 74 recipes and even its own in-game cooking show, The Queen of Sauce. On a whim, Ali scoured TikTok in search of accounts that replicated the game’s creative menus in real ingredients. To her surprise, nothing turned up—so Ali decided to become the Queen herself, using the platform to find community online.
As @thaqueenofsauce, Ali’s first post featured a tried-and-true classic: her family’s recipe for chocolate chip cookies. She spent about a week planning, filming, and editing the video in iMovie, gradually tweaking it until it felt complete. The clip featured what would become hallmarks of her style: Quick close-ups that explain each recipe’s steps, overlays of the game’s colorful pixel art, and a laid-back narration. “Sick of finding your chocolate chip cookies in the trash?” she asked, pairing the audio with a game clip of her Stardew Valley avatar rattling a trash can (a strategy for knocking loose the occasional item). “This recipe can help.”
