Influencer Abby Rowse most certainly has a chance to win the judges’ (her family’s) approval. The “unemployed reality TV producer,” according to her TikTok bio, rose to fame on social media with her at-home cooking competition videos. The influencer “needed to add some drama to” her life, so she decided to cook dinner for her family like she was a contestant on Chopped. This means a time limit, presentation skills, and “new judges to impress.”
In the first video, Rowse frantically moves around the kitchen with her phone propped against a nearby object. She shifts from chopping chicken with a metal knife to cooking white rice on the stovetop. Every step is completed in front of the camera, with her family members appearing in the background. The 53-second clip uses cross-fading transitions to condense the cooking process. Throughout the competition, the audience anxiously watches to see whether Rowse will complete the dish in a timely and presentable manner. Despite her “sloppy” plating, Rowse “feels confident in the flavors.” But will her curry impress the judges? Brands like P.F. Chang’s and Instagram most certainly agree that she’s got what it takes. And so does the internet because the video accumulated 5 million likes, alongside her 110,000 followers.
She currently has eight different rounds of competition on her page, formatted similarly, cooking up everything from gluten-free banana pancakes to pesto pasta. And people are loving it. On one of the videos, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants commented, “10/10 for accuracy”; Tide Laundry wrote, “cinematic masterpiece”; and follower @mstoomanynames commented, “I literally love watching these. I watch every time.” She has also posted mockumentary-style interviews and the hilarious critiques of her family judges.
Now, this hasn’t quite become a widespread internet trend yet, but who says you can’t make it one? Here is exactly what you need to create your own at-home cooking competition:
First, you’ll need a fully equipped kitchen with the appliances needed to create your recipe. You cannot have a competition show without judges, so ask your parents, partner, or friends to score your meal. Who knows—they might even let you move on to the next round! Lastly, you will need a recipe or food item to cook. You can freehand it, or follow one of the endless guides you find online. Or even better, use the recipes Rowse has typed in her video captions. Just download the video onto your device or take a screenshot for easy access. If you need more inspiration before you compete, I suggest turning on the Food Network and watching Chopped or MasterChef on Fox.
Whether you post your competition to a platform like TikTok or not, I hope that you have as much fun as Rowse does with competitive cooking.