This food critic with 16.3 million TikTok followers may be planning a trip to Baton Rouge (2024)

With 16.3 million followers on TikTok, Keith Lee is a food critic phenomenon. Soon enough, he might be making a visit to Baton Rouge.

In a TikTok "Life Update" video, he says, "The next food tour will be announced very soon. Right now on our list is Memphis, Baton Rouge or Seattle. One of those. We'll see you soon."

Maameefua Koomson, a local foodie, shared Lee's video on Instagram and offered a list of recommendations for a possible visit, including Veganish Vives, Roul's Deli, Boudin Shack, Swagat Indian Cuisine, Smoke Bayou, Boru Ramen and more. She also encouraged people to comment other local businesses for Lee to try.

The MMA-fighter-turned-food-critic often visits businesses and creates reviews in his car. He precisely rates each dish out of 10 — a 9.2 out of 10 for a bowl of ramen, a 5.5 for lemon pepper wings from a food truck in Arizona. He also comments on an establishment's customer service.

This year, Lee wason Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the Food and Drink category.

"For the past year, Keith Lee's viral food reviews have helped hundreds of local restaurants around the country increase sales and social media fame," the Forbes website states. "The former professional fighter only takes money and brand deals from 'big brands' that can afford it, he says, like Chipotle, Pepsi and Hyundai."

Lee's videos garner millions of views, and a positive review can change the trajectory of a business. Last year, he conducted a food tour in New Orleans and visited Palace Cafe, Monday Restaurant and Bar, B Sweet Bistro, Kajunlicious Food Therapy, AJ's Jazzy Grill, Sweet Thangs NOLA, Stamp Dat Soul and Seafood, Triangle Deli, Baby's Snack Box and the Four Seasons.

Monday Restaurant and Bar's follower count on TikTok before Lee visited was 875. After, it increased to 14,000. For Kajunlicious, the wait time skyrocketed to up to five hours after Lee posted his review.

Lee often relies on community members to tell him where to go, and he never directly places an order. He always has someone incognito order for him so they receive authentic customer service.

"If Keith Lee came to BR and tried our cookie I might actually lose my mind," Counterspace owner Sarah Joy Hays shared on an Instagram story.

Hays is a loyal follower of Lee on TikTok and says that his system of rating food is always authentic with the goal to elevate small business owners.

"At the end of the day, he gives all glory to God and his goal is to elevate places that maybe just don't have the marketing budget or don't have the bandwidth to make themselves known," Hays said, "and that really resonates with me a lot."

Hays decided to "shoot her shot" and messaged Lee on Instagram.

"If he came and said that a cookie from Counterspace was one of the best cookies he's ever had — and it gave us the opportunity to sell more of that and create some depth of resources— I could give my staff raises or maybe take a break that didn't make me feel guilty," Hays said. "That's what goes unseen a lot in the small business side. You always see small business owners because we can't ever not be working."