If you’re on the foodie aspect of TikTok, you have probably occur throughout a college or university scholar dressed in a fuzzy pink hoodie, earning dinner in her dorm place with nothing at all but a waffle maker or mini griddle. Right after a online video of her earning a grilled cheese sandwich in her dorm place introduced in more than 110 million sights and 13 million likes in 2022, Lynn Odhiambo (@africaqueenzz) launched her content creator vocation. Now that she’s graduated college from UNC Asheville, the 24-yr-previous with 1.8 million followers may be switching her content up a little bit, but she says she’s not leaving her mini appliances behind.

Alternatively of shifting to New York submit-higher education to get the job done a company task like she originally planned, Odhiambo is providing content creation her comprehensive concentrate. “I made the decision for a 12 months that I was heading to consider the influencer route, and I don’t regret the final decision,” she claims. And though she’s moved on from her dorm space and now lives in an apartment in North Carolina, the TikToker still likes to cook intricate recipes with simple equipment, like 1-pot seafood bakes with lobster and an entire breakfast with just a sandwich push. She’s even employed her single pot to fry up homemade samosas on the identical desk she wrote her thesis papers.

Her followers can also assume to see additional life-style films from the creator on their FYP. Now that the Kenya indigenous is heading to activities like VidCon in Los Angeles to satisfy other creators, she’s hoping to check out out journey material — in addition to dreaming up a lot more viral recipes, of course.

Underneath, the dorm area waffle maker chef reveals her recommendations for grocery purchasing at higher education eating halls, her most controversial recipe, and what a day in the existence of a material creator is actually like.

Elite Every day: What impressed you to start off sharing cooking films on TikTok?

Lynn Odhiambo: I was hungry and craving a grilled cheese sandwich all through exam week. I pulled out a single of my appliances, built a video clip, and uploaded it to TikTok. I experienced no notion that it was likely to get as huge as it did. I was actually astonished that individuals sat there for 3 minutes observing me make a grilled cheese.

ED: What was going through your head when it went viral?

LO: At the time, I had all my notifications off and my mobile phone was often on do not disturb. I just try to remember my buddy was texting me, “Did you see your TikTok?” When I received back to my dorm just after course, I saw I experienced around 10,000 likes. I was like, “There’s no way. I went viral for anything so stupid.” I was stunned. I was just seeing the movie more than and around again, observing the likes and followers go up.

ED: What built you decide to cook dinner in your dorm place rather of having in eating halls?

LO: The foodstuff was so negative, so if I experienced time on my arms, I would cook dinner. There had been excellent days, but most of the time, I would just get the food items from the salad bar and get it again to my dorm to prepare dinner it. I would even check with the kitchen area if they could give me onions and stuff on the facet.

ED: You bought your ingredients for your TikTok movies from the eating hall?

LO: Oh, yeah. People made use of to think it was humorous. You will find this just one cafe that only served pizzas, and if I failed to have any tomatoes for a marinara pasta, I would go down there and be like, “Can you set it in the Starbucks cup?” I would also get simple pasta and hen breast from the dining hall.

I’d go grocery searching in individual dining halls and uncover elements that would go together, and then carry them back again to my dorm place to prepare dinner.

ED: Did men and women commence to recognize you from TikTok?

LO: All the time. All through the winter season, I wore my pink sweater blanket just about everywhere, and people today understood the only man or woman on campus who had that matter was the female who cooks on TikTok. When I would use it to class, often people today would come up to me and check with, “Are you going to make anything at all nowadays? I am searching ahead to your movies,” or be like,“ Oh my gosh, you’re the female who cooks on TikTok?”

ED: Which is so humorous. Do you nevertheless get acknowledged?

LO: Yeah, incredibly. The recognition did lower a tiny bit, but I was in New York purchasing not too long ago and any person regarded me. I really feel like I went viral so promptly that the numbers under no circumstances actually hit me until men and women commenced recognizing who I was.

ED: What is your favored dorm space recipe that you’ve manufactured?

LO: A one particular-pot pasta. I obtained different ingredients from the eating corridor, included some marinara sauce, and I popped it all in there. It truly is a 20-moment dish, tops.

ED: What’s your most controversial recipe you have ever manufactured on TikTok?

LO: The video exactly where I manufactured beef on a mini griddle. The loathe it bought on Facebook was insane. Folks were declaring that I didn’t cook the Wagyu beef ideal. I am not going to lie, I imagined all meat was the similar, but persons were expressing that I grilled it for far too long, and that I shouldn’t have seasoned it. Some people today were being also offended that I was making use of chopsticks because I failed to have a tongs, and that was unsanitary. I was like, “I dwell in a dorm. I really do not know what you hope. I just needed meat.”

ED: Walk me by a regular day as a articles creator. Is there everything that you imagine that individuals would be amazed by?

LO: I sleep much more than I need to. I know you have noticed a good deal of content creators wake up at 5 a.m. and have a schedule or list of things they want to get completed in the course of the day. For me, most of my life is made up of resting. I make my content material at night when I am a lot more energetic. Soon after waking up, I brainstorm some content material that I want to make by likely by my comments segment and looking at what people want to see from me.

Then, I go to the grocery shop, invest in some components, arrive again, and experiment with how I’m likely to record. Immediately after recording, I help save it in my drafts, do the modifying, submit it or help save it for a further day, get my manufacturer offers done, get acceptance, and then relax. Often, I do all these issues in a day so that I have the full week to myself. All through the 7 days, I’m just calming and publishing from my drafts.

ED: What dorm essentials do you believe just about every higher education pupil ought to have if they want to be able to cook dinner in their home?

LO: A Keurig is undoubtedly practical if you want to make ramen and you never experience like boiling your h2o. It performs actually swiftly. I know some educational institutions are quite nitpicky on some appliances that you can have in your home, but an air fryer is also an critical if you can have one. For all the individuals inquiring me how I held the scent of food out of my room, I swear by air purifiers. They definitely do support out if you plan on cooking in your dorm.

ED: What ended up your beloved appliances to use for meals?

LO: The sandwich push is helpful. A good deal of people today were truly stunned that you can prepare dinner meat perfectly in it, as well as it also tends to make terrific sandwiches. Also, I want the waffle maker over the griddle for the reason that it functions so rapid. You can make waffle eggs, which is the greatest simply because it cooks it all the way by.

The griddle does make eggs so immediately, however, and I would cook meat on it to make quesadillas. The doughnut maker was also good, since you could get cinnamon rolls from Walmart, and pop them in there. Those 4 appliances are definitely quick and easy. You can throw nearly anything in there, and it will be cooked in two minutes or fewer.

Lynn Odhiambo’s Essentials For Cooking In Your Dorm Area

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.