A Chef’s Pride
Seeing as the coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced people to remain socially distanced from others, many high school students have found new hobbies to occupy themselves with from their own homes. Among them, senior Alexis Ferguson has encountered success through posting videos on TikTok of her cooking and recreating meals from various restaurants. TikTok is a video-sharing app that allows creators to make 15-60 second videos on any subject. She currently has about 38,600 followers and 1.5 million likes on her account, @culinaryjourneybyalexis. Ferguson’s love for cooking began prior to her newfound fame when she took a cooking class in Italy at 10 years old.
“My perspective on food changed when I took the class, and ever since then, I have just been cooking,” Ferguson said. “I love to experiment with food and try out different flavor profiles and [other food] combinations.”
As she grew older, Ferguson continued to cook for her family and friends, who love to eat the foods she makes. Julia Kate Bradley, a senior and friend of Ferguson’s, has experienced Ferguson’s talent in the kitchen firsthand.
“I always get to taste test her food and she teaches me [delicious] recipes,” Bradley said. “I try some of the recipes she posts on my own, but I mostly end up eating the food she makes. Her food always turns out a lot better too.”
On March 19, Ferguson posted her first video to TikTok. At first, she was only creating cooking and baking videos for fun and did not expect her account to get so much attention. She posted about 15 videos before her account went viral, with a cooking video reaching 1.3 million views and 261,800 likes as of Oct. 2. The most popular videos on her account are her videos about Chick-Fil-A. In these, she recreates a variety of their most popular menu items, including their drinks, main meals and desserts. Although Chick-Fil-A is a mainstream fast food chain, Ferguson does not support them because the company donates to anti-LGBTQ+ groups. In total, she has 17 videos of her recreating their food, including their Chick-Fil-A sauce, chicken strips and frozen lemonade. By making these videos, Ferguson shows her audience an alternative to supporting and buying Chick-Fil-A products.
“When I found out [that they do not support the LGBTQ+ community], I was really sad because I think Chick-Fil-A is one of the better-tasting fast food restaurants,” Ferguson said. “[It] was sad to hear that such a popular company was doing this.”
Not only does Ferguson post these recipes to explore her love of cooking, but she also posts these videos to raise awareness for social injustices this includes educating her audience on Chick-Fil-A’s donations to anti-LGBTQ+ groups and their support of conversion therapy. She strongly believes in equality among people, which is why she voices her opinions in her videos.
Although she sometimes receives comments claiming that she is spreading false information, Ferguson stands by her beliefs and continues to create videos about the topic. To further emphasize her viewpoints, she posted a separate video to tell her followers that equality among people is more important than chicken strips. Despite some negative responses from the internet, all of Ferguson’s friends and family support her for upholding her beliefs. Melina Durre, senior and friend of Ferguson’s, is extremely proud of Ferguson for all of her accomplishments.
“I am extremely happy for her,” Durre said. “I have seen her passion for cooking grow over the years, and watching her utilize that important [aspect] of her life in a way that reaches so many [different] people is definitely such a rewarding experience for me.”
Along with addressing the need for equality to everybody in the LGBTQ+ community, Ferguson is also bringing attention to other situations happening around the world currently, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. In the future, Ferguson hopes to continue using her platform to inspire others to cook the meals she prepares and to spread awareness of important issues.
