The internet’s toughest food critic loves Philly cheesesteaks

Few content creators have turned food criticism into entertainment quite like @ChefReactions.

Instead of cooking on camera, the chef dissects viral recipe videos with professional-kitchen know-how, dry sarcasm, and the occasional compliment. His split-screen reactions have attracted more than 6 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube over the last four years.

This week, ChefReactions brought his famously deadpan commentary to Philadelphia, where Major League Baseball enlisted him to judge a cheesesteak competition during All-Star festivities.

ChefReactions joined chef Michael Solomonov, former Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer, and fellow TikTok stars Dylan Reese of @shelbanddyl and chef Olivia Tiedemann of @livforpasta in awarding top honors to Kosuke Chujo, co-owner of Nihonbashi Philly in Tokyo, whose cheesesteaks have earned acclaim from Inquirer critic Craig LaBan.

Chujo’s prize: a cheesesteak-shaped Victus bat.

ChefReactions, who started making videos during his work breaks as a way to blow off steam, guards his real name about as closely as Coca-Cola guards its formula.

But he was game to answer a few questions about his obsession with baseball, his impressions of Philadelphia’s food scene, and whether he felt any pressure critiquing one of the city’s most iconic foods.

I liked baseball as a kid but it was never really my thing. As an adult, I worked in kitchens, mostly between the hours of 12 p.m. and whatever o’clock a.m. Midday double headers meant something different in my world. Fast-forward to me making videos on the internet, leaving the restaurants and caring for my grandma full-time and actually having some free time to figure out what I like that wasn’t in a restaurant.

A year ago, I was on a plane to Iowa to shoot some content and I randomly decided to watch a baseball documentary on Netflix. Then another. When I got to my hotel room? Field of Dreams.

During that trip, I met someone who had the literal Field of Dreams built in their backyard. It was serendipitous. I had also quit smoking cigs six months prior, so maybe I was looking for a new addiction.

A year later, I’ve been to six ballparks (itching to see more), watched Ken Burns’ Baseball four times (not exaggerating), and consume baseball every day. It’s a big part of what little personality I have. I truly love it.

The people, and the food.

People that watch my videos online and meet me in public are usually very nice because they (typically) like my videos. I’m very lucky for that, and it wasn’t any different in Philly.

What stood out to me was that it wasn’t just the people that recognized me as that guy from the internet [who were nice] — everyone was friendly, pleasantly sarcastic, and funny, and very proud of their city.

It was cool to experience as a guest.

The food is made with the same pride, and it shows through the flavors and vibrancy of the food culture. Everyone talks about cheesesteaks (which are fantastic, obviously) but Philly has a diverse and underrated food scene that I can’t wait to explore more of when I come back.

I think the goal of MLB’s Cheesesteak Challenge was to allow creators to pay homage to the icon that is the cheesesteak by having some fun and cooking their interpretation of a Philly classic. To that end, I think they all did a great job of showcasing their food and their personalities. Cooking competitions are hard work. The judges had it easy. We just had to eat.

I’ve gotten the impression that, in Philly, honesty earns you respect, and I’m very much the same way. I call it like I see it, and so does Philly.

Also, what’s there to criticize about a cheesesteak?

It’s got beef, cheese, bread and, in my case (wit) onions. It’s perfect. 10/10. I kinda want one right now.