TikTok star babytamago cracks us upKatie Zukhovich on apologizing to beans, bringing her followers to Substack, and her secret weapon in the pantry
I watched hundreds, maybe even thousands, of videos before ever making a recipe I’d seen on TikTok. Initially captivated by pretty faces and the ASMR of cracking eggs or chopping veggies, eventually I wanted to actually cook something. Without detailed measurements and instructions, that proved difficult. Countless hopefuls are attempting to cook TikTok recipes every week and ending up with some approximate slop of a dish. As I infinite-scrolled through whirring blenders and perfect cheese pulls, one voice stood out to me. She was saying stuff like “Is it considered cheating if I make Detroit-style pizza as a New Yorker?” and “Every time a dip is involved, I get into a fight with this one friend…” These videos did more than share creative recipes; they built a world with wordplay and funny stories. She turned the ordinary act of making soup into “soup slay,” which, I am somewhat ashamed to admit, got me to make soup for the first time in a few months. When the soup was good, you could say my loyalty to her was consommé-ted. The voice behind “soup slay” is Katie Zukhovich of the sunday stack , or, as many know her, @babytamago. At Substack, I work with content creators who, like Katie, are looking to build a deeper, more direct connection with their followers. Below, she graciously pulls back the curtain on why she joined Substack, her best dinner-party trick, her favorite food creators, and something about Guy Fieri…
Hello, Katie, what’s your Substack about in one sentence?A very casual collection of all the recipes I develop, with a side of my inner monologue and, you know, some recommendations and things I’m really into at any given moment. You came to Substack after building an audience on TikTok. What compelled you to join Substack?I started my TikTok posting the aesthetics of food I was making. Then people started persistently asking where they could find the recipes. At the time, I was just eyeballing everything, so I would give really general estimations or ignore comments. Finally, I decided to actually start measuring ingredients and, I guess, “recipe developing” so I could have actual recipes to share. A website just felt too serious, like who did I think I was? But Substack seemed like the perfect medium for me—it kind of feels like I’m sending a love letter every time I write one.  IMO your secret sauce is that you’re a comedian. You hit on wordplay, physical comedy, and, dare I say, a particularly Gen Z type of humor. How do you bring that energy to Substack?So you think I’m funnnnnyyyyy! We’re just cooking, it’s not that serious! Unless you don’t use freshly cracked black pepper—then it is that serious. But really, I want my readers to feel comfortable, confident, and excited for the recipes. I often include any interesting or funny backstories behind a dish coming to life. Like, my last post was an apology to beans because I ragged on them forever but then I made a soup with them and kind of changed my mind. So yeah, we keep things pretty chill (and very opinionated) around here.
Speaking of opinions, what is your biggest ick when it comes to other content creators?Probably has to be lack of originality and crediting. No further comments lol. Your Substack really popped off when you posted your Everything But The Turkey recipe series this past November. Can you tell us how that played out?Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays—no kidding, it’s all about food. I started the “Everything But The Turkey” series on TikTok last year when my following was about half the size. So when Thanksgiving rolled around this year, I didn’t think anyone really remembered it … until I started getting a bunch of DMs asking, “When are you posting the series again??” I immediately started planning, because I am a woman of the people, after all. I ended up developing about 12 recipes—I don’t think I’ve ever cooked so much in my life. Instead of sending them out in individual newsletters, I batched them into a three-part menu so it was easy for people to come back to and have everything linked and listed together. That was also the first time I enabled chat on Substack, so I could be on call for questions, recipe help, emotional support, etc. The holidays are a stressful time, with so much pressure, so I wanted to make sure everyone following my recipes felt backed-up and confident!  @babytamagoReplying to @Zoey :) day 1 of everything but the turkey: potato leek au gratin 💅🏼 im not saying its better than mashed potatoes, but it never hurts to have two potato dishes on the thanksgiving table 😏 #everythingbuttheturkey #thanksgivingrecipes #friendsgivingideas #thanksgivingside #potatoaugratin You really engage with your audience on TikTok and Instagram, making use of polls and reposting your followers when they cook your recipes. What has it been like to build community on Substack?Feeding people (and then staring them down trying to gauge their reaction) is such an unmatched feeling for me. Unfortunately, I can’t do that virtually, so every time someone tags me in their re-creation, it’s like a nod of approval. I live in my DMs. I love when people send me pictures of their breakfast plates, or cool products they think I might like—I just feel so lucky. And I really wanted a way for my community to become community for each other. I mean, we all like the same things! So I started a group chat on Substack for all of us to share fun things we’re cooking, tips, new discoveries, and, most recently, Cookbook Club. We pick a book each month and then agree on a day to make something from it. We go around the circle, introduce ourselves, share our fave midnight snacks, and then send pictures of the process and final results. It makes me unexplainably happy and now I’m crying. I really wanted a way for my community to become community for each other. So I started a group chat on Substack for all of us to share fun things we’re cooking, tips, new discoveries, and, most recently, Cookbook Club. We pick a book each month and then agree on a day to make something from it. It makes me unexplainably happy and now I’m crying. Do you have any advice for short-form video content creators who want to start Substacks?Look, I’m no guru, but talk to your audience and ask what they want to see/hear from you! I don’t know, I think just have fun with it! It’s so corny, but if you don’t have fun with it, your readers can tell.
Let’s have some fun, then…What is your toxic trait as a cook?Oh my god, I’m a mess. Just stuff everywhere. I hate mise en place-ing because it’s just more dishes, but I know in the grand scheme of things it would help me be less messy. I also can’t stand anyone helping me in the kitchen. My boyfriend will offer to cook together as a cute date night at home, and it ends with my eye twitching as I watch him try to mince. I’m trying to get better with that. Fuck, Marry, Kill–Food Network star edition: Ina Garten, Guy Fieri, Emeril Lagasse.Kill Emeril. Marry Ina. Fuck Guy Fieri (for the plot, of course). What’s your (dinner) party trick?I always have cocktails and little snacks ready for when people arrive so they can leave me alone as I finish dinner. There’s nothing worse than having people just stand around with nothing to do or drink. I’m also thinking of getting a “do not disturb” sign for my apron so no one asks me if I need help—like, I swear I’m good, just enjoy!! Secret-weapon pantry staple?Brightland pizza oil. I literally don’t shut up about it. It came out last summer, and I’ve been hoarding bottles of it because I don’t know when it’s going to come back. I think they should change the name to Everything Oil because there’s nothing it doesn’t belong on. Everytime I use it, people can’t quite put their finger on why the food tastes so good. I toss olives in it. I finish pasta with it. I drizzle it on dips. I add it to my cottage cheese. It’s perfect. Underrated flavor combo?People always freak out over my bagel order, but it’s the perfect sweet and savory combo. Blueberry bagel, cream cheese, bacon, tomato. Try it. Thank youuu and goodnight! What are your current obsessions?Pecorino—I’ve just been nibbling at a block every night. Also, the sobacha (buckwheat tea) from Kettl; it’s genuinely the best tea I’ve ever had. Oh, and I just came off a very fierce shrimp cocktail obsession. Who are your creative inspirations, if anyone? Any fellow Substackers on that list?Oh, so many creators that inspire me, all for different things. @chuckischarles (Chuck Cruz), @haileecatalano for thinking up outside-the-box flavor combinations, @alanalavv for all things hosting (and IRL cookbook club queen), @chloecooks__ for her supper clubs and simply because I want to be her, @cabbages.world for the most insane Japanese meals, @verygooddrinks for super-unique cocktails, @justines.table when I wish I was in Italy! What are you manifesting this year?I really want to meet more of my fabulous community! The people in my Substack chat and Instagram are just so cool and funny and creative. I would love to have a big dinner party with everyone. Okay, I think I just created my manifestation for a big dinner party.
Subscribe to the sunday stack on Substack, and follow @babytamago on TikTok and @babytamagooo on Instagram. Subscribe to more new food voices on SubstackParis Starn offers step-by-step instructions for artfully constructed pastries in playing with food. Carmen Crow provides gardening tips alongside recipes from her bounty in Carmen in the Garden. Jenn Lueke delivers practical gluten-free, dairy-free meal plans with ingredients you can score at your local Trader Joe’s in the eat goood newsletter. Pierce Abernathy creates beautiful, vegetable-forward plates that sometimes tap into his Armenian heritage in Don't Skip The Dip!. Private-chef-turned-TikTok-star Meredith Hayden of Wishbone Kitchen gives us a peek into what she’s cooking, eating, and buying in the group chat. Are there any food content creators you’d love to see on Substack? Drop their handles in the comments!
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TikTok star babytamago cracks us up
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