Tik Tok will bring viral culinary creations to Kitchn fans

TikTok has partnered with Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) to launch TikTok Kitchen, a delivery-only service that creates some of the trendiest recipes on the app, first reported by Bloomberg. TikTok and VDC will reportedly open about 300 locations across the US, but there are plans to expand that to around 1,000 by the end of 2022.

TikTok Kitchen will operate from existing restaurants, including chains owned by VDC co-founder Robert Earl such as Buca Di Beppo and Bertucci. It's essentially a haunted kitchen service, but unlike some companies in this space, VDC's kitchen isn't operated from a satellite, trailer-transformed kitchen in the parking lot. TikTok Kitchen will utilize a restaurant's existing kitchens and staff, but will provide training, food packaging and TikTok-sourced recipes, as detailed in the VDC's service notes.

To keep things fresh, the menu will rotate quarterly, noting how quickly viral content comes and goes across platforms. Bloomberg says the menu will initially feature the viral Baked Feta Pasta — which was apparently the most-searched recipe on Google in 2021 — with air-fried strips of corn called Corn Ribs, crunchy, cheese-covered pasta chips. also known as. Break out the burger. According to the press release, the creators who inspired the recipes on the menu will receive a portion of the proceeds.

"The makers will get credit for dishes within the menu and featured prominently during promotions," TikTok spokeswoman Elena Saavedra said in a statement to The Verge. "To be clear, this is a campaign to bring TikTok food items to fans, not a venture into the restaurant business."

VDC has already seen success with MrBeast Burgers, a virtual kitchen first launched in late 2020 by ultra-popular YouTuber, MrBeast. Bloomberg notes that MisterBeast sold a million burgers in just three months, and now has 1,500 kitchens full-time. US, Canada and UK.