TikTok is about more than body popping and cats doing stunts, as user B. Dylan Hollis shows with a range of vintage recipes!
His talent for digging out old — and theoretically tasty — treats to cook on camera has led to a rising social media profile.
So, what has Hollis rustled up for his army of followers to quite literally chew over?
Tuna Salad Jell-O
@bdylanhollis The ‘60s were wack: This almost ended me #fyp #vintage #aspic #jello
Encasing ingredients such as fish in Jell-O is a long-established thing, dating back to 1904. Hollis creates something in his kitchen that resembles a horror movie prop rather than a delicious dish. His reaction to the result says it all.
Tomato Soup Cake
@bdylanhollis Sometimes the impossible becomes possible #baking #vintage #cooking #1950s
A skeptical Hollis resurrects a recipe that looks to be the “classic” Tomato Soup Spice Cake issued by Campbell’s. Can it possibly work? Hollis finds out at record speed. He’s impressed with the results, but we’re not rushing to the grocery store to try it ourselves.
Porkbelly Fruitcake
@bdylanhollis I’ve been avoiding this one for too long #baking #vintage #cooking
Hollis travels back to 1915 to bake a substantial cake that blends meat and fruit. If his fast-paced presentation — somewhere between Peewee Herman and Captain America’s Chris Evans — tickles your fancy, then a more in-depth version can be found over at ifood TV.
Watergate Salad
@bdylanhollis Can anything be a salad in America? #baking #vintage #cooking #70s
Politics isn’t the first thing you think of with TikTok, but Hollis summons the spirit of Richard Nixon’s presidency with a Watergate Salad from 1976. Containing ingredients such as pineapple and something he calls “Fluffy Boys” (we’re pretty sure they’re marshmallows), the end product probably flouts a few calorie control laws.
Perfection Salad
@bdylanhollis Ah, the jello obsessions of yesteryear #baking #vintage #cooking #1960s
Another Jell-O-based creation, Perfection Salad is reportedly the inception point for wobbly yet savory meals. Hollis’s take comes from quite late in the game, 1961. A topping of mayonnaise is the crowning glory for this health-conscious hurl-inducer.
Frog-Eye Salad
@bdylanhollis American cuisine continues to puzzle me #vintage #cooking #baking #1960s
Getting its name from the pasta content, Frog-Eye Salad combines this with fruit and marshmallows. It’s somewhere between a main course and a dessert. Hollis mixes up a 1968 recipe and hopes for the best. His hopes were in vain.
Magic Ice Cream
@bdylanhollis Summertime, depression style #baking #vintage #cooking #icecream
Dating back to 1931 and the times of the Great Depression, this vintage pick-me-up features a more appropriate use for Jell-O. And Hollis shows rare appreciation for what comes out of his refrigerator.
The Boy from Bermuda turned TikTok sensation
Filming bite-sized chunks of old-school food fun is a recent development for Hollis. Lockdown partly led to his kitchen-centered antics.
“I was one of many who flocked to the app inspired by nothing other than boredom,” he told the Royal Gazette earlier this year.
Describing himself as “an admirer of all things yesteryear,” Hollis was born in the town of St. George’s, Bermuda. He aims to highlight his home turf and has reportedly gained the biggest ever following for a Bermudian on social media.
Vintage recipes and old-fashioned content are a surprising hit on social media
Hollis isn’t the only TikToker reminding the public of forgotten flavors. This month, Newsweek spoke to Shawna Jones (@shawnasideas) about her own delve into 20th-century culinary expertise.
She believes her videos appeal to both young and old. The former show interest in “understanding more about the era and the ‘grossout’ factor of the weirder foods,” while their elders like the “nostalgic quality of remembering how foods used to be.”
More from us: American Takeout: Classic Fast Food Chains That Bit The Dust
Audiences in 2021 have been alerted to a range of meals they never heard of before. Whether they’re grateful for these vintage taste sensations remains to be seen.