New Orleans is one of the country’s most food-centric cities, that’s why a panel featuring social media’s preeminent food critic Keith Lee, 28, made perfect sense.
The former MMA fighter loves New Orleans as much as ESSENCE and helped bring back Kajunlicious—a mom and pop eatery that had to close down because of a positive review from Lee and the massive foot traffic that they were receiving. According to Lee, they’re reopening this weekend.
ESSENCE Senior Editor Kimberly Wilson called Lee one of “the most trusted voices in food.”
“I’m honored to be here. It means the world to be here, more than y’all will ever know,” Lee said to a crowd of applause.
Lee’s energy is the same. But there’s something different—someone is missing. His wife, who is also 28, isn’t at ESSENCE Fest. She’s “big and pregnant” as he said, with their third child. He jokingly recalled, someone told him, “You need to get up off her.”
The audience laughed. Lee did too.
Lee and his wife share two children—ages two and four.
“My kids have been with me from the very jump,” Lee said.
The critic created an infrastructure through his career that includes traveling with his wife and kids so that they’re always present. This includes his food tours.
When Wilson asked him how he grapples with the responsibility of his platform, having 17 million followers on TikTok, he said, “It’s not me, it’s God!” “I’m just eating food.”
Staying grounded is important for Lee, who attributes a great deal of his reality to “having the people closest to you at all times.”
That, and not worrying about the little things. By now, Lee’s style of review has inspired others in social media. But when Wilson asked if he was bothered, Lee said no.
“It is enough money for everybody to make. I don’t know who I’m talking to out here, but can’t nothing stop what’s meant for you. I don’t never mind. I’m honored man.
Still, if there’s an apology that needs to be made—at least for bad food—Atlanta is at the top of that list.
“I wouldn’t go back if the goal was to eat food,” Lee jokingly said. “When I want to eat, I got back to the room.”
Lee who had been previously profiled in ESSENCE, touched on mental health and talked about it again on Saturday.
“I’ve always had social anxiety and dealt with depression,” he said. But then speaking to Black men, especially he said, “if you deal with depression, God got you. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”
The critic said that when he shies away from it, it doesn’t get any better, but when he owns it, it doesn’t have any power over him. “I still battle with it today,” he said.
Lee partially credits his ability to cope with his followers, “Y’all don’t know how much y’all help me,” adding, “I am stronger than I think I am.”
The critic teased a potential restaurant of his own but wouldn’t provide details. For now, you’ll have to follow him on TikTok.