‘I apologize for whatever it is I did’: People are obsessed with mom’s ‘aggressive’ food tutorials
TikTok is full of weird food tutorials—and unnecessarily sexy food tutorials. But aggressive food tutorials match the moment.
Jessica Secrest (@applesauceandadhd) has perfected the aggressive food tutorial, matter-of-factly listing off instructions and cooking in her "massive skillet." She often admits she's never made the dish she's about to cook, but she has the confidence to pull it off.
"It's fine" is the mantra in her videos.
Her video from Nov. 21 went viral after hitting X this week. It's a tutorial for "Aggressive TexMex Tatertot Casserole," which received more than 11 million views.
Secrest doesn't use a measuring cup in her recipes and tends to go on vibes instead.
"Of course it's good," she says at the end, displaying the Tater Tot casserole. "I made it."
Secrest is a mother, and these dishes are family meals. But they're also doable on a budget. Her aggressive teaching style sent some of the comment section back to childhood.
"Are - are you mad at me?" one person wrote.
"This is giving older sister energy," another said.
"I apologize for whatever it is I did," a third added.
@applesauceandadhd #aggressivetutorials #aggressivecookingshow #aggressivecookingtutorial #aggressivetatertotcasserole #aggressivetexmexcasserole #aggressivetacotatertotcasserole #aggressivecooking ♬ original sound - Jess | Neurodivergent Momtok
Once it hit X, however, the discourse around the video shifted a bit.
"This the kind of woman who runs the shanty towns and last remnants of civilization in post-apocalyptic stories," said @VyceVictus.
"My tutorials have not always been aggressive," Secrest tells the Daily Dot. "One night I saw a creator making an Uncrustable the wrong way and I jumped up and made the first aggressive tutorial."
@applesauceandadhd THIS is a tutorial #uncrustable #uncrustablemaker #howtomakeanuncrustable #agressivetutorial #agressive #latenightwithjess #latenighttutorial #diymickeymousesandwich ♬ original sound - Jess | Neurodivergent Momtok
She says after she made an aggressive sheet-folding TikTok by request, people kept asking for more aggressive videos for everyday things. She's also done tutorials for car visor repairs and stove cleaning.
In the Tater Tot video, she advises viewers not to pour seasoning over a hot pan because the heat can make it clump up.
While the food tutorials are her most popular content, Secrest, based in Michigan, says she originally started her account after her son was diagnosed with ADHD in January.
She intended to focus on "dietary changes" they had to make but started posting other content, as well. Some of her videos are about motherhood and body positivity, and, she says, "sharing my experience in the mundane so people feel less alone."
"Recently I was also diagnosed with ADHD, which I truly think is my superpower," she says. "I know just how long each clip should be to keep a viewer's attention and I tend to appeal to the neurodivergent community."
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