Today, I am in Venice, Italy.
I spot Tramezzini and immediately smell the mouthwatering aroma of juicy porchetta and earthy black truffles wafting through the door. A hole-in-the-wall eatery boasting the “softest sandwiches in the world,” this unassuming Italian joint is known for serving tasty triangular bites stuffed with salty meats, rich cheeses, and everything in between. As I prepare to enter the shop, a petite blonde woman in her early thirties comes bounding towards me. With arms outstretched, she embraces me. “It’s so great to finally meet you!” she beams.
She leads me inside. A man with a thick brown mustache and even thicker English accent chats with the Venetian owner, Filipo. “Come visit this summer,” Filipo urges. “I’ll find you a place to stay!” The mustached man agrees and then meets my gaze. He pulls me into a cursory side hug. “Lovely to meet you,” he says.
Tramezzini is empty—except for the four of us and one lone cook. The reason is two-fold: 1) We are not actually in Venice; we are in Manhattan. 2) The blonde and the Brit are content creators; they are filming for TikTok.
Their names are Lauren and Simon Willis, but you might know them better as the Consuming Couple. With over eight million likes and 350 thousand followers on TikTok, the duo’s “Eating Around the World in 80 Days Without Leaving NYC” series skyrocketed their account’s popularity and changed their lives forever.
***
It started with a craving for hot wings.
The year was 2013 and Lauren and Simon’s relationship was getting serious. Lauren, a native New Yorker, had left Queens to be with Simon in Manchester. Both were fresh out of college and ready to live life to the fullest. Their favorite way to do so? Attend as many English festivals as humanly possible.
Glastonbury Festival was the crème de la crème. A five-day performing arts extravaganza in Somerset, the music event was easily England’s most renowned. Except something was missing. “I really wanted hot wings,” Lauren says with a laugh. “But no one was doing that!”
Thus, Lola’s Wings was born.
A food truck dedicated to serving ‘American-style’ chicken wings, the business quickly amassed a sizable social media following. Featuring photos of succulent drumsticks, special events, vehicular setup, and more, fans enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant on wheels. After the truck’s conception in 2014, Lauren and Simon tied the knot and spent the next four years blissfully serving chicken across the United Kingdom.
***
Before Lola’s Wings, Lauren was not an adventurous eater. However, that all changed when the couple began working events alongside other food vendors. “Basically at these events, you would just swap food with everyone; like if you’re next to a Thai truck or an Indian truck,” Lauren tells me. “That’s how we got into being like, ‘Wow this is so cool. I’ve never had this before.’”
The Willis’ love of trying new things became central to both their relationship and their careers. After selling the food truck and moving to Jackson Heights in 2018, they changed their Instagram name from “Lola’s Wings” to “Consuming Couple”—a name coined by Simon Willis himself.
“I just like alliteration,” Simon admits, “And with the ‘couple’ in there—that was part of the unique thing because we did everything together—it sort of just made sense.” A social account once dedicated to chicken wings became dedicated to something far bigger: the New York City food scene.
***
New York is one of the world’s most multicultural metropolises. Out of eight million residents, more than three million are immigrants. In the borough of Queens alone, there are more languages spoken than anywhere else in the world. You can transport yourself to Brazil, China, and Italy by simply switching neighborhoods. The city’s dynamic food scene is a direct reflection of its incomparable diversity; the Consuming Couple aimed to shed light on this.
When the coronavirus pandemic plagued the city in the spring of 2020, Lauren and Simon had a problem on their hands. For two years, they spent their time visiting eateries throughout the five boroughs and documenting their experiences.
Now, restaurants were closing their doors. Neighborhood favorites were offering takeout only. Food content became virtually impossible to capture. Even Lauren’s popular travel blog “NY to Anywhere” was forced into a hiatus. They were running out of options.
Six months later, Simon had a plan.
***
The series was called “Eating Around the World in 80 Days Without Leaving NYC.” “I thought of it pre-pandemic,” Simon reveals. “But there was never a right time.” His initial idea was to interview individuals from one of 80 countries while visiting an eatery exemplary of their nation’s cuisine. That way, he would be able to ask questions about authenticity, cooking methods, ingredients, etc.
However, the risk of COVID-19 rendered in-person interviews impractical, so Simon shifted gears. “Originally we talked about doing long-form,” he says. “And we just needed to decide when to do it…the pandemic was a perfect time.”
“I was like, ‘We may as well do this now,’” Lauren adds. “Because when are we going to have another chance of like six consecutive months?”
They posted their first video of the series on TikTok—long-form video’s polar opposite platform— and it was short, sweet, and to the point. But the research process was far more scrupulous than it seemed. “For this [series], we had to make sure we were getting it right,” Simon tells me.
***
The couple begins by selecting a country to focus on. From there, they scour the internet to see what has already been written about it. However, they have a bone to pick with the city’s restaurant coverage. “To be honest,” Simon begins, “Some of the food journalism in New York isn’t that good.”
“[Publications are] regurgitating ‘Top 10’ lists and they just end up getting passed around,” Lauren interjects. “Then you’re like, ‘Wait, I just saw that one restaurant on 10 lists. Does that mean it’s really good or does that mean people are just writing the same thing?’”
When the couple is unsure of an establishment’s authenticity, they occasionally turn to review sites like Yelp for guidance. If enough users from the country’s origin claim the cuisine is legit, it is usually a good sign. Then, they compare pictures from the restaurant’s menu to pictures of the country’s most popular dishes. After these preemptive measures, they head to the eatery, try the food, and film for TikTok.
***
Videos from the global challenge began going viral left and right. “A lot of people were messaging us saying that they were going to a lot of these places,” Simon says. “Some people were like, ‘I didn’t even know our country had a restaurant in New York!’”
As the series attracted a wider and wider audience, Lauren and Simon’s content got better and better. They were able to ask their followers for feedback, which led to more authentic selections.
But sometimes, the feedback is mixed.
***
Take country #65 for example. Located in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Bunna Cafe serves mixed platters of vegan Ethiopian cuisine for a sharable dining experience. All dishes are served with injera (Ethiopian sourdough flatbread) to sop up the saucy goodness. As a predominantly plant-based eater, I decided to check out Bunna for myself.
I started with a glass of Sheba Tej (ancient Ethiopian honey wine) and lentil sambusas. The wine was fragrant and smooth; the sambusas aromatic and flaky. For my entree, I asked the waitress for the five most popular items. “Do you like spicy?” she inquired. “I love spicy,” I replied. She grinned and nodded as she scribbled my surprise order into her notebook.
She returned with a plate of inguday tibs (sautéed mushrooms), shiro (chickpea stew), misir wot (spiced red lentils), duba wot (pumpkin stew), and key sir alicha (beets and potatoes). I devoured every morsel.
To my surprise, the Consuming Couple’s choice of Bunna Cafe to represent Ethiopia was met with an ambivalent comment section. But it was not because of the restaurant’s authenticity; it was because of the expense. “41 dollars for shiro?!? Wey gud,” one user replied. Another added, “They scammed you. Definitely not worth it.”
***
The duo admits their videos are not always perfect. There are times when they have to scrap ideas entirely. “Sometimes we pay for a meal and it just ends up not being what we wanted it to be…not being authentic,” Simon shares. “And we’re not going to post that. Because the point of the series is to share authentic cuisine.”
What they got wrong with country #65, they made up for with country #66: Haiti. Located in Cambria Heights, Queens, Good Taste was one popular recommendation from followers. Serving everything from rice and fried fish to plantains and macaroni au gratin, this buffet-style eatery has the Haitian stamp of approval.
“Some of you may not know this – but my father is Haitian,” writes Christina M. on Yelp. “I was not born in Haiti and have only had the pleasure of visiting once in my life. I eat Haitian food often. & If THIS spot is the representation of Haiti in food – THEY WIN!”
When the two foodies finally featured Good Taste in their global food challenge on TikTok, followers were ecstatic. “Loads of people then commented back and were like, ‘Yeah, that’s the best one, no doubt!’” Simon tells me.
***
Despite having covered nearly one hundred countries throughout their global food challenge, the Consuming Couple’s most successful video to date lies at the halfway point. Located in a concealed church basement in the East Village, Streecha is a modest Ukrainian restaurant offering everything from hearty borscht to savory varenyky. Garnering over three million views and nearly 550 thousand likes, country #51 was their first video to go mega-viral.
After uploading the recommendation in January 2021, Lauren and Simon’s comment section was flooded with positive responses. “Ukrainian food made in basements by church ladies always smacks,” one person commented. Another added, “heyyy i’m ukrainian and all the best places for ukrainian food are in church basements haha.”
Streecha’s smashing social media success was over a year ago. However, Lauren and Simon have noticed a new, concerning phenomenon: The recent war in Ukraine prompted countless food influencers to post about Ukrainian restaurants on TikTok as a means of activism. Simon thinks this is “self-righteous” and the epitome of “virtue signaling.” Lauren agrees.
“It’s like, ‘Okay, you’re eating at a Ukrainian restaurant in New York City, but how is that helping people?’” she wonders. “Unless they’re doing a fundraiser or giving back in some way…we just try to avoid that superficial ‘we’re giving back’ [content].”
This is one of the reasons they consider themselves “insiders,” not “influencers.” Having worked in food and hospitality for more than a decade, the duo has a leg up on most self-proclaimed foodies. From working in bars, hotels, and restaurants to running Lola’s Wings, the Willis’ know the industry inside and out.
“We’re not just people doing restaurant reviews who don’t have any credentials,” Lauren explains.
They also view their job as a learning experience, not as a mere method of producing viral videos or scoring free meals. They avoid trends at all costs. They pay for every dish they post. They refuse to provide ratings. “We’re just trying to eat food and enjoy it,” Simon says. “And learn a bit for ourselves and hopefully help other people learn.”
***
It’s been nearly a year and a half since the Consuming Couple began their global food challenge. Since then, they have “visited” 99 countries. Their goal is to hit all 195 formally recognized nations. However, they have encountered a slight issue.
“There are just some we cannot find,” Lauren admits. “We know of one or two, but they don’t look super authentic. So, we’re in that moment of trying to figure out how we keep doing it. But, we’re still featuring global eats.”
Simon interjects, “We haven’t stopped it…”
“…it’s paused!” Lauren concludes.
***
They have “been” to Italy before. Twice, in fact. And now that the global food challenge is on hold, they can finally explore its other regions.
After a quick chat with Filipo, Simon heads into Tramezzini’s kitchen to document the assembly of the world’s softest sandwiches. He captures iPhone footage of the chef slicing thin pieces of porchetta from a gargantuan slab of meat. He asks questions about the condiments being slathered onto fluffy white wedges of Venetian bread. He inquires about authenticity, ingredients, process, and quality. He covers all his bases.
Tramezzini has prepared three options for the Consuming Couple to try. First, there is a vegetarian sandwich containing caramelized squash, gorgonzola, black truffle, and chestnut honey. The second is the Weekly Mortadella Special, complete with mortadella (naturally), pistachio pesto, arugula, fresh mozzarella, and mayo. Finally, there is the Porchetta—Lauren and Simon’s personal favorite—consisting of roasted pork, pickled peppers, fresh mozzarella, and mayo.
Simon carries the sandwiches to a small table outside; Lauren gets her iPhone ready. She instructs him on how to hold each item and when to take a bite. She tells him how to spread the slices and when to lift them towards the camera. She is the director; he follows her every command. After 10 minutes of capturing content, they have the shots they need. We head inside to finish off the remains.
***
Despite working in hospitality since the early 2010s, “Eating Around the World Without Leaving New York City” taught Lauren and Simon more about the industry than they could have possibly imagined. “We both thought we knew a lot about food,” Simon says. “But there’s just so much more.” After years of extensive experience and months of intensive research, the Consuming Couple has developed a profound appreciation for the New York City food scene and everything it has to offer. “Trying these different cuisines makes you think about how cultures crossover,” Lauren concludes. “For me, it opened my eyes to where things come from and respecting that [food] can be multiple peoples.’”