BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) -Traveling and trying different foods is a dream for many people, but for Cave City native Luke Collins, better known by TikTok as ‘lukefoods’, he turned his love of food into a full-time career.
“I worked at a sauce factory 36 hours, three days a week,” Collins said. “The four days I was off I wasn’t doing anything, and I wanted to do something, so I started doing food reviews. I got some hate for it, but I kept pushing. I kept trying to better myself and I kept trying to listen to the constructive criticism. Eventually, it worked out and I’m so happy it did. It’s such an awesome job.”
Before going down the foodie path, Collins said he was a picky eater. He wouldn’t eat mashed potatoes, fish, or any fruit or vegetables.
Becoming a content creator allowed him to branch away from his formerly selective pallet, try a variety of foods, and meet a lot of new people.
“It’s still weird. Almost every place I go to, especially in Kentucky, there’s at least someone that’s like ‘Are you the guy?’ They’ll walk up to the table and for some reason I love it,” he said.
An unexpected side-effect of Collins trying different restaurants has been the economic impact that has followed.
In 2023, Collins did a video trying Indian food for the first time at India Oven in Bowling Green. The video got over 2.3 million likes and brought an unexpected positive impact to the restaurant.
Most recently, Collins also created a video about a restaurant in his hometown called Cave City Creamery.
“When I went back to some of these spots like India Oven or Cave City Creamery, I just did that, it seems like it’s already doing great for the business. I could see myself doing a lot more local places. Hopefully, it works out,” he said.
In the Cave City Creamery video, Collins gave away $700 as a donation to help the restaurant with business expenses. He said he was shocked when the owner, Beth Greer, told him to give the money to her employees instead.
WBKO reached out to Cave City Creamery, who said they have seen more customers since the video was released and were very grateful for Collins’ kindness and generosity.
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