‘Dine With Kent,’ a 62-Year-Old Food Reviewer, Is TikTok’s Favorite ‘Old White Guy’

Kent Burris trying Jamaican food on his popular social media account “Dine With Kent.”@dine.with.kent via TIkTok

A 62-year-old Texas dad has become one of TikTok’s most beloved food reviewers.

“I’ve always been kind of an adventurous eater, not in a cultural way,” Kent Burris, who goes by the moniker “Dine With Kent” on Instagram and TikTok, tells TODAY.com.

“I’ve always just been curious about little dive restaurants, and I had no idea who I was even reaching out to at the time, but I’m glad I did, because it’s inspired a lot of people.”

Burris has become an unlikely internet celebrity by filming himself trying out cuisines for the first time. It’s a simple premise that has garnered him over a million followers and hundreds of millions of views across platforms.

His very first TikTok, on Dec. 14, 2024, was about where to get boudin in Louisiana.

“What got me really to download the app was my daughter (Shelby) sending me videos,” Burris says, adding that she’s always been a food lover. “I had to download TikTok to open them, and then I quickly learned that TikTok was very user-friendly.”

“I’ve never been really culturally curious about anything, but for some reason, I decided to walk in and have lunch instead of going to the Mexican joint,” Burris says. “It was just a very interesting experience for me. I was out of place. I was a fish out of water.”

Burris, confused about what to order, expressed genuine curiosity about the food. In the video, he was surprised at one of the restaurant’s ingredients: cow skin, also known as ponmo, kanda or kpomo, which is boiled until soft and used in stews and soups. While he asked for his beef “without the skin,” he said the chicken drumsticks looked good.

In the end, Burris didn’t love the dishes he chose, ending his video by saying, “Not for me.”

While viewers connected with his respectful curiosity and gave the video nearly 2 million views, they urged Burris to go deeper.

“Africa is [a] continent with 54 countries,” one commented. “You still have 53 to go. That one experience doesn’t count against us lol.”

Rather than shy away from Nigerian cuisine, Burris decided to try the very same restaurant again on June 14, 2025. After he learned about Nigeria’s stews from the eatery’s owner, like ofada and egusi, he tried chicken dishes with red sauce. Turns out, he loved them.

“That changed my direction and my curiosity about different cultures and cuisines,” Burris says. “That really got me wondering, ‘Well, what other cultures are out there? What are the Asian ones like? What’s East Africa like? South Africa and the Latin countries?'”

“This white boy is going Jamaican tonight,” Burris said in a video where he tries Jamaican food for the first time. Turns out, he’s a huge fan of oxtail — and the restaurant owners’ suggestions. He asked staff what he should get, which has become his signature move.

“I’ll have it, however you think I should have it,” he says, concluding the video, “Absolutely for me.”

Burris says his openness to trying new cuisines is refreshing for his viewers.

“Look, I know the tendency to keep it safe, since I’m an old white guy, right?” he says. “I tell them, I don’t want you to play it safe with me. I want to know what I would eat if I was sitting in your country.”

Those in Burris’ comments sections are totally on board with his trajectory.

“THIS is the America I love. We are all enjoying each other’s culture and having a good time. keep at it Kent!” wrote one viewer.

“This is my dad y’all,” she wrote. “I am so proud of him for branching out!!! I kept telling him how GOOD african food is. Let’s get him to try my other favorite!!!… Indian food.”

Over the past year, Burris, who still works full-time in highway construction, has been on the road and dining out regularly. He says his job gives him the opportunity to sample cuisines he never thought he’d be able to, like Salvadoran, Bosnian, Persian, Nepali and Uyghur.

“I’ve recently gotten into the Persian stews — they’re to die for,” he says. “Nepali food is pretty well the same way. I had to look and see where the country of Nepal even is, tucked away between India and China, which told me it’s got to be pretty good. It’s all different and it’s all wonderful.”

Now, Burris’ operation has gotten so big that he has his own website, complete with a map of spots he’s positively reviewed. But that doesn’t mean that he forgets where he came from.

“I grew up in the Midwest, in Missouri and Arkansas, and I did not grow up in a world of diversity,” Burris says.

“My advice would be, ‘Don’t wait too late,’ like I did,” he continues. “I was 61 years old before I started exploring. You don’t have to wait. It’s OK to go in. These people are very proud of their cultures. They want to show that off to you. Go in there and give them the opportunity to do so.”

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