Food & Drink
Read More ›
These Seattle Pies Became an Overnight Social Media Phenomenon
Meet Lauren Ko, the sorceress behind some seriously stunning desserts.
Three months ago, Seattle resident Lauren Ko was just an executive assistant with a home baking habit. Now, she’s an executive assistant with a home baking habit and social media fame. Her Instagram handle, @lokokitchen, has rapidly attracted more than 60,000 Instagram followers obsessed with her pie designs.
By the time you read this, that number of followers will be higher. It’s gone up 6,000 in the time it took me to finish this blog post.
“There are no words,” Ko says, in true, honest bafflement at her relatively overnight catapult into internet foodie fame. “I’m just a nobody. I just started this account for fun—for a way to separate my food photos from my regular account. I don’t even know.”
Ko, 30, isn’t a nobody—she’s just being modest. But she’s not a pastry chef, she’s never gone to culinary school, she’s not even trying to sell her baked goods out of her house. She says she actually likes savory foods more than sweets, but she loves baking and started playing around with pies and tarts in an artistic way. Ko says she’s driven by art and geometry—her photos illustrate the intricate designs that top her desserts.
Photo and pomegranate goldenberry tart by Lauren Ko (@lokokitchen).
It seems silly to point out that pie is having a bit of a moment right now—at least online. Pie is not a trendy food. My grandma ate pie. Pie is delicious, it is comfort food, but it is not generally the sort of colorful, creative foodstuff that makes the internet go nuts. Ko’s pies are pure eye candy though—and national social media accounts like @designmilk, @food52 and @grubstreet picked up on it, particularly around Thanksgiving (arguably pie’s greatest holiday). Buzzfeed published this article on Ko on Monday.
With this popularity come the trolls quick to point out all the many ways Ko’s a fraud—something she laughs off. She’s not claiming to be a professional, and she says she’s even hesitant to start a blog because her creations are more about design than they are about recipe (in fact, she usually uses recipes she’s found elsewhere). She doesn’t feel confident troubleshooting your own pie problems. And while she has no desire to become a chef or take customer orders, she says she’s open to wherever this leads.
For now, we’ll have to just eat with our eyes, though.
Follow Us
Will Travel For Cheese
Some people take road trips for nature, while others optimize their route to get a taste of small-town living. If your interests are more culinarily inclined, consider trying this loop around Western Washington—it will take you to some of the state’s top cheese producers, mongers, and enthusiasts.
Here in Washington—a state with many distinct climates, terroirs, and biomes as well as diverse agricultural blessings—we celebrate our apple, wine, beer, stone fruit, and seafood industries to the hilt. Some may be surprised to learn that dairy and cattle are the state’s second-largest agricultural commodities, making Washington a real paradise for cheese lovers, with…
Restaurant Roundup: Coffee, Costumes, and Secret Burgers
Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.
Little sips. That is our destined-to-fail mantra for the upcoming Seattle Coffee Festival (Oct. 24-25), an event so enticing we’re already mentally preparing for the tidal wave of caffeine coming our way. The two-day event, now in its second year, takes place at Magnuson Park Hangar 30, showcasing a buzzing lineup of Seattle and regional…
Opening Night: Coffee TAB Brings Coffee Back to 23rd and Jackson
The nonprofit’s third cafe turns the long-vacant former Starbucks space into a new community gathering place.
For a Starbucks, the coffee shop on the corner of 23rd Avenue and Jackson Street in the Central District has spawned a lot of discourse. When it opened in 1997, it was the product of a lot of behind-the-scenes efforts by neighborhood boosters and civic leaders who were hunting for more investment in the historically…
Restaurant Roundup: Hey Bagel Heads West and Squash Dessert Cravings
Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.
It’s your birthday? Congratulations on another trip around the sun. Don’t worry, we won’t ambush you with singing waitstaff, but there are plenty of ways Seattle restaurants can make your special day even more memorable, from intimate settings for private celebrations to that dish you won’t stop thinking about for the next 365 days (like…