DESOTO COUNTY, Fla. — A Southwest Florida woman known as "Mama Cookie" on TikTok is bringing her viral cooking skills to a new food truck in DeSoto County.
Christine, who has amassed over 5 .5million followers on the social media platform, plans to open her food truck in Arcadia by August.
"I love that I can create a safe, positive place for people to come every day and hopefully they love it there," Christine said.
Fox 4 Senior Reporter Kaitlin Knapp sat down with Mama Cookie about her food truck and social media success:
Her journey to TikTok fame began about five years ago when she started posting videos about press-on nails.
But when she shifted to content about her true passions — cooking and coffee — her viewership skyrocketed into the millions.
"One week, I cooked four nights in a row, and all four videos got over a million views and I was like, this is what the people want," Christine said. "I like to cook because it's like cooking the way to the heart and I just love taking care of my family. I love to cook for them."
What sets her cooking videos apart is her quirky personality and unique terminology. She refers to forks as "dinglehoppers," a nod to "The Little Mermaid."
"I can't call it a fork, it's a dinglehopper," Christine said. "Seasonings and if I'm mixing a big pot, you'll see me throw this dinglehopper in there. Give her a little flip of the wrist."
Then, she uses the "Onion goggles 3000."
"I don’t like cutting onions because it makes me cry, and then I put these on and I was like, you know what, I have these big eyelashes. They need them, too," Christine said.
Her videos often feature her playful approach to cooking and shopping.
"I definitely love to shop at Great Value, Walmart. Don't come for my great value unless you got a greater value," Christine said.
One of her signature moves involves flipping empty plates and catching them filled with food.
"I said one day to myself, I'm going to try and flip this empty plate, drop it in my hands with it full of food and I did that," Christine said. "And then I started doing it on sounds and then they were like, how did you cook that?"
Then, her cooking videos turned into "another day, another dinner."
She says some of her meals may not be for everyone, to which she says "if you don't like it, don't bite it."
In her videos talking about just life in general, Christine says "ring ring, it's me — pick up bestie.
She says one day she slung her phone around and said it. People said it looked like a FaceTime.
"I don’t even know how I make videos because I’m super shy...meeting people randomly every day has helped my anxiety and I’m not shy anymore," Christine said.
Christine is venturing out now and making her dream a reality.
Last year, she and her cousin bought a food truck. Fast forward to June 2025, it's all coming together.
The upcoming food truck will offer diverse menu options, including what Christine calls "un-big my back meals and big my back meals" — options for those watching their calories and those who aren't.
"We’re going to have two menus. One menu is going to have pictures and it’s going to be a 1-15 or whatever," Christine said, adding that they will also have coffee and kids meals. "We're definitely going to start in Arcadia because that's where we were both born and raised and we want to give back to the community and be in our community."
There are plan to go to Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers and Port Charlotte down the line.
Christine is working alongside her cousin to launch the business, but she's also honoring someone special with the venture.
"I chose to put my brother on the truck because I never want his memory to die down and I want to make him proud," Christine said.
Her brother passed away a few years ago.
Family plays a central role in Christine's life and content. She has been with her partner Juan for 16 years and has a 19-year-old god daughter and two children: 10-year-old Zariah and 7-year-old Zane.
She says Juan, normally very shy, never wanted to be in the videos, up until recently.
"They are my entire world, literally," Christine said. "If I'm making a video and she catches me, she'll run to get in the video with her peace sign or something."
Her son is autistic and over the last year, he's started to form sentences — bringing a smile to Christine's face.
"It fills my heart," she said. "Now, he loves to say cheese. He loves to make videos, loves to be on camera."
Christine remains grateful to her followers for making her food truck dream possible, with plans to open up a coffee truck next to it in the future.
"I would not be here if it was not for them," Christine said. "I would not be opening a food truck if it was not for their likes, their shares, their comments, their hugs in public...I’m just a normal person. Why do I deserve that many people watching me? But it’s also a big blessing."
And you're probably wondering — where did the name "Mama Cookie" come from?
Well, Christine says she's always been an entrepreneur and sold snacks in school in 7th grade. One day, she opened up her jacket and crumbs fell out.
"I crumbled them all over the floor and then this girl, girl I’m going to start calling you Cookie," Christine said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
