Who Is Susi Vidal, The Pesto Queen?

Short answer
Gordon Ramsay nicknamed TikTok influencer Susi Vidal the Queen of Pesto after a video of her making pesto went viral, amassing millions of views.

Long answer
Social media has an uncanny knack of helping to make pesto the world's most famous sauce. It all started in Lockdown 2.0 when Instagram influencers discovered that pesto and fried eggs are a match made in heaven. Some videos attracted over 100 million views, and for a short time, it felt like pesto was the coolest thing on the planet.

Fast-forward to September 2023, and an unassuming clip from Detroit-based amateur cook Susi Vidal made headlines all over the world. Her video that was shared on her "OnlyPans" TikTok channel opened with the line, “Call me crazy if you want, but I never liked store-bought pesto.” The video sparked millions, of views and fellow TikTok fans responded to her post in droves. The clip even garnered the attention of Gordon Ramsay, who, on his show Next Level Chef, named Susi the Queen of Pesto.

@susi.vidal

If im going to be crazy, at least Gordon’s on my side 🤪😎

♬ original sound - Susi

Although the video does show people how to make pesto at home, the excitement it caused had absolutely nothing to do with the sauce. Instead, Susi's followers proceeded to take her opening remarks, "Call me crazy if you want, but..." as a battle cry to stitch their own videos about their craziest stories.

No topic was off limits with relationship confessions, near-death experiences, and wild nights out all considered fair game. The mix of love, loss, revenge, and indiscretion was all posted in abundance. As for the Queen of Pesto herself, she's been more than happy to just sit back and watch her viral sensation unfold in front of her eyes.