Come Here and Cook (Stories and Recipes from a Life at the Table)

Come here. For the first time ever, social media’s “man in the mirror” Jordan Howlett invites you beyond the screen and into a life shaped by food.

Even before he achieved social media stardom as president of the Fast Food Secrets Club, food played an important role in Jordan’s life. As a child, he spent days experimenting in the kitchen with his grandmother, poring over cookbooks and trying to get her recipe for pineapple upside-down cake just right. As a college student striving to be a professional baseball player, food was fuel for building the strength he needed to excel at a time when he wasn’t even sure where his next meal would come from. As a young adult with multiple restaurant jobs, preparing food for others was a way to make ends meet. 

When his TikTok videos about working in the fast-food industry began to go viral, food became a catalyst for launching Jordan’s successful media career. Whether he’s recreating a dish he loves, revealing a secret fast-food recipe, or traveling across the world to try something delicious, Jordan’s videos reflect what he has learned throughout his life: food has the power to build community and connect people. 

Featuring 40 stories and 40 recipes, this cookbook-memoir shares the side of Jordan that only those closest to him know and love. He reflects on his childhood, his successes and failures, what it’s really like having a career in social media, and how sometimes Plan B can turn out better than Plan A. With family favorites like Quick Sweet Grits with Salted Butter and Cinnamon Sugar, Jordan’s go-to comfort foods like Bacon & Clam Chowder with Old Bay Saltines, and fast-food recreations like the Crunchwrap Supreme, Come Here and Cook is a delicious peek into Jordan’s famous notebook of secret recipes as well as the food that has shaped his life.