Kalani Smith, 25, an avid ghost hunter, had initially been planning a spooky tour of the UK, only to find himself exploring the country and its favourite dishes
An American tourist has fallen head over heels for British food and is now busying himself on a delicacy tour of the UK.
When one usually thinks of culinary holidays, countries such as Italy and France are the kind of destinations that get foodies salivating. Britain – the spiritual home of the potato and plates piled high with different shades of brown foodstuffs – is probably a little further down the list.
Not so for American Kalani Smith. The 25-year-old had originally planned to tour the UK hunting for ghosts. But he end up going viral on TikTok chowing down on a roast dinner instead. Following the huge amount of attention the clip received, Brits lined up to give him recommendations about what he should eat next, Gloucestershire Live reports.
Kalani was so intrigued by the idea of becoming a British food taste tester that he scrapped his spooky search and started travelling Britain chomping on different dishes. After trying the fish and chips from Tewkesbury’s ‘The Fishnet’ Kalani declared: “I could eat fish and chips all day.”
He’s also had a bite of Greggs, KFC and Nando’s among others and now believes he could polish off 400 Greggs’ sausage rolls without getting fed up. As far as the American is concerned, it is impossible to have too much fish and chips.
Now Kalani has found himself hot property when it comes to reviewing treats, with top brands like Domino’s, Wendy’s and Tesco vying for his praise. Nashville-based content creator, Kalani, said: “My initial itinerary was just driving around to different ghost spots but now I’m out here trying 50,000 different types of food. Though I’m not complaining.
“I’m actually having to extend my trip because of how successful these videos have been – we’re going to Scotland and Ireland now. In terms of numbers, this has been the most successful stretch in a series of posts that I’ve ever had – in terms of people investing in the content too.
“The reputation of food over here in the US is it’s all bad and quite bland but it’s been really fun for me and I’m giving the food a fair chance and telling people what I think about it. I posted the first one as more or less just a documentation for my followers in the US but unfortunately I got shredded in the comments as I wore my hat indoors.
“We’re not big on etiquette where I’m from and it’s more about getting the food down as quickly as possible – so it’s been funny getting the feedback on how I eat, and now there’s a shot of me taking my hat off each time.”
After enjoying a Sunday roast, he was told to give KFC a go. But, Kalani wasn’t keen, declaring the chicken “tasteless” and “not crispy enough”. Next, he popped into Greggs and decided to have a classic sausage roll, steak bake and a doughnut.
“Greggs was the first thing I didn’t have at home and luckily I got it fresh out of the oven. It was very good – I could probably eat like 400 of those sausage rolls,” he said.
Next, the hungry road tripper visited Nando’s in Swindon, Wiltshire. His review of the South African chain gained a massive 1.3m views. Kalani commented: “Nando’s was really good. Not anything super crazy but super tasty. I actually took someone’s order from the comments and made a chicken burger out of all the ingredients. My favourite part about that place was the drink fountain with all the ice.”
Next Kalani found himself at the historic Skirrid Inn – said to be one of the oldest pubs in Wales – where he tried a steak and ale pie, jacket potato and pickled egg.
He remarked: “It was good, not my favourite but I’m starting to learn that the intent of having all these items on your plate is to combine it into one forkful. “That was a magical experience.”
Finally, the classic British dish, fish and chips was on the menu. “That was one of my favourite meals. I could eat that for the rest of my life and not get sick of it. But I’ve noticed what people have on it varies so I’m going to try it with gravy next,” he said.
“The curry sauce, oh my, if you want to make anyone happy, just get them curry sauce.” When it comes to the UK’s favourite takeaway – Chinese food – Kalani was only full of praise. He said: “I love Chinese food in general, but compared to the one at home, I think the one here is better as the meat regulations are better.
“I needed to get some salt and pepper food, that was my mistake.”
Next Kalani tried a Full English and discovered he “really enjoyed beans on toast” when covered in brown sauce. “The only thing I really didn’t like was the black pudding as I gave it a 5 and that was being generous.
“Overall, I compared it to kind of like a waffle house in the US. A bit greasy, solid hearty working man’s meal. I enjoyed the bacon and the sausage too.”
Here’s Kalani’s full ranking – 1. Fish and chips (video review: 9/10) 2. Full English (video review: 8.3/10) 3. Greggs (video review: 9/10) 4. Nandos (video review: 8/10) 5. Lidl bakery (video review: 10/10 compared to US) 6. Chinese Takeaway (video review: Better than US counterpart) 7. Steak ale and mushroom pie (video review: 7/10) 8. Welsh cake (video review: 5/10) 9. KFC (video review: 5/10).
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
