‘Eating like a medieval peasant’: TikTok is eating up recession-era dining tips

“If this is your first time being poor, I’m Kiki, and I’m trying to make it affordable to eat by using depression, recession and wartime recipes,” says TikTok creator Kiki Rough in a video posted last month.

While most people wouldn’t turn to the 1940s for dinner inspiration, Rough’s video has since racked up over four million views. “‘We are so back’ as says my 104-year-old grandparents,” one comment reads. “The economy must be cooked if this is trending,” added another.

Rough’s video dropped just days after President The President’s global tariff announcements in April, which sent the stock market tumbling and triggered headlines warning of a looming recession. While the ripple effects are expected to hit many industries, prices for grocery staples like seafood, coffee, wine, nuts, and cheese are all projected to rise due to the tariffs.

Though not a professional chef, Rough says she’s armed with hard-earned life experience, having learned to cook on food stamps. Her recipes often omit eggs—which have hit record-high prices due to avian flu—and draw inspiration from vintage 1950s cookbooks known for their budget-friendly ideas.

Rough isn’t the only one sharing recession-era cooking tips. “Eating like a medieval peasant until all my credit cards are paid off,” another TikToker posted last month. Others are documenting grocery hauls from Dollar Tree or offering guidance on being “old poor.” Between March 23 and April 22, TikTok reported a 20% surge in posts using the hashtag #budgetmeals—many of which have garnered millions of views.

Although a recession hasn’t officially been declared in the U.S., economic uncertainty has many people looking for signs. Hairdressers report clients are abandoning bleach in favor of darker, natural shades—a trend dubbed “recession brunette.” Frozen pizza sales are also climbing, another classic indicator that wallets are tightening.

An April survey from the University of Michigan found consumer confidence even lower than it was during the Great Recession (2007–2009). It might be time to shelve your Ottolenghi and dust off The Canned Foods Cookbook from WWII.

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