“Hey Jewish People!”: ChrisCaresNone Is Bringing Cultural Understanding Through Food

“Hey Jewish people!” a man intensely shouts into the camera during a TikTok video.

“Uh oh,” a Jewish viewer might think, in the post-Oct 7 world. “Is he going to say something antisemitic?

But the viewer’s fears are quickly quashed.

“They told me I gotta try some rugelach!” the man shouts. “So, let’s try some rugelach!”

The viewer breathes a sigh of relief, laughs, and watches as this man, ChrisCaresNone, goes into Shalom Kosher Bakery in Buffalo Grove, Illinois to try this delicious dessert. “The Jewish people have been GATEKEEPING the rugelach” his video caption says – but it’s all tongue in cheek.

Chris proceeds to eat an apricot rugelach as well as a chocolate rugelach with coffee. He enjoys both, holding one up and saying, “This is dangerous. I could eat a thousand of these, easily.”

@chriscaresnone Replying to @kailehman3 Rugelach is a traditional Jewish pastry originating from Eastern Europe. It’s made by rolling a cream cheese or sour cream dough around various fillings such as chocolate, cinnamon, or fruit jams. These bite-sized treats have become popular worldwide, cherished for their flaky texture and rich, sweet fillings. Shalom Kosher Bakery is a family-owned bakery located at 1165 N Arlington Heights Rd, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089. Since opening its doors in 1995, this bakery has been a staple in the community, known for its high-quality kosher baked goods. All products are made in-house in a nut-free, dairy-free facility, ensuring they meet kosher dietary standards. Popular items include their challah bread, coffee cakes, and of course, their delectable rugelach. I recently tried their cinnamon apricot and chocolate rugelach, and they were absolutely amazing! The combination of buttery, flaky dough with sweet, rich fillings makes for a perfect treat. For more information or to place an order, you can reach Shalom Kosher Bakery at (847) 808-9300 or visit them at shalombakerybg.com. They are open on Tuesday and Thursday from 8 AM to 12 PM, Friday from 7 AM to 12 PM, and Sunday from 8 AM to 12 PM. #Rugelach #ShalomKosherBakery #BuffaloGrove #KosherBakery #JewishPastry #FoodieFinds #caresnone ♬ original sound - Chris CARESNONE

The influencer, who has nearly 350,000 followers on his TikTok and 103,000 on his Instagram, creates comical and heartwarming videos about the food he’s tried not only from the Jewish culture, but all sorts of cultures, from Italian to Mexican to Asian to Hungarian and Canadian. It’s his videos on one particular food, however, that have earned him an honorary title.

“I’m the Babka King,” he told Aish. “I had my first babka probably five months ago, made a couple of pieces of content on it, and one day, I got a cinnamony, sugary, chocolately babka in the mail from JT Pinna from Half Moon Rondout Cafe in New York. It was unreal how good it was.”

Chris then collaborated with Babka Bailout in New Jersey, which makes babka flavors like Nutella Oreo, brie guava, and PB Reese’s, to create his own babkas – peach cobbler and birria.

“Birria is Mexican,” he said. “We can use food to bring different cultures together.”

Bringing People Together

Chris, who is Black, is from Wheeling, Illinois, which is right near two Jewish areas, Buffalo Grove and Highland Park.

“I remember going to this restaurant when I was younger, and I was told to try the matzah ball soup,” he said. “I’m like, this is delicious. I grew up around a lot of Jewish people.”

It was originally Chris’ plan to go to culinary school but he ended up becoming an inspirational speaker and mindset coach – as well as a huge influencer. He made his first videos six years ago, but it wasn’t until he posted a video about golden retrievers that he really blew up.

“Hey White People!” he yells, while holding his golden retriever, Zoe. “When were you going to let us know about golden retrievers and how great they are, how sweet they are?” On TikTok alone, the video received 1.1 million likes and over 41,000 comments.

“I’m a content creator trying to share my personality online,” he said. “That video got the ball rolling.”

Chris – who explained he goes by “CaresNone” because he doesn’t care what people think when he’s trying to be the best version of himself – then started posting food reviews. He not only wanted to try different kinds of foods, but also usher in unity among people.

“It’s so much more than food,” he said. “Food tends to be the vehicle, but it’s about bringing different cultures together to be stronger. If you’re breaking bread with people, it’s hard to hate them.”

Since he was a child, Chris has wanted to create communities.

“I felt it was my responsibility to make sure everyone around me was good,” he said. “I’m such an extrovert.”

Making Jewish-themed videos

Since putting out videos on Jewish foods, Chris has gotten some backlash – but the overwhelming support and love from the Jewish community has drowned it out.

It’s unfortunate what the Jewish community is going through right now. They’ve brought me on big time and shown me a lot of love. I’ve been invited to Shabbat dinner and rabbis have told me to come to their house.

“It’s unfortunate what the Jewish community is going through right now,” he said. “They’ve brought me on big time and shown me a lot of love. I’ve been invited to Shabbat dinner and rabbis have told me to come to their house. I met a lady from United Hatzalah, and she said they start their staff meetings with, ‘Hey Jewish people!’”

Chris receives Jewish food deliveries all the time and makes videos at various Jewish establishments. Recently, he tried the babka from Oneg Bakery in Brooklyn and told his audience he just might have stumbled upon the best babka in the United States. He’s also tasted challah, Hamantaschen, sufganiyot (donuts), kosher Chinese food from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and of course, matzah ball soup. There was only one food he didn’t love: gefilte fish.

“I don’t know about that one,” he said, laughing. “Half the Jewish people in my comments section were like, ‘Even we don’t eat this.’ Other than gefilte fish, they’ve all been delicious.”

Despite his experience with gefilte fish, Chris looks forward to trying more Jewish delicacies.

“What I’ve learned about kosher is a lot of the food is a little bit higher quality,” he said. “I went to Gottlieb's in Williamsburg, and they gave me a kosher grilled cheese with ketchup. It was excellent.”

With all his videos about different cultures, Chris’ hope is to stomp out hate and usher in peace. Specifically, when speaking about the recent tension between the Black and Jewish communities, he said, “I haven’t noticed antisemitism outside of Kanye West and Kyrie Irving, and a lot of our own culture doesn’t even rock with Kanye. They think he’s a little out there. Instead of bringing out what’s wrong, my motto is, let’s highlight what’s awesome about everyone.”

It's clear that Chris is a lover of humanity – and he hopes others can be, too.

“I absolutely love human beings, even the ones who make me upset, because I train myself to say, ‘This person may be a racist who hates me because I’m Black,’” he said. “My thought is, they weren’t born this way. No one is born with hate in their heart. They were taught that. I would hope I could spark the change within them. That’s my whole thing. Maybe I could be the spark to make the world a better place.”