‘I was shocked and shaking’ - Chef Abbys shares emotional moment of meeting TikTok CEO

• Chef Abbys said meeting TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was one of the most shocking moments of her life, admitting that she was shaking and in disbelief before the meeting.

• She was selected as the only Ghanaian among 20 global creators invited to Cannes Lions, where she had the opportunity to meet the TikTok CEO.

• Chef Abbys became emotional while recounting the experience, saying she cried afterwards and had not fully processed how far her career had taken her.

Ghanaian chef and content creator Chef Abbys has opened up about the emotional moment she met TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, describing it as one of the most shocking experiences of her career.

Speaking to Berla Mundi on the B.You Podcast, Chef Abbys said she never imagined that her cooking content would take her to a point where she would sit in the same room with the head of the platform on which she had built her audience.

She said TikTok first reached out to her after her traditional food content began attracting significant attention and her following started growing.

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The platform selected her for its global Discover List, which featured 50 creators, and she said she was the only Ghanaian on the list.

She was later selected among 20 global creators to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where she became the only African in that group.

It was during that experience that she had the opportunity to meet TikTok’s CEO.

“I never thought I'd meet a CEO of TikTok. The app that we're all posting on,” she told Berla.

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Recalling the moment she walked into the meeting, Chef Abbys said she was overwhelmed by the significance of the opportunity.

“I was really shaking. I was in disbelief. I literally cried after,” she said.

For her, the moment was difficult to reconcile with how her journey had started.

She recalled that she had once simply been cooking in her home and creating content, making the opportunity to sit with the CEO of a global technology platform feel almost unreal.

“I was like, oh, there is no way that I reached there. Like me that I used to cook in my house. There's absolutely no way,” she said.

The experience became even more emotional when she reflected on how much she had achieved without fully taking time to acknowledge her progress.

“I've not really processed my wins. I think this interview is making me process a lot,” she told Berla before becoming tearful.

Chef Abbys said she generally does not spend much time talking about her achievements because she is focused on continuing to work.

“I don't talk a lot about things. I just work,” she said.

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After the meeting, she said the first people she spoke to were her parents, who were excited about the milestone.

Her meeting with Chew came as her growing online presence was opening doors beyond Ghana. She has since gained international recognition for using food and storytelling to showcase Ghanaian and African culture.

For Chef Abbys, however, the meeting represented more than simply meeting a famous technology executive. It became a reminder of just how far her journey had taken her.