Keith Lee is expanding his platform beyond TikTok and into the podcast world.
The Dallas-based creator, who built a massive following through his restaurant reviews, is teaming up with Vox Media for a new weekly podcast set to debut in spring 2026. Lee currently has more than 17 million followers on TikTok, where his food reviews — often spotlighting local and independently owned restaurants — have helped turn small businesses into viral destinations overnight.
The podcast will pull back the curtain on how Lee and his family actually operate during their food tours, which have already taken them to more than 30 cities across 10 countries. While viewers usually see the final reviews, the show will highlight the behind-the-scenes dynamic of Lee working alongside his wife Ronni Lee and other family members as they travel city to city tasting food and documenting their experiences.
The series will lean into the family aspect of Lee’s brand, showing the teamwork, long days, and real moments that go into the content people see online. On some tours, the family reportedly visits as many as a dozen restaurants in a single day — something audiences rarely see from the outside.
Lee first began discussions with Vox Media about a podcast partnership during the 2025 Cannes Lions advertising festival. The announcement was officially revealed during a SXSW appearance on the Vox Media Podcast Stage in Austin.
The move comes during a major growth period for Lee’s brand. In December, he was named TikTok’s Creator of the Year at the platform’s first-ever TikTok Awards. Before becoming one of the internet’s most influential food reviewers, Lee spent a decade as a professional mixed martial arts fighter with Bellator MMA.
Outside of content creation, Lee has been leaning further into entrepreneurship and community-focused projects. He and his family recently invested in the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop restaurant chain and are launching their first food and music festival, Familee Day, on May 16 in New Orleans.
The one-day event will combine food, music, and community engagement, featuring performances from Tobe Nwigwe, Kirk Franklin, Mannie Fresh, Andra Day, and KevOnStage. The festival will also spotlight local restaurants through a curated Food Village designed to give independent vendors a platform to showcase their dishes.
Between the upcoming podcast, new business ventures, and events like Familee Day, Lee’s next chapter is clearly about scaling the influence he built online into something much bigger.