What you need to know
A viral feud between a food influencer and a baker garnered millions of likes and thousands of comments.
On October 7, Aurora Grifo, known for her gourmet reviews on TikTok under the account name Glamorama, shared her thoughts on JL Patisserie, a bakery in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was quite crowded.
“I don’t mind paying $10 for a really good pastry, but not fake ingredients,” Grifo wrote in a review, taking issue with the bright green color of the bakery’s pistachio filling.
She went on to criticize the flavor of the coffee (“very tart and tart”), the $5 price of the canelé (“They didn’t do that at San Toro Fin Pez”), and the quiche crust (“paper thin”), but complimented the pumpkin pie croissant, saying, “Everything was a little on the sweet and rich side.”
“That said, I think you can definitely enjoy delicious, rich pastries here if you avoid the expensive ingredients,” she concludes her review.
After 48 hours, Grifo’s video had only received about 8,000 likes. That is, until the bakers fought back.
In JL Patisserie’s response, CEO Jenna LeQuinn claimed, without directly naming the creator, that Grifo had actually asked her to collaborate with the bakery, but that she “respectfully declined” because she didn’t have the budget for it.
jl patisserie/TikTok
“Then she essentially tried to blackmail us by saying that if we gave her food for free, she would write a good review about us,” Lurquin said. They never agreed to the deal, but Grifo showed up the next day anyway, Lurkan continued.
“So we fully respect the bad reviews,” Lurquin said. “But we don’t like lies and bullying.”
Lurquin then walked around the bakery, responding to Grifo’s claims, showing off the pistachio paste he imports from Italy for the filling, the flour he imports from Europe, and the sourdough starter he makes from scratch, which takes six months to make.
“The question is whether the next generation will follow her influence and believe that it’s okay to bully and belittle the food industry,” Lurquin concluded, as a screenshot of Grifo’s alleged social media comments on another restaurant’s page was flashed on screen. “We like working with influencers, but we don’t really support the working class acting like they’re below us, promoting these kinds of messages on social media, bribing us with free stuff.”
The reaction, which has received more than 2 million likes on TikTok, caught the attention of Grifo, who took to social media to share his position.
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“Damn, finally someone stood up to me. I really, really have to say it’s an admiration. I respect that,” she opened the video. “It would be a lie if I didn’t respect you.”
Grifo went on to deny that she “never said” she would “leave a good exposure for a free meal” and posted what appeared to be a conversation between her and the baker in an Instagram DM. (“Even when it comes to collaborations, I review honestly, focusing on the ones I enjoyed, and being softer and quicker to say the least about the ones I didn’t like as much,” reads her clear message for bakers.)
Glamoramaaaaa/TikTok
“If anything, I feel like you’re pulling the punches,” the influencer continued, referring to the bakery’s much larger following.
“Anyway, Jenna, I respect your balls, and I respect your talent,” she said. “I hope the sides of your pillow are cold at night, and I wish you the best of luck.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, Lurquin said, “I didn’t want to target hate against a specific individual. We didn’t include her name in the video. My message was to stand up against this kind of behavior and the dangers that influencing on social media means. I wanted to protect a product that I’m proud of, especially my amazing team that works so hard to make it.”
Griffo did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
