A private chef in Beverly Hills outraged her TikTok viewers by saying she spent over $3,500 at an expensive grocery store to restock her client's pantry

• Brooke Baevsky is a private chef who works with celebrity clients in Beverly Hills.
• Baevsky posted a controversial TikTok saying she spent over $3,500 on groceries for a client.

A private chef in California who said she spent $3515.09 while shopping for a client has sparked outrage and speculation about how the wealthy spend their money.

Brooke Baevsky, shared her story on TikTok, where she has more than 174,000 followers and typically posts lifestyle content about her job as a "celebrity private chef in Beverly Hills."

In her video, posted on November 17, Baevsky can be seen standing inside a store, saying, "So, how much did I just spend at Erewhon today for my client," before filming what appeared to be a checkout till which showed a total of $3515.09.

Commenters were immediately shocked by the video, which has 3.4 million views, and many people criticized the TikToker and her client for spending so much money at Erewhon, a California supermarket chain known for selling high-end organic food and specialty products.

"PLEASE convince them that even Whole Foods is a better alternative than Erewhon " said one top comment under the video, while others said, "THAT'S WAY MORE THAN MY MONTHLY RENT," and "People love throwing money away."

Later that day, Baevsky posted a follow-up video, where she filmed a shopping cart and included an on-screen list of all the things she bought at Erewhon, saying the items amounted to $3,515.09. The influencer listed 36 items — although she did not state the quantity of each item she purchased — including various niche food products like grain-free paleo bread and macadamia nut butter.

She also pointed out in her video caption that there was a camera crew with her filming the shopping cart, and the creator has said in other videos that she's currently working on a film project about her life and career.

Some users began to speculate that her Erewhon videos were a prank or publicity stunt.

"There's no way. Erewhon is expensive but not THAT expensive," and "Did it come in gold bags? This has to be a joke," users wrote.

Baevsky did not respond to criticism of her videos on TikTok, but did address the controversy on Instagram, where online users wrote on her timeline that the videos were "out of touch" and "tone deaf" in light of rising grocery costs in the United States which has hit low-income families the hardest. The private chef said she believes access to "healthy, affordable meals is a right for everybody" and that she runs cooking classes for children and families on a budget, in addition to her work as a celebrity chef.

Some TikTokers are fostering a culture of transparency around costs and spending, with more creators and influencers sharing how much money they spend as part of their daily budget. Videos about excessive and large spending often go hugely viral and spark intense backlash, as commenters say it shows how influencers are out of touch with reality and the strained financial situations of many ordinary people.

In November, TikTok influencer Tara Lynn was mocked for saying she spent over $10,000 on Harry Styles tickets because she wanted to be close to the stage, and in October, lifestyle influencer Quenlin Blackwell faced backlash after telling her TikTok followers she "accidentally' bought a couch for $100,000, before appearing to suggest the whole thing was a prank.

Baevsky did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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