A Quickie with the Dense Bean Salad Girl
TikTok's princess of protein Violet Witchel had a blast in Miami
It is a strange time indeed when two of the coolest things in pop culture right now are mahjong and bean salads. And while we can’t really pinpoint what an Asian tile game became all the rage, a big reason why bean salads went bigtime is Violet Witchel. Don’t recognize that name? You might know her as Dense Bean Salad Girl, and if you’ve eaten a bean salad in the last year chances are you’ve had one of her recipes.
Witchel started her legume empire while she was in culinary school.
“I was like, why don’t I just try and sell a few of these? See if anyone shows up. I posted a Google sheet signup link and I was like, okay, sign up and I’ll make you a salad. I thought it would be 20 people. It was like hundreds, I did it outta my house and there was a line around the block.”
Since then she’s amassed 2.8 million followers on TikTok, appearing on The Today Show and other national programs. This year, she’s launched a national tour where she’s bringing her bean salads to the masses. We caught up with her during her South Florida stop at Big Face Coffee. While she didn’t get to meet Jimmy Butler, she did try some of our iconic local restaurants – including the Publix Deli.
Name: Violet Witchel
Nickname: The Dense Bean Salad Girl
Title: Creator and Culinary Voice
Substack: Violet Cooks
Best Childhood leftover memory: My mom would make lasagna growing up and I feel like leftover lasagna is the best thing ever.
What is your favorite restaurant to take leftovers home from: There’s this restaurant in San Francisco called Elena’s and they make these chicken enchiladas and it’s a huge portion, so I always have leftovers. It’s the best the next day it does the same kind of congeals-and-gets-better-cold thing.
My last meal would be: I can’t eat gluten, so for my death row meal I would get a California burrito, sour cream, guacamole, and chicken. Then I would have a croissant sandwich. Those two, and a martini.
What is your favorite gluten-free meal? I love sushi. I feel like it’s almost usually entirely gluten-free. Saru Handroll Bar in San Francisco’s really good.
What music is playing in your kitchen: This is so bad. I have Hot Girl walk Playlist, so it’s like a lot of Megan Thee stallion, Sabrina Carpenter, that kind of vibe
What do you wear at home in the kitchen: Usually a denim apron, a t-shirt, and some cotton pants.
What is your go-to kitchen tool? I love a bench scraper. It’s like a little like scraping block. You can (use it to) pick anything up, move it, keep your cutting board clean. You can lightly chop some stuff with it. It’s just like, it’s the best
This was your first time in Miami. Where did you eat? Oh my God. We went crazy. We went to Cote, they gave us a tour of their dry aging room, it was awesome. We went to Nomi Nori, I went to this Cuban restaurant in Brickell City Centre, Marabu. There was a Greek Yogurt we ate every night called Go Greek. Then we went shopping at Publix, which was really fun with the hot stuff and sandwiches.
Did you weigh yourself in the front: No, is that a thing?
It’s totally a thing. What do you think is the most overrated culinary trend right now?
I think dinners are getting too long. I don’t think they need to be like four hours. I’m like, hour two and a half? Cap it. This whole 27 course….I just think like you reach a point where you hit peak enjoyment and from there it’s all downhill.
What would people be most surprised to know about you: I come across as laid back but I am very worried all the time.
Favorite thing to cook at home: I love barbecue. Like we’re doing ribs tonight. I love barbecued steak, barbecued fish. Like we made barbecue fish tacos last night. During corn season barbecued corn is the best.
If you weren’t a chef what would you be doing: I actually got an economics degree in college and interned at a hedge fund, so I thought I was gonna be like an investment banker basically. So I might still be doing it.
What advice would you give aspiring recipe influencers?
Don’t be scared to do it. That was my big thing. I was like, oh my God, will anyone show up? Will anyone like it? And so many more people show up and are interested, and once you put it out there, people are supportive and helpful. Just like take that first jump and try it. And people are much more forgiving of failure too, so don’t be scared of failing and just try it.
Favorite city to visit for food: We just got back from Philly and Philly had fantastic food. We went to like six different restaurants and every single one was just exceptional. I
had an awesome breakfast burrito, and normally I don’t eat Mexican outside of like California or Texas. But I was pleasantly surprised. And I didn’t have a single cheesesteak.
What have you learned most during this journey?
People are goofy. Like, people are very funny and interesting and have very different persnickety tendencies. It varies a lot by location and you get really familiar with that when you’re public facing and talking to a lot of people and getting feedback.
What were the persnickety quirks you found in Miami?
People are much more calorie and macro conscious than other cities for sure. Maybe it’s ‘cause everyone’s in a bikini all the time.
Paid Subscribers can get a special Dense Bean Salad recipe here!
You can see all of Voilet’s bean salad deliciousness on TikTok, and catch her in person in New York City on May 30!