Milwaukee Chef ‘Zebra Cake’ Goes Viral With Spicy Cheetos ‘Fireballs’
Jordan “Zebra Cake” Crosby took advantage of the viral Hot Cheetos pudding ball trend on TikTok and made them popular in Milwaukee, where until now they were hard to find.
Crosby is already known in Milwaukee for his cooking skills and techniques showcased on social media (@zebracakemann on Instagram and @zebraacakemann on TikTok), and for his generosity to his local community. What started as a fun recipe to experiment with has become something everyone expects from him.
Boudin is traditionally a mixture of cooked pork, rice, onions, peppers, and seasonings stuffed into a casing. Boudin balls are a Louisiana specialty in which the sausage is removed from the casing, fried, and tossed with flour and breadcrumbs.
The new trend on social media is to add cheese and, instead of breadcrumbs, roll the balls in crushed Cheetos. There are many variations of this as well.
Crosby was encouraged to try it after seeing the recipe among the suggested videos on TikTok. He didn’t like it, so he added his own version using Buffalo chicken or Philly cheesesteak, instead of the boudin.
He called them “fireballs.”
“I wouldn’t serve anyone anything I wouldn’t eat myself,” Crosby said.
The change proved to be a success and Crosby sold them in various locations throughout Milwaukee. He has since invented other variations.
The first day he offered them to the public, he sold over 300 fireballs to the Zao MKE Church.
Crosby now plans to add seafood alfredo and fireballs to the menu at his pop-ups, which he sets up in various locations and at different times.
Crosby invented his own “fireballs”
Crosby’s trial and error with the fireballs led him to improve his cooking techniques. “You’re never going to have a perfect day in the kitchen,” he said.
At first, he crushed the Hot Cheetos by hand, but a friend suggested using a food processor. Crosby also shredded the chicken with a fork at first, but later invested in a hand blender. He tried freezing the balls overnight and found that the meat wouldn’t cook all the way through.
“When you freeze them and try to fry them, only the outside gets cooked and not the inside,” he explains. Now, the fireballs are only refrigerated for two hours.
Crosby describes himself as a “one-man army” because he cooks alone. He’s never met anyone else with such expertise.
He learns new ideas quickly
Crosby attended Right Step Inc. Military School from grades 5 to 12. There he chose culinary arts as a career and was hired as a chef.
Crosby then gained experience and began cooking for the public, where he learned to accept constructive feedback from different customers.
“I had to learn that you can’t please everyone,” he said.
TikTok and Facebook have become useful platforms for visual learners like Crosby. He said he could watch a cooking video once and know how to replicate what he saw. He eventually used his accounts to create 60-second step-by-step cooking videos so his fans could learn new ideas from him.
In addition to social media, he’s launched in-person workshops called “Cooking with Zebra.” And last year, he hosted a tasting event in Lincoln Park attended by 400 people, featuring four types of chicken wings and meatballs.
“My name got around through word of mouth because of these events,” Crosby said.
Chef Takes Time to Support and Give Back to Milwaukee
From food to music, Crosby recognizes how Milwaukeeans put their own spin on things to show where they come from.
For example, each of Crosby’s cooking videos features a Milwaukee song to promote and support a local Milwaukee rapper.
During his travels, Crosby also finds himself telling people from out of state about popular Milwaukee foods, like frozen custard and Culver’s Butter Burgers.
In the future, community members expect to see Crosby publish a cookbook one day.
His ultimate goal is to have his own food truck—an ongoing project—and continue to prepare large meals for the homeless each season. His generosity is well-known in his community; he buys and prepares the food out of his own pocket, and friends volunteer to help.
“I think that’s what makes my food 10 times better, because I really have a passion for it,” Crosby said.
