When life hands you Oreos, you eat and you eat and you eat — until the entire package is gone. But RTVF freshman Jon Rizik decided to get a little creative with his Oreos. A new face on YouTube, Jon is earning his place in the spotlight by reviewing cookies as the Cookie Critic.
Where did the idea to review cookies come from?
My mom, my dad and I went to target to get food for my dorm. I saw that Oreo makes candy corn Oreos. I was like, "Ooh that looks horrible I should get it and everyone in the dorm should try it as a joke." So, I did. Everyone tried it and I [said], "You know what I should do… I should start a tradition and go to Target or CVS every week and get weird Oreos or weird cookies that taste bad and you all should try them and see how bad they actually are."
And then someone [replied], "you should write a review of these," and I was like, "That’s a good idea!" And I ran to my room, grabbed my laptop, and just did it. And now, I just do them every week.
Were you fond of Oreos before this?
I don’t even like Oreos that much, to be honest. Everyone just assumes that I’m so passionate about them and I love them. It just happened that way. They were the first brand of cookie to make candy corn flavor. And, if you look on the internet, there are so many types of Oreos.
Were the Spanish Oreos actually fresher?
Yes, you know how Oreos are just like lard? Well, it was actually kind of cream-ish.
How did you develop your rating system?
Out of five, of course, I did texture, smell, and taste. I don’t know why. Texture, you know honestly, it's cause I like to say, "It feels like an Oreo." (the famous line of all the videos) Sometimes it’s fun, because you know, some are bigger or smaller.
I pick a different thing for all of them — like different scales for everyone. I always do "hot, wet mouths" for the taste, and people like that, so I just keep that. But you’ll see me look around the room and I’ll find something. It’s a pretty lazy system.
What's the reaction around campus been to these videos?
Well, honestly, this is going to sound like me full of myself. Not that many people have seen them, but there will be instances where people come up to me in dining halls. And [say], "Hey Cookie Critic" and I’m like, "Yeaaaaaah." I’m not proud of it. I’m not famous on campus or anything; I’m not Chet Haze. It’s more of a CRC thing.
Are you planning to cover all of the Oreo grounds and then move on to other types of cookies?
I’m willing to go anywhere Oreo brand. I have an Oreo brownie coming up soon. Stuff like that. So, I think I’ll take that out for a while, as many Oreos as possible.
Do you ever feel embarrassed by your online presence as the Cookie Critic?
I live my life by the Doctor Seuss quote; "Those who matter don’t mind, and those who mind, don’t matter." People are going to judge me for who I am, that’s fine. They’re going to do it either way. I might as well not try to hide who I am. So, I don’t have a problem posting about Oreos online.
Do a lot of people like your reviews?
Yeah, a lot of people do. And if they don’t, it’s like, "Why would I want to hang out with those people anyway?" So, that’s not why I do the videos. But it’s definitely why I don’t mind doing them online. If it makes two people laugh and eight people hate me, then I would’ve made two people laugh.