Coco Gauff’s run at the Coco Gauff Cheesecake Factory exchange has become one of the more unlikely subplots of this year’s US Open, after the player posted a TikTok from her hotel room craving the chain’s Cajun salmon with mashed potatoes and corn. The clip, which she described as something that has her ‘frothing at the mouth’ every time it crosses her social feed, quickly pulled Cheesecake Factory itself into the conversation.
The moment began with a small slip. ‘I want the Chick-fil-A salmon mashed potatoes and corn with the little sauce meal so bad,’ Gauff said in the video, before catching herself. ‘I meant to say Cheesecake Factory, not Chick-fil-A.’ The confusion was at least understandable: she also mentioned Chick-fil-A’s new chicken-and-waffle sandwich in the same breath, though she was clear the TikTok carried no sponsorship of any kind.
Coco Gauff Cheesecake Factory Craving Goes From TikTok to Press Conference
The story did not stay confined to social media. After Gauff’s third-round win over Cristina BucÈ™a, a journalist raised the TikTok during her press conference and the food conversation expanded considerably. Gauff revealed she typically orders what she described as a Cajun-spiced pasta dish, which she said she ate ‘every day’ while in China, but that the salmon had been haunting her feed specifically during this tournament. She also made clear she had already tried to solve the problem herself.
‘I went to Uber Eats to see if I could order it,’ she said, explaining that Cheesecake Factory did not appear in her search results. As it turned out, she may have been on the wrong platform. Cheesecake Factory responded directly in the comments of the US Open’s Instagram post, pointing out that a location exists in Queens and that her Cajun salmon was, in their words, waiting. The chain then posted a map illustrating the proximity of that restaurant to the tennis centre and added: ‘@cocogauff we’re available on #doordash, just sayin… 👀’
Whether Gauff has since arranged a delivery via DoorDash is not known, but the offer was public and direct.
The Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake? Gauff Is Not Convinced
The press conference also drew out a confession that may yet prove more polarising than anything on court. Gauff admitted she does not actually visit Cheesecake Factory for its cheesecake. ‘I actually don’t go for the cheesecake. Is that rude? I’m not a huge fan of the Cheesecake Factory cheesecake,’ she said.
She was specific about her reasoning. ‘The cheesecakes are a little too big, and I prefer more crust,’ Gauff said. ‘They have too much of the cake part.’ Her actual orders at the chain lean towards the entrées and, she noted, the fried macaroni-and-cheese balls.
The Coco Gauff Cheesecake Factory exchange is the kind of candid, unscripted moment that tends to travel well during a Grand Slam fortnight, and Cheesecake Factory’s social team moved quickly enough to keep pace. With Gauff through to the fourth round and her stated plan to go ‘straight to Cheesecake Factory’ once she gets home, the salmon order is now, at minimum, a confirmed post-tournament fixture.