Tributes paid to ‘Old Dry Keith’ who went viral in China for his bland sandwiches
by Asher McShane · LBCBy Asher McShane
Tributes have been paid to a British man who became an internet sensation in China because of his ‘dry and bland’ sandwiches.
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Adored by millions, Keith Brown, aka ‘Old Dry Keith,’ was a star on the Chinese version of TikTok, after he went viral for making his favourite ‘white person’s food’ like ham and tomato sandwiches or eggs on toast.
His lunches attracted millions of viewers each day from China, who watched aghast at his plain lunches. His food choices even sparked a trend in China of people copying him and trying to create their own ‘dry lunch’.
His account, ran by his Chinese wife “Jane” Zhang Jian, reached over one million followers on the Douyin platform.
At the height of his online fame, some Chinese supermarkets even created a ‘dry shopping area’ with Keith-style ingredients including bread.
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Kieth’s wife received an outpouring of support after she announced his death following a battle with bone cancer.
The couple met in Malaysia in 2007. Zhang, 49, originally from north-east China, started posting videos of him as she struggled to adapt to her new life in the UK.
Videos of him quickly took off in China.
In one clip, after Keith was unable to find avocado to go with his smoked salmon, Chinese writer Zhou Zhiruo wrote: “We watch him struggling to saw apart two slices of dry bread, as hard as weapons-grade steel, slicing off a few thin streaks of yellow from a block of hardened butter that has not yet completely thawed, and then placing two slices of pre-smoked salmon on top.
|This vision is enough to make ordinary people think of the lunch they just hurriedly swallowed, and feel empathy and sadness.
“He is just like all those of us who have to pay our credit card bill but our salary hasn't arrived, or have to go to a meeting but find that their mobile phone battery is at 10 per cent. He bravely faces all of life's blows.”
Keith’s wife told The Times: “I was quite surprised by how popular Keith became in China.
“It’s not that I didn’t expect people to like him, but I wasn’t prepared for how it would turn out.”