It is almost certainly (probably) true that Christopher Comstock—a music producer who previously went by the name of “Dotcom”—is the man under the puffy smiling helmet known as DJ Marshmello. Or is Will Farrell? Or maybe DJ Tiësto?
The concept of artists concealing their personal identities was made popular by the likes of Banksy, Daft Punk, and DeadMau5, all figures who masked their identities to remove ego and redirect focus onto the art they were creating.
Marshmello/Facebook
In 2015, Marshmello became the newest anonymous figure of the EDM world, wearing an all-white outfit befitting of his moniker. To date, the DJ has clocked more than 15 billion streams on Spotify. But who is he, really?
In recent years, the character made a guest appearance on American Ninja Warrior (nonchalantly ripping through the course) and has a lasting presence in Fortnite, where Marshmello was the first to host a digital concert for gamers.
So, is Marshmello an athlete, a gamer, and an international DJ all at once? Or is the masked DJ several people housed under the Marshmello brand?
While Comstock has never publicly admitted that he is indeed Marshmello, the puffy character has since expanded to new interests. Marshmello’s YouTube series Cooking with Marshmello took off six years ago with recipe segments, often with guest chefs, gamers, and celebrities. The series amassed 250 million fans and was relaunched in September 2022 for a second season.
More recently, the cooking series got a new life on TikTok and Instagram—where Marshmello’s tagline is “full-time chef, part-time DJ”—in a shorter and punchier format with plenty of exciting plant-based recipes. Marshmello also released the Cooking with Marshmello: Recipes with a Remix cookbook in 2023.
Crux
Who is the new, cheffy Marshmello? It doesn’t matter if he’s Gordon Ramsay, Bobby Flay, or still Christopher Comstock: we’re here for all of his innovative plant-based recipes which always come with a healthy dose of EDM.
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Marshmello’s best TikTok recipes
Not all of Marshmello’s recipes are plant-based, but all of them lean into a showmanship that the DJ is known for. Marshmello doesn’t do boring salads here. Instead, he throws together technicolor beverages, uses watermelon in innovative ways, remixes childhood favorites, and gives tofu the spotlight it deserves.
Here are just 10 of our favorite plant-based recipes on the must-watch Cooking with Marshmello TikTok and Instagram channels.
@cookingwithmarshmello BBQ Tofu Fries #veganrecipes #tofu #airfryer ♬ Party Jumpin’ – Marshmello & Jamie Brown
1BBQ tofu fries
These high-protein fries begin with a quick squeeze to remove the liquid in a block of tofu. Then, Marshmello drenches them in a nooch-heavy seasoning before sending them on a trip to the air fryer.
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@cookingwithmarshmello Fried Banana Flower #banana #vegan #friedfood ♬ El Merengue – Marshmello & Manuel Turizo
2Fried banana flower
Lemon and kombu give this banana flower preparation a seafood-like taste. A quick batter and fry make for a crispy plant-based take on fish and chips.
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@cookingwithmarshmello Tofu Salmon #dinner #tofu #recipe ♬ Shockwave – Marshmello
3Tofu salmon
Another fish-free recipe, Marshmello recreates a whole salmon filet by scoring and searing tofu that gets its salmon hue from a little bit of beet powder. The kicker here is a crispy salmon skin he creates using nori strips.
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4Jackfruit pulled pork
Jackfruit is one of our favorite stand-ins for meat that has the texture of pork or chicken and takes on flavors quite well. Here, Marshmello uses the giant Southeast Asian fruit to make a hefty pulled pork barbecue sandwich with an amped-up sweetness from grilled pink pineapple slices.
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@cookingwithmarshmello Takis #takis #spicy #recipes #homemade ♬ original sound – Cooking With Marshmello
5Homemade Takis
If you’re an accidentally vegan snack connoisseur like us, this recipe is for you. Marshmello takes on Takis, remaking the spicy chip in his home kitchen using hand-rolled tortillas seasoned with Tajin, cayenne, chili powder, and packets of lemonade mix for that signature zing.
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6Homemade CapriSun
This one is a throwback to simpler times when finding a pouch of CapriSun in your lunchbox was the highlight of every school day. Marshmello puts pineapple, grapes, watermelon, pear, cherries, and oranges into a juicer for a giant, fresh take on the classic. Just be careful to not poke the straw all the way through the other side of the bag.
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@cookingwithmarshmello Watermelon Poke Bowl #watermelon #summer #vegan ♬ Bounce – Marshmello
7Watermelon poke bowl
Balls of watermelon get a dunk in a classic poke marinade before being added to a bowl with rice, edamame, thinly sliced carrots, cucumber, avocado, and a spicy vegan mayo for this vegan take on a tuna poke bowl.
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@cookingwithmarshmello Tajin Watermelon #marshmello #tajin #watermelon ♬ HARLEY QUINN – Fuerza Regida & Marshmello
8Tajin watermelon pop
Putting Tajin on fruit is nothing new but Marshmello takes it up a notch with a giant watermelon popsicle that he wraps in fruit roll-ups before dousing in chamoy and Tajin.
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@cookingwithmarshmello Watermelon Ham #vegan #watermelon #ham ♬ original sound – Cooking With Marshmello
9Smoked watermelon ham
Suffice it to say that Marshmello is a big fan of watermelon, and we are, too. Here, the DJ recreates a viral watermelon ham recipe by marinating a whole watermelon, infusing and basting it with sauce while baking it over smoky wood chips. A perfect recipe when you want a meaty dish in the middle of watermelon season.
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@cookingwithmarshmello Popping Watermelon Juice #boba #watermelon #summer ♬ original sound – Cooking With Marshmello
10Popping watermelon juice
For this watermelon-centric recipe, Marshmello tries his hand at molecular gastronomy using sodium alginate and calcium chloride to make caviar-like popping spheres from watermelon juice.
As you would expect, this cooking channel is filled with a plethora of recipes that call for marshmallows (which contain gelatin), including this one. But just like Marshmello can be anyone under that helmet, you can always swap for vegan marshmallows and nobody will notice.
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Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior News Editor at VegNews and is always keeping an eye on all things vegan in her home city of San Francisco, CA and everywhere else.
