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Extraordinary Herb Chopper ‘Cilantro Papi’ Is 2018’s Salt Bae

Prepare to watch this viral video over and over again

By Es75
Mona Holmes is a reporter for Eater Los Angeles and a regular contributor to KCRW radio. She has covered restaurants, dining, and food culture since 2016. In 2022, the James Beard Foundation nominated her for a Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award.

In 2017, the world fell for Salt Bae. Turkish restaurant owner Nusret Gökçe was launched into the social media viralsphere, after demonstrating how to salt meat with flair. The meme took off, and never got old. Until now. 2018 is all about Cilantro Papi, also known as Rogelio Rivera.

Rivera is cilantro chopper extraordinaire at Fullerton’s El Camino Real Mexican Food. Rivera’s herb mincing prowess was first discovered on Snapchat and Twitter, when Rebecca Castañeda filmed Rivera performing daily prep work. According to The Daily Meal, Castañeda’s father El Camino Real owner threw down the gauntlet for his daughter’s manager at Chipotle, to make sure the world learns how to properly chop cilantro. Just watch:

Rivera’s sensation kept spreading, a Twitter user offered a nickname, and a new meme was born: Cilantro Papi. With over 3.4 million views, Cilantro Papi’s chop is unusually hypnotic, and Twitter agrees:

Rebecca Castañeda also started an Instagram account for El Camino Real Mexican Food.

El Camino Real Mexican Food
303 N Euclid Street
Fullerton, CA