China mourns ‘Dry Old Keith’ who made bland sandwiches for millions to watch

A British man known as ‘Old Dry Keith’ who went viral for making ‘white people’s food’ has died after suffering with bone cancer.

Keith attracted millions of viewers on platform Douyin each day from China as he made lunches including ham sandwiches and eggs on toast.

His account ran by his wife ‘Jane’ Zhang Jian reached over one million followers with a trend even being sparked in China of people trying to create their own ‘dry lunch’.

Some Chinese supermarkets also created a ‘dry shopping area’ with ingredients Keith regularly used including bread.

Keith and Jane met in Malaysia in 2007 before she began posting videos of him as she adapted to life in the UK.

They quickly went viral in China, with one clip showing Keith unable to find an avocado to go with his smoked salmon.

She 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.’

Zhou Zhiruo, a writer from China, commented: ‘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.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.