American TikToker identifies as British after he fell in love with beans on toast, tea and chip butties

An American man has taken to TikTok to explain how his love for British food and snacks has led him to identify as British. The man, who goes by the name Tlo on the social media site, fell in love with the UK at the beginning of the year after someone suggested he try beans and cheese on toast.

Tlo, who does not reveal his full name in his videos but is from Chicago, United States, has been on a quest to try as many common British foods and snacks as possible since then.  His favourites include the chip butty and the deep fried Mars bar - at least so far. He said he wants to try even more British food before he ultimately decides what his favourite dish or snack is. "I can't say this is my favourite because I believe I still have a lot left to try but the best things I've had so far are a chip butty, deep-fried Mars bar and tea cakes.”

To feed his love of British meals and snacks, Tlo visited a British food store on the outskirts of Miami, Florida, called the British Marketplace. One of his videos shows him exploring the store, speaking of his amazement at all the British foods that are available to him so close to home including crumpets and custard slices.  He says: "I am in the UK, almost. I feel like I have almost passed away and went to heaven."

Tlo has only visited the shop once, but he must have been extremely excited by all the choices on offer as he said he bought enough items to keep him going for several weeks. Other videos show him cooking some Yorkshire puddings, plating up a crisp sandwich and making his own fried Mars bar.

It’s not just British food that Tlo enjoys either, it’s also the culture and even the weather. He said he now loves to start his days off with a "perfectly brewed cuppa" while watching the British teen sitcom The Inbetweeners. He even refers to a rainy, overcast day with grey skies as “just beautiful”.

Tlo said: "I've been doing YouTube for five years now and when I moved to Florida my subscribers started sending me the foods they like and grew up on. In January, I started trying the items on TikTok because it just felt like the right thing to do, and then it just snowballed from there as 99% of the items I've ever tried were sent to me straight from the UK from subscribers."

There is one meal, however, that Tlo only wants to try if he has the proper British version - a Sunday lunch. He hopes to visit the UK soon so that he can try a roast dinner for the very first time, and has even started raising money for his trip with the help of his online fans. So far he has $50. The trip may not be happening just yet, but Tlo knows exactly what he wants to do when he can visit - go to see his subscribers in person and eat their favourite meals with them. He said: “[I want to] try a lot of authentic stuff that can’t be replicated in the USA”. In the meantime, he has been researching UK-themed pubs, bars and stores in the Florida area so he can get his fix of all things British much closer to home.