San Francisco’s Snack Sensei Dishes on Journey From Rapper to Food Influencer

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In a recent video on social media, Oscar Cuadra demonstrated how to make a holiday cocktail called the “Pinche Abuelito,” which roughly translates to “dang grandpa.” He mixed E.Cuarenta, a Tequila from Bay Area rapper E-40, with chocolate Baileys, coffee, whipped cream and chocolate candy.

“Since it’s called E.Cuarenta, you need 40 shots,” Cuadra said as he poured the Tequila into a cup of ice. “I’m kidding. Forty is crazy, OK? Just four.”

He finished with some tongue-in-cheek banter: “Can I stuff your stocking? Can I rein your deer? Can I jingle your bells?”

The video is silly, funny and snackable — typical of Cuadra’s style. As the Snack Sensei on social media, he has amassed more than 170,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts cooking demos, snack recommendations and his signature restaurant reviews.

His videos regularly go viral. Even in person, his presence draws viewers. When I sat down to talk to him at a cafe in the Presidio, two men sitting at the table next to us wanted to meet him and listened throughout our 45-minute conversation. They patiently waited until we were done to ask for a photo. The men, who said they were visiting from Stockton, had never heard of the Snack Sensei until then.

It’s this type of magnetic pull that has propelled Cuadra, a San Francisco native, from driving buses for SamTrans to making social media content full-time.

As fun as it might look, Cuadra considers himself an artist above all. He also raps under the name Grand-O. He didn’t have a playbook to follow on how to make it as a social media maven, he said, especially for a Latino in the world of food marketing. As he grows his following, can he raise his profile beyond the Bay Area?

“I’m so proud to be a Latino, especially in this space, because we just don’t have too many people doing it at this level,” he said. “And that to me is so important because I know what it’s like to not have anybody, like any real superheroes, that look like you and talk like you.”

Cuadra was raised by a mother from Mexico and a father from Nicaragua. His childhood was filled with his mom’s cooking and frequent visits to her hometown, Lagos de Moreno, in Jalisco, Mexico. His father, a songwriter, instilled in him a love of music. He picked up rapping when he was a teenager.

After graduating from high school, Cuadra tried out college for a year in Santa Barbara before moving home to San Francisco, where he kept working on his music and supported himself with a series of odd jobs, including bus driver. He declined to say how old he is to, as he put it, maintain some mystery about himself.

It was during his time driving for SamTrans that he started posting videos of himself eating his favorite snacks. Then he turned to reviewing food trucks and restaurants. He’s lost count of how many establishments he’s reviewed but estimates over 300 in the Bay Area.

“We went from doing snacks to food trucks to trying to build out our YouTube to building out Instagram,” he said.

The “we” refers to Eva Indigo, his manager and creative director.

“The game always changed, and we just pivoted as it changed,” he said. “But the music came before the snacks. Without the music, there would be no snacks. I’m at a point right now where I’m trying to just merge them together even further. A lot of people know me for the snack stuff, but my real passion is music.”

Cuadra makes money by creating content along with sponsorship and brand deals. He also releases music on his YouTube channel.

He calls his Snack Sensei reviews “The People’s Palate,” and he’s coined the tagline, “Home of the Smack or Wack.”

His videos feature him lifting food to eye level and shimmying as he takes a bite. Then the catchphrases come, including the ubiquitous “bruh.” My personal favorite is “sopale, fool,” which means “blow on it” in Spanish, as in to cool down your food.

Cuadra’s fashion style incorporates a lot of sports jerseys, jackets and baseball hats with flashy sneakers. He often wears his long hair in two sleek braids that flow down to his torso.

He’s visited more taquerias and Mexican restaurants than he can count but hits up all types of restaurants and cuisines, from taco trucks and sandwich shops to poke bars and sit-down eateries.

“Our recommendation list is crazy. You should see our [direct messages],” he said. “We’ve asked ourselves, ‘Like, ‘Bruh, do you think we’re ever going to run out of places?’ No, especially in the Bay Area, everyday things pop up all the time, like new restaurants all the time. So I don’t think we’ll run out.”

He’s reached a point where fans recognize him when he’s filming or about to catch a flight. During a recent visit to a school, a 10-year-old boy asked him to sign his shoes.

When I asked Cuadra for his advice to other aspiring influencers, his response was similar to what I’ve heard from countless artists, executives and leaders I’ve interviewed: you can do it, too.

When people see someone excelling, they want to know how they do it. What is the secret sauce? In other words, can you give me directions to be like you?

In essence, we want to be influenced by someone we deem successful. But Cuadra is still trying to map out his blueprint. He’s made it this far not by knowing what to do but instead by following his instincts and infusing his unique style and personality into his brand.

As for the future, he said he wants to expand his content beyond the Bay Area and rake in more lucrative partnerships, such as shoe collaboration with a brand like Nike.

“I feel like I inspire myself at this point,” he said. “I’m very proud that we kind of can stand on our own. I’m not saying we don’t need anybody else, but we’ve made a name for ourselves off of the work that we put in.”