Why Everyone Is Obsessed With The Viral Allison Plates
When 'Girl Dinner' took over TikTok in 2023 — thank you, Olivia Maher — it asked and answered a very important question: 'What if charcuterie boards but all the time?' It makes so much sense. Why limit yourself to one dish for dinner when you can languidly graze over the finest selections of meats, cheeses, breads, and other nourishing snack stuff?
There's beauty in Girl Dinner's simplicity. All you have to do is open the fridge, pull out the good stuff, lay it out higgledy-piggledy on a table or counter, and commence to feast. You don't even need to sit down, although I suggest you do; sitting is always better than standing.
And lying down is always better than sitting. So, maybe have your Girl Dinner while draped across a satin divan like a Roman aristocrat.
As with all of the best TikTok trends, the community took this great idea and ran with it. First, we got the viral sound from creator Karma Carr that was used thousands of times by users sharing their own versions of Girl Dinner. These range anywhere from some of your more traditional-looking, charcuterie-inspired plates to things that are truly feral, like a bowl of elbow macaroni with peas. The latter is my personal, preferred version.
There are other creators, however, that went the opposite route. They took the concept of the Girl Dinner and turned it into something you might find on a Pinterest board or on the menu of a Michelin-star restaurant. Enter the 2025 viral food trend: the Allison Plate.
TikTok user @ally_wong has amassed quite a following — over half a million followers — by sharing her love of food and art. Her food creations do kind of give Girl Dinner vibes, but they differ quite a lot in spirit.
Both are often an assemblage of random foods on a single plate. However, where Girl Dinner celebrates the random chaos that happens when you put all of your disparate favorites onto a dish (or dishes), the Allison Plate is far more intentionally constructed. Each meal places more emphasis on presentation than your typical Girl Dinner.
Part of the reason Allison focuses so much on presentation is that she makes her own ceramic dishware. The literal plates used become just as important as the food that they hold. There are even some that seem intentionally made for the kind of food that will one day hold it. Take a look at the example below that has a specific, bagel-sized indentation. It's extremely perfect.
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Besides presentation, the other major difference between a Girl Dinner and an Allison Plate is preparation. Several of Allison's dishes involve multiple, intricate steps. Take the TikTok below as just one example. She uses a leftover piece of salmon to make salmon cakes for ten minutes in the oven and "quickly" whips up an entire beet salad to go on her plate. While it looks fantastic, I imagine the average Girl Dinner would take less than ten minutes to prepare in its entirety.
Still, there is far less preparation for an Allison Plate than your standard lunch or dinner, and it provides a wide array of nutritious snack foods for those 9–5 girls who don't want to just pick one thing to eat. And the Allison Plate really resonates with a lot of people on TikTok. Fans of hers try their hand at arranging their own platters, even going so far as to announce where they bought their plate.
Many of the comments on Allison's videos point out two things. First is her pleasant, soft way of speaking as she gently places food onto her plate. It's like an ASMR version of food preparation. For real, I spent an extra hour just watching her food videos because I was lulled into a pleasant state of peace. See, Mom, TikTok isn't ALL brain rot.
The second point from the comments is that her videos inspire the viewer to attempt their own plate and really be mindful of the foods they are choosing to eat. Many comments say that this intentionality helps them to have more balanced meals throughout the day.
I want to make it clear that there is space for both Girl Dinner and the Allison Plate at the table. I think the wonderful thing about both trends is that they allow you to eat on your own terms. Some nights, you get home from a long day of work and all you can muster is a Girl Dinner. You get to pick out your favorite things from the big menu of life and just go nuts on them. That's freaking awesome.
Maybe on the weekends, you have the time and energy to whip up an Allison Plate. You make a special trip to the grocery store, pick out all your favorites, maybe some things you've never tried before, and make it look like a picture from Martha Stewart's Instagram account. That, also, is freaking awesome.
In my opinion, the overall goal of any meal should be that it makes you feel good. And that can look like a lot of different things. Sometimes it's a salad. Sometimes it's four hot dogs from a street vendor. No matter what it is, it should be celebrated.
So, I am going to give my own Girl Dinner or Allison Plate a try this weekend. Here are some of my go-tos, no matter which I select: blue cheese, Smartfood popcorn, dried dates, Wheat Thins, shelled pistachios, Pillsbury flaky biscuits with honey butter, and an entire ice cream cake. Don't judge me, and let me know what you're putting on your plate in the comments.
Whether you're building the components for an Allison Plate or trying to think of other quick meal ideas, download the Tasty app to browse and save over 7,500 recipes — no subscription required.
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