PLANO, Texas — Whipping up pancakes is Ryan Lewin's specialty, but it's not just for breakfast. In the evenings after his day job, you can catch Lewin in his den making a delicious and beautiful meal.
"It's got to be like a ketchup consistency," said Lewin.
He makes everything from scratch and mixes until he feels it's the right silky texture.
Lewin doesn't make plain round flapjacks. He makes art with batter. Tens of thousands of people crave his pancakes. They follow him on social media, ready for his next creation.
He's made the faces of Kobe Bryant, Dak Prescott, Luka Doncic, Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, Taylor Swift and more.
Through his TikTok and Instagram accounts under the name Flippin' Art Dude, Ryan has gained worldwide attention.
"I had County Music Television reach out. CMT had me do 10 music singers just for their social media. And then a really cool one, Blink 182 reached out to me," he said.
His children, Jake and Emerson, often run around his den while he works. They are the reason he started pancake art in the first place. It was a fun activity to do with his kids and their friends.
Lewin had no idea this hobby would become loved by so many.
"It's just something fun to do," he said.
His children interrupted, "You're famous. Yes you are!"
Every piece is done freehand.
"With pancake art, everything's reversed and everything's backwards. So you got to be careful because the first layer, whatever you put down, once you cover it, you can't go back and change it," he said.
Lewin has a tray of cotton swabs nearby to fix mistakes. But even then, he never really knows how one of his pancakes will turn out until he flips it over.
Jake and Emerson enjoy making pancake art with their dad. The best part is eating the sweet treat after it's done.
For the rest of us watching on our phones, we can only imagine it tastes as good as it looks.