Most households remember the first time dinner arrived in a paper bag without anyone cooking, and the first time someone had to figure out how to ask for it. For one family in 2026, that lesson came with a pencil, a notebook and a desktop computer.
Francesca Rietti, a TikTok creator who posts as @francescarietti, taught her 102-year-old grandfather and 89-year-old grandmother how to order on Uber Eats in a video shared May 14, and it has passed 36 million views, People reported in a story carried by Yahoo News Canada on Nov. 10. The couple went from watching a lesson to placing their own orders, and one of those orders turned into two dinners.
A Notebook, a Desktop Computer and a Steakhouse Test
The first video opens with Rietti welcoming her grandparents to what she calls “Uber Eats 101,” with one grandparent on each side of her at the computer. According to People, the grandmother takes notes with a pencil and paper while Rietti explains each step, from opening the browser to finding the restaurant list.
Rietti taught on a desktop because the couple’s phones were too old to run the app, Rietti told Upworthy. The lesson started at the Uber Eats website in a browser, a service that Wikipedia says Uber launched in August 2014.
The early minutes had the rhythm of any first computer lesson. When the grandfather said he could not see the Uber Eats link, the grandmother pointed out that it was “up on top,” People reported. She asked how to reach the site in Chrome, and clarified that she was used to opening the browser to read the news. Then Rietti tapped the screen and learned that the couple’s computer was a touchscreen, which surprised the teacher more than the students.
When Rietti pulled up the list of restaurants, the grandfather reacted to everything from pizza to sushi. The grandmother picked a steakhouse, Morton’s, calling it “always good,” and said she would order her steak medium-rare. People reported that Rietti then asked the pair to pretend they had to order a steak, a kind of pop quiz at the kitchen computer. Anyone curious about how a steakhouse table works in person can read a Frenz Hub list of steakhouse etiquette slip-ups, though a delivered steak skips the dress code.
The Tip Line Gets Its Own Moment
One detail from the first video drew attention from viewers. When the checkout screen appeared, the grandfather noticed that a tip had already been added. “There’s a tip automatically,” he said, according to People.
The tip came up again after the couple placed their first order. Upworthy reported that the grandfather called 10% a fair tip for delivery, while the grandmother pointed out that 20% is the number in a restaurant. The exchange is a small version of a question many diners ask on any app, and a Charleston server asked TikTok what to do when a customer lowered a tablet’s 25% tip to 9% for the same reason: the screen sets a number, and the person holding the device decides what to do with it.
Etiquette has shifted since the generation of Rietti’s grandparents learned to dine out. A list of old-school etiquette rules that have disappeared shows how many habits at the table changed without anyone announcing it, and a tip box on a delivery app is one of the newer ones.
From Lesson to First Solo Order
The video did not stay a one-off. Rietti said in a post on July 31 that her grandparents had ordered on their own for the first time, People reported. Upworthy described a follow-up video in which the grandfather took the lead at the keyboard while the grandmother cheered him on, and the family picked steaks, appetizers and dessert for a dinner together. Family dinners like that are the kind of memory behind a list of things grandkids remember most about their grandparents.
Stretching one order across two nights fits the spirit of a collection of clever kitchen tricks for home cooks: get the most from what already came into the house.
Viral attention arrived quickly. Rietti told Upworthy that after the first lesson went viral she called her grandmother to share the news, and the grandmother started taking notes on the numbers so she could pass them to her husband when he woke up. Rietti also said the response has led to conversations with Uber about ways to bring the idea to more older customers, such as a class or a lunch-and-learn.
The original lesson is posted on Rietti’s TikTok account, where the play counter showed about 36.5 million on Nov. 13.
Two Dinners From One Thai Order
The newest chapter is about leftovers. On Oct. 15, Rietti posted a video of her grandparents showing what came from a Thai restaurant order, People reported. The grandmother explains in the clip that the pair gets two dinners out of a single delivery order.
The spread, as described by People, included a spring roll and dipping sauce saved from the night before, half of a mango salad and a beef and vegetable dish served with rice. The grandmother laughs that she does not usually care for mango, yet she likes this salad.
A couple who orders a main dish, a salad and an appetizer in one go can, as this pair showed, have the next evening’s dinner already in the refrigerator.
What 36 Million Viewers Seem to Respond To
The reaction mixed humor and affection, according to People. One commenter wrote that the grandfather was there for the vibes while the grandmother was there to learn. Another joked that a mother-in-law once tried to learn the same app and accidentally signed up as a driver. DoorDash joined in by offering a gift card if the couple needed one.
Rietti offered her own explanation to Upworthy. People connect with her grandparents, she said, because they are “genuinely just very positive, curious people who are still excited to learn new things.” She added that many commenters said the videos made them call their own grandparents.
The lesson underneath the numbers is plain. A delivery app is just a menu with a checkout screen, and a patient teacher, a notebook and a steak order are enough to get anyone through it.
The 36 million figure is a snapshot from People’s Nov. 10 story, and TikTok totals keep moving.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Brassluff – CC0/Wikimedia Commons
