What started as a personal quest to find the best butter turned into a March Madness-style bracket
Credit: Patrick D.
NEED TO KNOW
- Man goes viral for turning March Madness into a “Butter Bracket,” taste-testing popular grocery store brands
- His DIY blind-testing process and humorous approach draw in fans — some even say they’re “more invested” than the real tournament
- The series is part of his larger quest to find the best butter in the world, with more food content already in the works
As millions of fans fill out their March Madness brackets each year, one man decided to take the competition in a completely different — and unexpectedly delicious — direction.
Patrick D., a 38-year-old based in the Washington, D.C., area, has gone viral for creating a “Butter Bracket,” pitting popular grocery store butters against each other in a head-to-head taste test inspired by the NCAA tournament.
The idea didn’t come out of nowhere. For months, Patrick, who goes by @Patatouille on TikTok, had already been deep into a personal mission.
“I’ve been on a quest to find the best butter in the world,” he tells PEOPLE exclusively, noting that he’s sampled more than 40 varieties so far.
As he shared that journey online, viewers began asking him to review more accessible options — the everyday butters found in grocery stores across the country. At the same time, March Madness was approaching, and the format suddenly made perfect sense.
“As a sports fan in general, I saw March Madness was coming and thought it was a great way to combine the two,” he says.
@dubeview
Butter Madness 1 KerryGold vs 16 Aldi Our first matchup to find the top grocery store, readily available butter! @Kerrygold USA @ALDI USA #butter #buttermadness
♬ Morning / LoFi / Chillout / Hip Hop(958094) – Chill Soul Labo
To build his bracket, Patrick pulled from both his own grocery runs and suggestions flooding in from TikTok comments. From there, he seeded each butter — though he admits the rankings weren’t exactly scientific.
“I seeded them myself, but those seeds were really only based on my own biases and what I thought the public considered the best,” he says.
But organizing the bracket turned out to be the easy part. Filming the taste tests — especially keeping them fair — required a bit more creativity.
“It’s been an adventure,” Patrick says. “I do most of these at home when nobody else is around, so I’ve had to get creative as to how to do this blind.”
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BUTTER MADNESS Another first round matchup: 4 seed @Tillamook vs 13 seed @Land O’Lakes #butter #buttermadness
♬ Morning / LoFi / Chillout / Hip Hop(958094) – Chill Soul Labo
At first, his wife helped set things up before leaving the house, but even that system had its flaws.
“I noticed that the colors are different on some of them,” he explains. “So I’ve ended up doing the ‘blind’ part myself by closing my eyes and spinning the plate until I didn’t know which was which.”
To keep track, he labels each sample underneath — a simple workaround that’s become part of the series’ charm.
That DIY approach — paired with the unexpected concept — has helped the videos reach far beyond typical sports fans.
“It’s been pretty positive overall,” he says. “A lot of people are saying that they’re more invested in this than the regular March Madness, which made me laugh.”
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Butter Madness! 8 seed @Whole Foods Market vs 9 seed @Costco Wholesale Will we see another upset? Who is going to move on to face @Kerrygold USA #butter #buttermadness
♬ Morning / LoFi / Chillout / Hip Hop(958094) – Chill Soul Labo
Some viewers, he adds, are even learning how brackets work for the first time.
“People didn’t know what the ‘seeds’ meant, so I’ve had to describe that to them,” he says. “I like this mashup of sports and butter — I’m getting people from all across the internet.”
As for which butter will ultimately come out on top, Patrick is keeping that reveal for the final round.
“I can’t say the best yet,” he says. “You’ll have to stay tuned until the final.”
That said, out of his many samplings on his quest for the world's best butter, he has a favorite. "Right now it’s Les Prés Salés, by the way," he says.
Still, as the face-off narrows down, he insists there are no real losers.
“They’re all usable butter at the end of the day,” he says. “I don’t think many of these are meant to be spread on bread and eaten alone.”
Credit: Patrick D.
For Patrick, the viral moment is just one part of a much bigger — and ongoing — project.
“I’m continuing my quest to find the best butter in the world,” he says. “If you know of any, I’m all ears.”
And with the success of the bracket, he’s already thinking about what could come next.
“I’ve also started trying all the most recommended items from Trader Joe’s,” he adds. “Maybe I need to do a bracket for those.”
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