Whether they’re promoting over-the-top indulgences or healthy, “clean” eating, there’s no denying that food bloggers and influencers have worked their way into the hearts (and feeds) of millions of people. Check out the top foodie influencers across social media and see what makes them so popular.
Top Foodie Influencers
Jamie Oliver
British chef Jamie Oliver has 5.9 million Instagram followers and is one of the top foodie influencers. He’s known for his string of restaurants, his TV shows, his cookbooks, and, of course, for posting delicious-looking pictures of food (along with the occasional pic of a cute baby).
Kevin/ Fit Men Cook
Although the name of his YouTube channel is Fit Men Cook, Kevin shares recipes designed for both men and women who want to eat healthy to maintain whatever work they’ve put in at the gym. This top foodie influencer’s YouTube channel has more than 374,000 subscribers, while 1.1 million people follow him over on Instagram.
Natalie Mortimer and Holly Erickson
The women behind Modern Proper, Natalie Mortimer and Holly Erickson, are top foodie influencers and have more than 80,000 Instagram followers. The pair were finalists for Saveur’s Best Home-Cooked Food Blog in 2016. Part of their appeal is their focus on homemaking for the modern age, and on prepping delicious but simple meals.
Sarah Philips
Sarah Philips is a food stylist (with the helpful Instagram handle of just “@food”) and top foodie influencer. She regularly posts tantalizing snaps of decadently styled foods, which has led her to attract 516,000 followers.
Brad Lau
Brad Lau, aka LadyIronChef on Instagram, has 647,000 followers on the site and is one of the top foodie influencers. Along with posting plenty of tasty-looking pictures of food, he also regularly posts pictures with travel advice and reviews for restaurants in Singapore, which he calls home.
Hannah Hart
Hannah Hart is the YouTuber behind “My Drunk Kitchen,” which featured her trying to cook while drinking (very large amounts of alcohol). The top foodie influencer’s YouTube channel has more than 2.5 million subscribers, and she’s managed to transfer some of her influence offline, with the publication of a cookbook, and a show on the Food Network.
David Chang
The chef behind Momofuku Milk Bar, David Chang has managed to amass a sizeable following on Instagram: 725,000 followers. As one of the top foodie influencers, he mainly posts pictures of food, including dishes made at his restaurant and elsewhere.
Deliciously Ella
Ella Woodward is the 26-year-old blogger behind Deliciously Ella, which focuses on clean eating. She’s a top foodie influencer who has managed to build up 1.1 million followers on Instagram, thanks to the appealing photos she posts of delicious-looking but still healthy food.
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker is another food blogger and top foodie influencer with a sizable Instagram following: 410,000 followers. As you might guess from her name, her Instagram feed is full of photos of tasty desserts and baked goods. She’s also managed to transfer some of her online influence into offline products, such as cookbooks, as well as to partnerships with brands such as Ghirardelli.
J. Kenji López-Alt
Combination science nerds and foodies follow J. Kenji Lopez-Alt for his decidedly scientific approach to food and cooking. The top foodie influencer is the former editor at “Cook’s Illustrated,” and is currently over at Serious Eats. He also recently published a 900-page tome, “The Food Lab,” which delves deep into the science behind cooking. He has 66,000 followers on Instagram and 15,000 on Twitter.
Ida Skivenes
Ida Skivenes is a Norwegian food artist with 281,000 followers and one of the top foodie influencers. Her Instagram is full of pictures of houses made out of watermelon, bunnies shaped from waffles, and other cute, clever designs made entirely from food.
Alexa Mehraban
Alexa Mehraban is the food writer behind the EatingNYC Instagram account, which has 275,000 followers. As one of the top foodie influencers, his profile contains post after post of beautifully photographed food, all made somewhere in the Big Apple.
Nick N.
Nick N., aka Dad Beets, has 71,800 Instagram followers, which at first glance might not seem like that much. But the top foodie influencer also took home the award for Best Food Instagram from Saveur’s 2016 Blog Awards. His feed is full of shots of homemade food, as well as a few pictures of his kids.
Lucia Lee
Lucia Lee, the Food Minimalist, puts a new spin on “clean eating.” The top foodie influencer’s Instagram is full of shots of single bowls or pots of food against a white background. She doesn’t have a huge following — just 5,707 — but she was named one of Saveur’s Top 20 Food Instagrams for 2016.
Izy Hossack
Izy Hossack is a food science and nutrition student based in London with 229,000 followers on Instagram. Her top foodie influencer feed is full of pictures of the dishes she makes from the easy-to-follow recipes she posts on her blog.
Molly Tavoletti
Molly Tavoletti founded Across a Table. She tells the stories of people she talks to while sitting down to eat. The top foodie influencer’s Instagram, which has 64,100 followers, features plenty of pictures of bagel sandwiches, cocktails, and other delicious foods.
Rosanna Pansino
The YouTuber behind Nerdy Nummies, Rosanna Pansino, is one of the top foodie influencers with more than 8.6 million subscribers. As you might guess from the name, her specialty is putting together baked goods with a geeky twist, such as a cherry-flavored Spiderman cake.
Samantha Lee
Another food artist, Samantha Lee turns basic rice and veggies (and sometimes ice cream) into creations that look almost too cute to eat. She has 706,000 followers on Instagram, who are paying attention to see what story she’ll tell with food next.
Alex Kristofcak
Another one of Saveur’s top 20 Food Instagram accounts for 2016, Alex Kristofcak has just over 5,000 followers. But he has lots of great photos of pies, featuring intricate lattice and other designs. Alex is also the founder of Jarry, a biannual print magazine that explores the intersection of food and queer culture.
The Food Babe
You wouldn’t expect a food influencer to be controversial, but that’s what Vani Hari, aka the Food Babe, is. She regularly takes the food industry to task for artificial ingredients, GMOs, and so on, in food products. People look to her as a top source for information about healthy food. She boasts nearly 1.2 million likes on Facebook and 105,000 followers on Twitter.
Deb Perelman/Smitten Kitchen
Deb Perelman is the blogger behind Smitten Kitchen, which has 579,000 followers on Instagram. Her food blog is full of delicious and easy recipes. Her popularity has led to the publication of two print cookbooks.
Lindsay & Bjork Ostrom/Pinch of Yum
The couple behind Pinch of Yum publish simple recipes, with options for dessert, dinner, lunch, and more. They’ve built up a following of 438,000 on Instagram, and feature videos of some of their recipes.
Russ Crandall
Russ Crandall, or the Domestic Man, as he’s known on Instagram, sports 44,600 followers. He’s popular for his paleo-centric recipes. These appeal both to people following a paleo diet and to those who need to avoid grains for other reasons.
Lindsay Radcliffe
If you long to live in the countryside and want to feel envious, check out Lindsay Radcliffe’s Instagram feed. Her 13,300 followers pay close attention to her beautiful photos of meals and dishes featuring food that looks pulled straight from the ground or harvested that day.
Roy Choi
Ever wonder why food trucks are a thing these days? You have Roy Choi to thank for that. After graduating from a top cooking school in NYC, Choi decided to sink his money into a food truck serving a Korean-Mexican fusion of barbecue. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, Choi has 51,100 followers on Twitter.
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