Britain’s top 50 influencers in food

If you think back to ‘who’s who’ lists in the food world pre-internet, celebrity chefs, cookbook authors, television personalities, and a handful of food industry executives dominated the rankings. Some of those people are still there, but the most recent list of UK’s top 50 influential people in food also features several social media and other digital stars from platforms such as Instragram. The list is compiled by advertising agency Telegraph Hill and featured in The Grocer magazine.

While established food personalities are still prominently situated – Jamie Oliver tops the list and Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay and Paul Hollywood all appear in the top 20 –  the “digital generation is hot on their heels and several names here, such as Madeleine Shaw or Izy Hossack, only started reaching big audiences in the past couple of years,” according to The Guardian. Popular author Yotam Ottolenghi clocks in at 21, and blogging sensation Ella Woodward is number 10. Rounding out the list are food industry executives like Andy Clarke of Asda and Dave Lewis of Tesco. 

The method in which the list is compiled leads to a few anomalies. For example, few would argue that TV farmer Jimmy Doherty (in at No. 12) was more influential than activist Jack Monroe (17) or Heston Blumenthal (30). But despite its flaws, the “list does highlight interesting developments, most strikingly the rise of the clean-eating movement, with its promise to cater for an ever-expanding catalogue of food intolerances,” according to the article. You can see the entire list on The Grocer’s ‘s website, and view an expanded list of 100 influential food industry people on the Telegraph Hill site.