10 Substack food writers transforming how we think about cooking and dining
In the algorithm’s endless scroll, most food content flashes by, recipe and restaurant recommendations rarely making the jump from screen to real life. Substack, the newsletter and media platform, works differently: thoughtful food writing arrives in your inbox, ready when you need it.
The best food newsletters here feel like conversations with knowledgeable friends sharing recipes, tips and stories behind what they cook and eat. Food journalism gets personal. Writers explore everything from Asian-American home cooking to Indigenous foodways, from dessert culture to the realities of grocery prices.
Most Substacks offer free subscriptions so you can discover new writers and decide what resonates before committing, while paid subscriptions unlock full archives and support writers directly. Whether you’re looking for practical cooking advice, cultural context or simply want to spend your screen time more mindfully, these creators prove why Substack is essential for anyone who takes food seriously.
Read more: The taste of identity: 8 Asian food writers who explore culture and history through a culinary lens
Samin Nosrat
What "use whatever herbs" really means by Samin Nosrat
herb pairing basics
The Persian-American chef behind Salt Fat Acid Heat and its Netflix adaptation brings her grounded approach to her Substack, A Grain of Salt. Together with her team, Samin Nosrat shares practical advice and essays on cooking and good living that feel like letters from a friend who happens to be a James Beard winner.
Joyful kitchen philosophy takes the place of strict recipes, along with a weekly roundup of inspiring ideas and people. Her piece on what “use whatever herbs” really means transforms vague instructions into actionable herb-pairing knowledge. Another reader favourite: a story on labneh, where she shares a childhood photo of herself and her late sister raiding the fridge in nappies, a testament to her family’s love for fermented milk products. Then there’s her classic weeknight chicken, an “unrecipe” so good that a friend once joked he’d need a conveyor belt to keep it coming.
Read more: Five food-related shows that will amp up your appetite
Yotam Ottolenghi
What makes an Ottolenghi salad? by Yotam Ottolenghi
Part 1: Choose one hero ingredient and let it lead the way
The Israeli-British chef and James Beard-winning author has built an empire on generous, layered flavours and plant-forward cooking. On his self-titled Substack, Yotam Ottolenghi and his team share stories, recipes and test kitchen research, offering a window into the ideas that shape each dish.
Expect thoughtful reflections on what makes a recipe distinctly Ottolenghi, from the anatomy of a moreish salad to notes on cooking for picky kids and around dietary restrictions. Highlights include Celebration Rice, a multi-layered kitchen project that embodies his cooking philosophy and makes for a stunning centrepiece for any occasion.
Jenny Dorsey
A life update + a (new) Food Politics 101 lecture by Jenny Dorsey
From my birthday lecture at the National University of Singapore
The Chinese-American chef, writer and speaker brings her intellectual curiosity and emotional honesty to Way Too Complicated, a Substack “for people who like food and love suffering”. Jenny Dorsey explores how food intersects with identity and politics, writing with the same candour and conviction that she brings to her food industry nonprofit Studio Atao.
Her essays dig deep into how and what we eat—and the systems that shape them—and reflect who we are and what we value. She also unpacks complicated feelings about her own work as a cookbook writer for hire, having penned seven commissioned titles, including the bestselling Avatar: The Last Airbender cookbook. Dorsey treats discomfort not as something to avoid, but as a route to clarity.
Mahira Rivers
Anatomy of a Critic by Mahira Rivers
In defense of an expert’s opinion. Or, has social media lost the plot?
A former Michelin Guide inspector for North America turned food journalist, Mahira Rivers applies her critic’s precision to Sweet City, a Substack chronicling New York’s dessert culture. Born in Pakistan and raised in Hong Kong, Rivers brings a global palate and a sharp sense of context to her reviews and essays.
Her writing bridges the gap between insider critique and reader-friendly charm. One week, she’s mapping out the best bakeries across New York; the next, she’s dissecting the evolution of tastemakers from critics to social media influencers. Like the best desserts, her Substack is not too sweet but balanced, satisfying and worth lingering over.
Read more: Desserts and traditions: 10 fascinating sweet rituals in Asia
Mei Liao
The Doubanjiang Guide by Mei Liao
Introducing the most important condiment in my Sichuanese pantry
Known for her viral tinned fish reviews and kitchen experiments, Mei Liao, aka @daywithmei, uses her Substack, Ugly Pantry, to show what happens when creativity is unbound by the social media algorithm. The James Beard nominee treats it as her culinary workshop—part diary, part research notebook—where ideas can be messy and constantly evolving.
Expect thoughtful cooking guides and essays on what it means to cook as a second-generation immigrant. Start with her doubanjiang guide, a meticulous look at the fermented fava bean and chilli paste essential to Sichuan cuisine, or her reflection on the rising cost of cooking from her culture in America. Her writing simmers with curiosity and care, showing how personal the act of cooking—and revealing one’s working pantry—can be.
Andrea Nguyen
Starting over -- here's what my family brought from Vietnam 50 years ago by Andrea Nguyen
What would you bring?
Bestselling cookbook author Andrea Nguyen continues her mission to document and demystify Asian home cooking through her Substack, Pass the Fish Sauce. Moving her long-running newsletter from her blog Viet World Kitchen to Substack has given Nguyen a livelier, more conversational space to share her knowledge.
Her pieces are equal parts guide and memoir—one day, a tofu tutorial or ingredient cheat sheet, the next, a reflection on the few things her family had when they fled Vietnam 50 years ago, including her mother’s precious recipe notebook. Whether writing about pantry staples or personal history, Nguyen makes Asian foodways feel both approachable and deeply meaningful.
Read more: What is it about Vietnamese cuisine that drives the whole world crazy?
Sean Sherman
The Heart of Bulbancha by Sean Sherman
And the Indigenous foodways of New Orleans
An Indigenous chef, restaurateur and activist, Sean Sherman uses his Substack, The Sioux Chef, to continue his work on decolonising North American cuisine. The title is a nod to the collective name once used for several Indigenous peoples of the northern Great Plains—including his own Oglala Lakota people—and the food traditions he’s committed to reclaiming and celebrating. A multiple James Beard Award winner, Sherman connects food, land and identity through stories grounded in community.
His essays move between past and present—tracing the Indigenous roots of Bulbancha or what is now known as New Orleans, previewing his forthcoming book Turtle Island and exploring the link between sustainability and food sovereignty. Sherman writes with the clarity of a teacher and the reverence of a storyteller, reminding readers that food is both memory and map.
Christina Chaey
On breaking up with perfectionist cooking by Christina Chaey
Embracing newer, softer standards for feeding myself
The Korean-American writer and recipe developer, formerly of Bon Appétit, brings her thoughtful approach to Gentle Foods, the title of both her Substack and her forthcoming cookbook. Built around the idea of “cooking how you want to feel”, her newsletter explores the quiet overlap between nourishment and introspection.
Christina Chaey’s writing is as much about unlearning as it is about cooking. Between nourishing recipes (like an adaptable salad to flex at your next potluck), she reflects on breaking up with perfectionism, challenging diet culture and rediscovering what “healthy eating” truly means to her.
Read more: How different cultures approach healthy eating
Rosie Kellett
REFLECTIONS ON A WEIRD YEAR by Rosie Kellett
let me be real with you
British chef and author Rosie Kellett first went viral for documenting her former life in a warehouse with six housemates in London. From their dinners grew The Late Plate, her Substack that celebrates budget-friendly, vegetable-forward meals made to share.
Named after the phrase they used when a housemate wanted a portion saved, The Late Plate has evolved into a thoughtful space about food, relationships and change. Kellett blends practical guides—like her clever 27-ingredient pantry list—with raw reflections on body image, creative burnout and the comfort of a shared meal when everything else feels uncertain.
Read more: The shared table: Asia’s communal dining traditions and why they endure
Cafe Maddy
Your September Calendar, and KBBQ Essentials by maddy
Madeline Park—better known as Cafe Maddy to over 2.1 million followers across platforms—has built a world defined by the in-between. Her Korean-American recipes and ASMR kitchen videos reflect what it means to build a sense of home across cultures.
On her Substack, Cafe Maddy Club, she goes beyond short-form videos and offers easy-to-follow, single-serving recipes alongside digital illustrations. Each piece combines visual storytelling with reflections on food and identity. Every month, she shares a hand-drawn monthly calendar, a gentle reminder to savour simple pleasures.
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