The Food People to Look Out for in 2024

2023 brought a lot of attention to the food industry as food TikTokers shot to fame with cooking hacks and restaurant reviews, snack start-ups took grocery aisles by storm, and fine dining chefs set new trends and tastes. The new year promises to continue our obsession with all things edible.

From new exciting cookbook releases to advancements in restaurant sustainability and the union of food and technology, innovators and creators will change the food world from every angle in 2024. You’ll want to watch these 12 food folks in this year.

Related: 8 Food Trends To Look Out for in 2024

The 12 Food People To Watch in 2024

Kat Lieu

Kat Lieu is a social media creator, recipe developer, author of the cookbook Modern Asian Baking, and force behind the social media community Subtle Asian Baking. Lieu has been a constant outspoken voice on social media for AAPI representation and rights. Her creative recipe videos add pops of color and gooey mochi stretches to your feed. On the regular, her content rack up tens of thousands of likes. In 2024, Lieu will continue to build her incredible community and add a second cookbook to her portfolio, Modern Asian Kitchen, scheduled to release in April.

Related: 18 New Cookbooks We Can't Wait to Get Our Hands on in 2024

Donald Young

In 2019, at 28 years old, Chicago-based chef Donald Young became one of the youngest people to win a MICHELIN star in the US. He is the chef-owner of the New American pop-up dinner series Duck Sel, which he launched in 2021 when the pandemic was still a looming threat to restaurants across the country. Young has managed to not just survive the pandemic, but to thrive. The 18 tickets to his 15-course tasting menu suppers can be hard to secure, and his events are designed to feel like a cozy at-home dinner party where the dinner happens to be of a Michelin-level quality. In 2024, we can expect the rise of pop-up eating experiences to continue with young chefs like Young leading the movement.

Related: How to Cook Prime Rib Like a Pro, According to Pat LaFrieda, America's Most Celebrated Butcher

Sahra Nguyen

Sahra Nguyen has an infectious presence on social media that bleeds into her brand seamlessly. In 2018, she founded Nguyen Coffee Supply, the country’s first specialty Vietnamese coffee company. Through a direct-trade relationship with a single farmer-partner in Vietnam and roasting the beans locally in Brooklyn, New York, Nguyen maintains a more sustainable coffee supply that stays connected to her identity as a first-generation Vietnamese American raised by refugee parents. The year 2024 promises to be another year of robust growth for Nguyen and her company.

Related: 33 Gifts From AAPI-Owned Food & Beverage Brands

Jessica Young

Jessica Young is the founder and CEO of Bubble Goods, a food E-tailer that’s dubbed itself “the most transparent health food marketplace.” Young’s mission is to redefine the food system by increasing access between independent food makers and consumers. The company only sells foods made with whole produce, grains, and minimal natural sweeteners. It prohibits refined sugars, artificial flavors, fillers, gums, hydrogenated oil, and preservatives. Over half of the food brands featured on Young’s platform are female-founded and nearly 20% are BIPOC-founded. Jessica has a background working in MICHELIN-starred restaurants and was the first hire at Daily Harvest. In 2024, Bubble Goods had continued plans to “change the way customers can shop and discover new foods based on their diet and lifestyle.”

Kanchan Koya Ph.D.

Chef Kanchan Koya holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Harvard Medical School and is on a mission to share how culinary spices can help people live healthier lives. On her Instagram @chiefspicemama, where she’s built a community of nearly a quarter million followers, Koya shares beautiful recipes featuring ancient spices as well as the science behind what makes these ingredients good for us. She published the cookbook Spice Spice Baby and hosts the highly-rated podcast Radical Vitality, where she shares tips and tools for wellness.

Related: What Olivia Rodrigo Drinks For a Happy and Healthy Gut—And How to Make It At Home

Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz

This culinary power couple opened the Eastern Mediterranean restaurant Dalida in San Francisco's Presidio neighborhood in 2023. The restaurant was named Eater SF's Restaurant of the Year, was included in The San Francisco Chronicle's 15 Best Bay Area Restaurants of 2023, and was listed on Esquire's Best New Restaurants in America. Laura, from Mexico, met Sayat, from Turkey, while they were both students at the Culinary Institute of America. At Dalida, the couple takes an unfussy approach to vibrant Mediterranean-style eating. Their motto is, “No tweezers allowed,” a sentiment that will continue to drive restaurant trends in 2024 as consumers prioritize flavor and diversity over the white tablecloth treatment.

Joe Frillman

In 2023, Chef Joe Frillman was one of 26 people in the US to win a MICHELIN Green star, which celebrates restaurants and chefs at the forefront of sustainability in the industry. He is the chef and owner of Chicago restaurant Daisies, which was Eater Chicago's 2023 Restaurant of the Year and included in The New York Times' America's Best Restaurants of 2023. Frillman strives for sustainability in his kitchen and within the larger agricultural and hospitality systems. Through the partnership with a network of small farm partners and implementation of aggressive waste-reducing programs, Frillman has become a precedent-setter in sustainability and equity in the restaurant industry.

Yumna Jawad

With over four million Instagram followers and counting, Yumna Jawad of Feel Good Foodie has built an expansive following by sharing Middle Eastern and Mediterranean-inspired recipes on the Internet. Her blog is a wonderful resource for home cooks who want to taste the flavors of Jawad’s native Lebanon and the cuisines of neighboring countries. In 2024, Jawad will release her first cookbook, aptly titled after her popular blog, and it's sure to make a splash.

Oliver Zahn

You might not expect a Harvard-trained astrophysicist to be on a list of people in food. However, Oliver Zahn entered the culinary space at Impossible Foods and launched the food technology company Climax Foods in 2020. The company uses a highly scientific process to hand-shape and culture plant-based cheeses that look, and apparently taste, nearly identical to the real thing. The cheeses are served at over 15 restaurants, including three-MICHILEN-starred Eleven Madison Park in New York City. In 2024, Zahn will continue his mission to generate positive change in the food system by helping consumers transition away from animals towards more efficient and nutritious plants.

Related: Jenné Claiborne Is on a Mission To Help People Improve Their Health—One Delicious Meal at a Time

Dr. Reza Soltanzadeh, MD

Dr. Reza Soltanzadeh is the founder and CEO of Borealis Foods, a food-tech company on a mission to change access to global nutrition by developing sustainable, affordable, and nutritious ready-to-eat meals. The company’s debut product is Chef Woo instant ramen, a plant-based noodle cup made with sustainable ingredients and packaging that’s available nationwide. In 2024, Soltanzadeh has big plans, including partnering with Chef Gordon Ramsey to expand the Chef Woo product line, launching a healthier noodle product for schools, and taking the company public. Soltanzadeh will also work towards his mission by launching and partnering with nonprofits to fight global food insecurity and malnutrition.

Von Diaz

Von Diaz is a food historian, Emmy Award-winning documentarian, and cookbook author who unites storytelling, culture, and food using a variety of media. 2024 will bring the release of Von’s second cookbook Islas: A Celebration of Tropical Cooking. The book highlights the vibrant food of the islands throughout the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans. In addition to delicious recipes and stunning photography, this cookbook takes a narrative approach that brings readers to a tropical destination where they’ll meet and cook alongside islanders, both present-day and historical. Diaz does her job of contextualizing food and ingredients within the history, geography, and culture they come from.

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