Substack is a platform that straddles plenty of topics – from fashion to travel to reading lists and political hot takes. But for those culinarily-inclined, when thinking about the Substack boom's biggest perk, it's hard to land on anything other than its propensity to dispense some really, really good recipes.
There are plenty of people out there telling you which food accounts are the most popular – but we're here to show you which ones are actually the best. These are the food accounts with cool factor – great design, insider tips, recommendations to wow your friends (or maybe just your own palate). These are recommendations from years spent living on the platform – digging up treasured smaller accounts that actually offer up tasty little words for your reading pleasure.
From professional chefs musing on the anatomy of restaurant bills and recipe developers showing us how to take the viral dot cake to prism-like new heights, to amateur cooks sharing cereal tips for fussy kids and agriculturists-turned-chefs taking us into the greenhouse for proper farm-to-table fare – these are the best food Substacks to add to your follow list.
1. Ellie's Notebook
by Ellie Bouhadana
We've been not-so-secret admirers of Ellie's work for years now (since her days helming the famed kitchen at Melbourne's Hope St Radio), but now the chef is busy repping her cook book and touring the world to do kitchen pop-ups everywhere from Another Aspect in Copenhagen to Cafe Deco in London and Tuba Club in Marseille. Her Substack is, of course, brimming with delicious original recipes filtered through her distinctly Mediterranean and Jewish gustatory lens. But it's also a great place for food obsessives to find her city guides, restaurant recs and dinner party menus.
2. Don't Skip The Dip!
by Pierce Abernathy
Most chronically online foodies would know Pierce Abernathy, the model-esque NYC food personality who's centre-parted locks and industrial Crown Heights kitchen inspire a pang of envy every time he pops up on our feeds. But if Instagram and TikTok weren't enough – he's also feeding us (pun very much intended) over on Substack, where he shares exclusive recipes along with "current culinary interests, general updates, and lists of my favourite things."
3. Nice Nothings
by Bella Thomas
Thomas is many things: a model, a creative, a muse of our FYP. But she is also one hell of a cook. She's interested in the kind of food that makes you feel as good as it looks on the plate – often inspired by her Indian heritage (her Monday dals are spiced to perfection). But don't be fooled – just because she's interested in food that nourishes, doesn't mean she isn't also procuring some delicious sweet treats in the form of sesame and chocolate chip cookies or salty lime sodas.
4. Notes on a Napkin
by Dan O'Regan
Dan is a restaurateur from Bristol, England, and founder of both BANK (a neighbourhood restaurant cooking over fire) and Lapin (a contemporary French bistro). His Substack is perfect both for industry professionals and everyday diners – penning everything from the anatomy of a restaurant bill to a love letter to the solo diner.
5. Kitchen Rituals
by Brooke Kelly
If you're looking for meals that feel equal parts nourishing, balanced and tasty – nutritionist Brooke Kelly has you covered over on her Substack Kitchen Rituals. She brings a wealth of knowledge from her nutrition background about how to achieve radiant skin, microbiome-loving ingredients, how to pack your meals so that you'll feel fuller for longer, and how to breakfast in a way that stabilises your blood sugar.
6. I'll Be Back
by Hayley Back
If you're a lover of food – but not so much the kitchen – then Hayley Back's I'll Be Back Substack is where we'll guide you. She's busy curating a running list of restaurant, cafe and bar recs that she thinks are worth returning to. Right now, it's mostly concentrated on East Coast American restaurants – but there are a few posts for holiday spots like Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, and Rio, Brazil.
7. The Farm Diaries
by Julius Roberts
British chef Julius Roberts has lived out our farm-to-table dreams for years online, and you can also catch his charming persona on Substack. Delicious seasonal recipes and musings on food, farming and nature are the bread-and-butter of his posts – including an incredible mozzarella, radicchio, fennel and blood orange salad that is perfect for your next dinner party menu.
8. Vege Mammas World
by Valentine Fodor
Sydney's favourite cake-baker is on Substack, pushing the boundaries of traditional desserts into far-flung places (dot cake pyramids? rich dark chocolate fudge cake with blackcurrant compote, blackcurrant ganache, dark chocolate ganache AND vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream?). Needless to say, you'll find us here during most of our doom-scrolling sessions.
9. I Made a Mess
by Špela Turk
Turk is a 29-year-old recipe developer, home chef and content creator from Ljubljana, Slovenia who has been sharing her creations across Instagram since the days of the pandemic. Her recipes are entirely vegetarian – and she even boasts a Diploma in Plant Based Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu in London. And despite self-identifying as a "savoury person" with copious recipes for stews, pastas and dumplings, she certainly works her way beautifully around plenty of delicious pastries and desserts too.
10. Eating with Experts
by Si Willis & Lauren McGill
If your MO is needing to know where the best watering holes and culinary must-gos reside, then Si and Lauren's Substack is your place. Their theory is that chefs, the bartenders and restauranteurs offer up some of the best under-the-radar recommendations, and it's hard to disagree with that. From hole-in-the-wall spots to Michelin star fine dining – they chat to chefs about their go-tos, while also detouring into lists of top NYC bars, investigating whether British food really does suck, and the spots food workers wish more people knew about.
11. A Chef At Last
by Eric Huang
If you're looking for a food account to follow on Substack that sheds refinement in favour of personality, harsh realities and a dash of sexual innuendo – Eric Huang's A Chef At Last is a good place ot start. Growing up in his family's Chinese restaurant to working as a sous in some of the best restaurants in the world, and now owning his own restaurant Pecking House – he's really seen every side of the industry. His Substack posts offer raw insights into the restaurant world, a guide to "Eating Chicken in A Neoliberal Nightmare", and even how the American seafood system reflects our political failings.
12. Carter's Cooking
by Carter Were
Despite the fact that Carter Were's Substack declares she doesn't "consider herself a chef", we'd argue that with three cookbooks under her belt, and a dedicated following across Instagram and now Substack, that she is very much a chef we'd like to emulate in our books. The mother of three from the Northern Rivers of Australia shares a plethora of full-fledged original recipes, as well as simple preparation tips and kid-friendly meal hacks. Simplicity is very much at the heart of Were's cooking – which is perfect for the unfussy home cooks among us.
13. Kitchen Studio
by Jesse Jenkins
Jenkins, originally from Los Angeles and now based in London, was a skateboarder and photographer before he took to the kitchen. And its this his laidback attitude and razor-sharp design eye that have translated so beautifully to his Substack. He's on a mission to cut out household food waste via his weekly newsletter with original recipes – from spring green chilli to dukkah-crusted tuna.
14. seconds
by Roberta Pecoraro
The Sydney-based model has delved into catering, recipe development and food content over at @plated_byroberta, but she's also got a pretty groovy Substack going too. You'll find recipes for dairy-free desserts and baking delights, alongside musings on Sydney's best breads, and personal dinner party menus.
Looking for more Substacks to add to your follow list? Check out our list of our favourite Substack accounts to follow, or the best fashion Substack accounts we're loving right now.
