Jay Rayner is an award-winning writer, jazz pianist, broadcaster, and one of Britain’s most respected restaurant critics. Best known for his tenure at The Observer from 1999 until early 2025, he has since taken the reins as restaurant critic at the Financial Times.
Jay is a distinguished voice in national journalism, beginning his career as a freelance feature writer and before that being named Young Journalist of the Year in 1992. He has twice been recognised as Critic of the Year at the UK Press Awards, in 2023 and again in 2025.
Jay is the author of four novels and eight non-fiction works. His latest, Nights Out At Home, is a cookbook celebrating his 25-year restaurant-review career and was a Sunday Times bestseller. He also chairs BBC Radio 4’s food panel show The Kitchen Cabinet and is a familiar presence on television, most notably as a MasterChef judge and food reporter on The One Show.
Away from the page and screen, Jay performs live, both with his jazz sextet and in his solo shows, and hosts the popular Out to Lunch podcast
