Following the inaugural 22 for 2022 last year, we're pleased to bring you our latest One's To Watch for this year - 23 for 2023, the new and exciting people changing the way we eat. Through the list, we highlight 23 of the most interesting, innovative and influential people to look out for this year.
Some are just starting their path, while others have been plugging away for years, only now just making a breakthrough. Our trends framework underpins the selection with four cultural drivers dividing the choices into different areas of influence.
In no particular order, here's a selection from our 23 for 2023:
Mitch Lane - TikTok Influencer, MealsbyMitch
Hailing from a town in the west of England, Mitch has no culinary training, however, outside of his day job he creates videos showing easy to cook, cheap meals which have gained over 10M views on TikTok alone.
Matt Whiley - Owner of new zero waste bar RE, Sydney
Matt's CV speaks for itself - he's been serving up creative, and sometime shocking, drinks to the masses at acclaimed bars such as The Talented Mr Fox, Peg+ Patriot and Scout. But he's now quit the capital to head down under where he's applying his unrelenting creativity and commitment towards zero waste to set up his new bar RE.
Both Mitch and Matt are part of the Unlock Time cultural driver.
Darcie Maher - Acclaimed Bakery and social media influencer
Having quickly become one of the hottest bakers in the country, as the brains behind the pastry offering at Edinburgh's The Palermston, Darcie is now set to open her first bakery space. Through her Instagram account, darciebakes, her baking has gone well beyond the Scottish capital and gained her fans from much further afield.
Will King-Smith - Australian owner and chef behind Copenhagen's Goldfinch
Previously head chef at another well known restaurant in the Danish capital, Geranium, Will and his partner Megan Leung now run Goldfinch, a casual Chinese restaurant serving up a wide range of dumplings, noodles and traditional Cantonese dishes.
Lyndsay C. Green - Food critic
The restaurant critic at the Detroit Free Presse, Lyndsay puts in the hard work to find those often un-noticed spots that perhaps don't have the budget for a glitzy opening, championing local and often forgotten cuisines. She's been a cheerleader for the motor city's Polish, Middle Eastern and Mexican populations as well as writing about endemic problems such as food insecurity. She cemented her place in the spotlight following an eye-opening account of what it's like to be one of just a few, if any, Black restaurant critics at a major daily US newspaper.
Darcie, Will and Lyndsay are part of the Displace and Distract cultural driver.
Sumaya Bouhbal - TV Actor, highlighting food inequality in New York
Perhaps best known for her work on hit TV show Law and Order, Sumaya is now using her influence to highlight the stark difference in the accessibility of food in her home town of New York. For over a year she, and a team of volunteers, have handed out grocery kits on the street in the Heights, with healthy meal ingredients and food specially meant for kids' lunches.
Dr Calum Holmes - Scientist at Herriot Watt University
Calum leads a team of scientists at the University who are on a mission to find out whether old species of barley could create distinctive new whiskeys, as well as how they will respond to modern distilling processes. First, we had heritage distilling techniques trending, then it was barrel finishes. Now, the golden path for spirits could be in the heritage grains used to produce the spirit.
Sumaya and Calum are are part of the Treasure Planet cultural driver.
Dr Sarah Berry - Associate Professor in the Dept. of Nutritional Sciences at King's College, London
Few know more about nutrition than Sarah. Alongside her role at King's College, she's also Chief Scientist at ZOE, the popular food diet app, as well as being lead scientist on the PREDICT program which seeks to capture potential threats to human health before they spread.
Nirali Buch Mankodi - Founder of Superfoodio
Creating snacks that have reduced sugar, high protein and short ingredients lists is what Superfoodio does best. Nirali and her team are creating better treats in line with the increased knowledge around how sugar affects our metabolism. Their products are keto-friendly, low sugar, plant-based and gluten-free. The future looks bright for Nirali and Superfoodio.
Sarah and Nirali are part of the Health Wise cultural driver.
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This introduction forms part of the longer One's To Watch list over on our trendhub. Subscribers can read the full list here. If you're interesting in finding out more about how to subscribe and access our exclusive content, contact us via the form below.