The Best Food Newsletters

I have 2,126 unread emails in my inbox. I still can’t stop signing up for newsletters. I have a problem. Every time I see that glossy ‘subscribe’ button I simply cannot help myself. I’ll willingly provide whoever’s asking for my email with exactly what they want and wait until I receive my digital delivery, excited and expectant, like the pups you see in those ‘Dogs Welcoming Soldiers Home Compilation Video HD’ montages on YouTube.

Newsletters have, in many ways, replaced the joy of receiving physical mail for me but they’re also much more than that. As a medium for disseminating information to the masses, newsletters have been a revelation. They’ve allowed many individuals the freedom to self-publish and launch their own brands and platforms without the need for the support of larger media companies. Newsletters have been especially innovative when it comes to the world of food media. So much so that they’re now one of the main ways in which I consume food and drink-related content.

This article was written in order to highlight some of my favourite food newsletters. They’re sent out from all over the globe and written by some exceedingly talented writers. Some of them are recipe-focussed while others are more content and article-driven. But they’ve all got one thing in common: quality.

I get a genuine thrill every time I see that one of these shiny food newsletters has arrived in my inbox. You can rest assured that these are the correspondences I’m prioritising and not letting go unread. Sorry, Nan. Your email wishing me a belated birthday can wait.

Aimed at plying subscribers with “cooking inspiration for the nights when you just feel like making toast”, Bre Graham’s delightful Dishes To Delight is one of the best ways I’ve found to ward off the Sunday scaries. Every Sunday night send-out features a fresh recipe (think Radicchio, Fennel & Pomegranate Salad or Watercress Mac & Cheese) along with a weekly meal plan suggestion and a generous helping of Bre’s sublime prose. It’s a newsletter that perfectly straddles the DMZ between the totally aspirational and the completely achievable and it’s one that never fails to uplift me.

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If it’s sharp and incisive writing that you’re after, this is the newsletter for you. Jonathan Nunn’s Vittles publishes food and culture features written by a wide range of voices with topics spanning from the ‘60 South Asian Dishes Every Londoner Should Know’ to ‘The Mythos of Food in New York Rap’ on an inspiringly regular basis. Whatever subject is getting tackled – and whatever story is being told through the lens of food – you can rest assured that Vittles will give it the time and space it deserves. A salve to the staidness of mainstream food reporting, this newsletter is as informative as it is entertaining. Come for the articles, stay for the Red Wall references.

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Nicola Lamb’s Kitchen Projects is nothing short of incredible. The amount of time and effort that Nicola (who is a recipe developer, consultant, and pastry chef when she’s not found writing newsletters) puts into each email she sends is more than most people would put into their regular 9-5. Each send-out consists of a deep dive into a specific recipe affixed with stunning imagery of the creation process. Nicola’s not just content with showing you how to make a recipe but is intent on teaching you the whys and the whats of the dish along the way. No detail is too granular and no stone is left unturned; this is the perfect newsletter for the proper kitchen geeks out there. Simply brilliant stuff.

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Simply titled ‘a newsletter’, this weekly recipe correspondence from cookbook author Alison Roman is one of the most popular food newsletters on the internet. It’s not hard to see why. The recipes are approachable, Alison has a huge social media presence, and the imagery is always on point. It’s rare that one of her emails will feature a dish that you don’t have the skills to cook, and it’s even rarer that it showcases something you wouldn’t at least want to fantasize about cooking if a hottie like Jamie Dornan came round for dinner. Expect plenty of Alison’s personality injected into every email. If you love Alison Roman, you’ll love this newsletter. If you don’t, it’s probably best to avoid it.

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Figuring out what I’m going to cook in the week is one of the banes of my life. That’s why this newsletter from NYT Cooking is one that appeals to me greatly. Written by Sam Sifton, What To Cook This Week highlight five weeknight-appropriate dishes that you could be cooking throughout the week. Like, duh. The suggestions are always seasonally-minded but never gimmicky or too outlandish. Even if I don’t always cook a dish from them, I never leave these emails unopened.

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Beautiful photography, serious recipes, and helpful hacks. Those are just three of the things you can get from Elena Silcock’s You Bring The Wine. I’m unabashed stan of Elena’s work and this newsletter is a great showcase of her many, many talents. Whether it’s a borlotti bean and kale soup or a garlicky pasta with greens, you can always expect something delicious from this newsletter and always expect that Elena’s going to recommend that you’re extremely liberal with your use of olive oil. She’s right. Trust her.

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It doesn’t get more shameless than this, does it? Shouting about your own newsletter as one of the best food newsletters on the planet is up there with voting for yourself in the World’s Most Handsome Man competition (of which I’ve been a runner-up three years running). Thankfully, I don’t have any bones about promoting the Mob newsletter because I’m extremely confident about how good it is. Here’s what happens when you subscribe to our newsletter: every Monday you’ll receive an email-exclusive recipe that you won’t find anywhere else, every Friday you’ll get a selection of relevant and trending recipes and articles sent your way, and every four weeks you’ll be #gifted a Mob Monthly E-book for you to keep and treasure forever. Something else that happens when you subscribe to our newsletter is I get a sweet release of serotonin in my brain. Give me some of that today, would you?

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Bill Clark’s A Piece of Cake is a newsletter suited for both the wannabe bakers and the actual bakers out there. Though that’s not to say it doesn’t also feature dishes that don’t involve any baking at all, it’s merely that cakes and bakes are Bill’s forte. A new recipe every week is the name of the game of this food newsletter and it’s a game you should definitely take part in. Bill’s a nice guy and he always makes sure that no one gets picked last. By which I mean his recipes are always the perfect mix of perennial favourites you can whip up real quick and more audacious weekend projects you’ll need to set some time aside for. One of the best about.

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A newsletter that’s focussed on nose-to-tail eating and all the offal-y and unloved bits of meat might sound a little niche but Ben Slater’s Gristle is far too much fun to pass up. Sent out on a pretty much weekly basis, Gristle has already featured recipes like Cherry B-Glazed Yakitori Chicken Hearts and Kentucky Fried Skate Knobs. It’s the perfect newsletter for anyone that thinks of themselves as an adventurous eater. Come and have a go, if you think you’re hard enough.

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Tejal Rao is a top-class writer and her New York Times newsletter, The Veggie, is a top-class way to find out just how diverse a diet you can eat without relying on the cruxes of meat or fish. The selling point is obviously the “delicious vegetarian recipes for your weeknight cooking, packed lunches and parties” but it’s Tejal’s writing and her wonderful turn of phrase that always keeps me coming back.

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Look, I’m if not going to say it, then I don’t know who is. But far too many recipes expect far too much of you. It’s why all those “watching until I’d be too lazy to cook it” videos always go big on TikTok. Scraps is a newsletter from Chris Mandle that goes against the tide of asking and expecting too much from home cooks. It’s an honest, recipe-led newsletter about all the wonderful different things you can make with whatever you’ve got left in the fridge.‘The Re-Cookables’ segment also shines a light on (and provides links to) some of the best recipes on the internet that Chris has cooked recently. This is the perfect food newsletter for the person who gets emotionally attached to their parmesan rinds and wants to know how to turn day-old colcannon into croquettes.

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Does getting a thoughtful, well-researched, and excellently-written essay on food rammed into your Gmail inbox (other email providers are available) sound good to you? Because if so, From The Desk of Alicia Kennedy is the newsletter you’ve been waiting for. Alicia doesn’t pussyfoot around and isn’t afraid of tackling large issues surrounding inequality, politics, and climate change in her writing. Alicia confronts the issues that far too many writers are uncomfortable with discussing head-on. She’s also great at creating recipes, too. You can’t go wrong with a subscription to this newsletter, really. It’s like giving your brain a portion of perfectly sautéed tenderstem.

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Salad can be exciting! Salad can be moreish! Salad can be sexy! These are all things that Emily Nunn’s newsletter, The Department of Salad, is out to prove. In case you weren’t sure what a newsletter dedicated to salads is comprised of, it’s this: delicious salad recipes, stories, history, books, and features from guest salad-makers about how to live your fullest and most optimal salad life. It’s a lot of fun and has sorted me out when I’m craving a fresh lunch or a punchy side sally on more than one occasion.

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