Need Cooking Inspiration? Follow These 5 Chef-Approved Food Accounts The 2026 F&W Best New Chefs share the food creators they turn to for cooking inspiration and culinary history. By Erika Adams Erika Adams Erika Adams is the restaurant editor of Food & Wine. Prior to her role at Food & Wine, she was an editor and reporter at Eater for over five years, covering the dining scenes in both New York City and Boston. Her work has been published in a variety of media outlets including Punch, the Infatuation, New York Magazine, and Boston Magazine. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on September 26, 2026 Add Us On Close Credit: Maskot / Getty Images When the 2026 class of Food & Wine Best New Chefs aren’t on the line, they’re online watching other people cook — and they have their own favorite food and cooking influencers. Here are five accounts in heavy rotation right now. Stephanie Li and Chris Thomas, Chinese Cooking Demystified 2026 F&W Best New Chef Gian Carlo Reinardy of The Paper Bridge in Portland, Oregon, named the YouTube duo Stephanie Li and Chris Thomas of Chinese Cooking Demystified as his favorite food influencers right now. The pair is based in Shenzhen, China, and they post detailed how-to cooking videos on everything from Sichuan-style pancakes to Cantonese-style fried wontons, Xi’an cold-skinned noodles, and more. “Their approach to food, and especially regionality, in Chinese cuisine is very close to how we approach Vietnamese cuisine at our restaurant,” says Reinardy. “Their focus on the history of dishes, and keeping things as traditional as possible while — when necessary — making substitutions that keep the soul of a dish intact, really resonates with the way we [Reinardy and partner and fellow Best New Chef Quynh Nguyen] like to cook.” Sanjyot Keer, Your Food Lab 2026 F&W Best New Chef Rishi Kumar of Mirra in Chicago is a fan of Sanjyot Keer, the creator behind Your Food Lab, a YouTube channel where Keer posts step-by-step Indian recipe videos for over 7 million subscribers. “I started to watch him a lot because I’m trying to learn Indian cooking more,” says Kumar. Maroof Culmen Maroof Culmen, a photographer and videographer who travels with a team throughout India telling historical culinary stories, is a favorite follow for Kumar’s co-chef at Mirra in Chicago, 2026 F&W Best New Chef Zubair Mohajir. “They’ll pick a dish and they’ll make a really cinematic review of how it’s made,” says Mohajir. “It looks like they’re back 100 years ago, because they’re in neighborhoods in India that still use the same techniques in the same way that they do now.” 2021 F&W Best New Chef Paola Velez 2026 F&W Best New Chef Cybille St. Aude-Tate of Honeysuckle in Philadelphia says that her top recommendation is a fellow member of the BNC community. For her, 2021 F&W BNC Paola Velez’s videos are an instant watch. Velez is “so whimsical,” she says. “She’s Dominican, and so a lot of the flavors and the things that she uses I can definitely relate to. I just love her approach. It’s very carefree, but she’s still all about her business.” Check out Velez’s Food & Wine YouTube series “Pastries With Paola” for even more baking tips and tricks. Mị Son 2026 F&W Best New Chef Quynh Nguyen, Reinardy’s partner in life and at The Paper Bridge, recommends Mị Son, a Vietnamese influencer from central Vietnam’s Tay Nguyen province with a large Facebook following. The content (which is entirely in Vietnamese) focuses on rural, historical Vietnamese cooking and naturally forested ingredients, and preserves obscure recipes that are at risk of being lost as Vietnam modernizes. More recommendations from Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs The Best Chef Shoes, According to Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs The 18 Best Pizzerias in America, According to Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs 10 Visionary Recipes to Cook Like a Best New Chef Explore more: Restaurants Chefs Best New Chefs Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit