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Food Industry News

In our culinary news section, the Chef’s Pencil team brings together our latest research and insights into the culinary and food industry.

Read our latest reports on the most expensive restaurants in the world, the countries with the highest number of Michelin restaurants, latest veganism popularity trends, or the most sushi-crazed cities in the world.

Chef of the Week: Bomee Ki, Head Pastry Chef, Sollip, London, UK

Chef of the Week

Bomee Ki’s path to becoming one of London’s most exciting pastry chefs began almost by accident. What started as a home-baking hobby eventually led her to Le Cordon Bleu London,...

Chef's Pencil Staff

August 17, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Evan LeRoy, LeRoy and Lewis, Austin, TX

Chef of the Week

Texas barbecue has always been steeped in tradition, but few pitmasters have done more to redefine what it can be than Chef Evan LeRoy. As the chef, pitmaster, and co-founder...

Chef's Pencil Staff

August 10, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Robert Potter, Executive Chef at Bybrook, The Manor House

Chef of the Week

Robert Potter has quietly established himself as one of Britain’s most accomplished chefs, earning a Michelin Star for Bybrook Restaurant within his first year as Executive Chef at just 33...

Chef's Pencil Staff

August 3, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Ali Clem, la Barbecue, Austin, TX

Chef of the Week

Austin is home to some of the world’s finest barbecue, and few restaurants have shaped the city’s reputation quite like la Barbecue. Led by James Beard-recognized chef, owner, and pitmaster...

Chef's Pencil Staff

July 27, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Victor Vasconcellos, Berimbau Brazilian Table, NYC

Brazilian cuisine is one of the world’s most diverse yet least understood culinary traditions. Far beyond the churrascarias and all-you-can-eat rodízios familiar to many diners, it is a vibrant tapestry...

Chef's Pencil Staff

July 20, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Andrés Torres, Casa Nova

Chef Andrés Torres has lived a life unlike almost anyone else in the culinary world. Before earning a Michelin Star and Michelin Green Star for his restaurant Casa Nova, he...

Chef's Pencil Staff

July 13, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Executive Pastry Chef Shinas Shahida of Rosewood Munich

From the tropical flavors of Kerala to the refined precision of European fine dining, Executive Pastry Chef Shinas Shahida brings a globally inspired yet deeply personal approach to dessert. Now...

Chef's Pencil Staff

June 29, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Bart Stratfold of Timberyard and Montrose, Edinburgh

Few restaurants have helped define modern Scottish dining quite like Timberyard. Housed in a converted warehouse in Edinburgh’s Old Town, the Michelin-starred restaurant has built its reputation on seasonality, craftsmanship,...

Chef's Pencil Staff

June 22, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Mathew Leong of RE-NAA, Norway

At just 21 years old, Chef Mathew Leong left Singapore for Norway with a simple goal: to learn from some of the world’s best Michelin-starred kitchens. Eleven years later, he...

Chef's Pencil Staff

June 15, 2026

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The Great Cottage Cheese Comeback

Food Industry News

For decades, cottage cheese was the forgotten cheese of the American dairy aisle. Once a staple of 1970s diet culture, it gradually lost ground to cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, and countless...

Chef's Pencil Staff

June 9, 2026

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Restaurateur of the Week: Aji Akokomi of Akoko, London

Few restaurateurs have done more to reshape the global perception of West African cuisine than Aji Akokomi. Through Akoko, the Michelin-starred restaurant he founded in London, Akokomi has helped bring...

Chef's Pencil Staff

June 8, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Ben Wilkinson of The Pass, South Lodge

From the kitchens of London to the Lake District and now the South Downs, Ben Wilkinson has built a reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting modern British chefs....

Chef's Pencil Staff

June 1, 2026

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How France Trains Michelin-Starred Chefs

Food Industry News

France is the spiritual home of fine dining, with a culinary culture deeply rooted in technique, tradition, and professional training. But how important is culinary school when it comes to...

Chef's Pencil Staff

May 28, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Simon Rogan of L’Enclume, Cumbria

Few chefs have shaped the modern farm-to-table movement as profoundly as Simon Rogan. As the visionary behind L’Enclume, one of the UK’s most celebrated restaurants, awarded three Michelin stars and...

Chef's Pencil Staff

May 25, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Jean-Philippe Blondet of Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester

Few chefs embody the elegance and precision of modern French haute cuisine quite like Jean-Philippe Blondet. As Chef Patron of Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, one of London’s most celebrated...

Chef's Pencil Staff

May 18, 2026

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Michelin Wine Lists Are Dominated by the Same Luxury Labels, Research Finds

Food Industry News

For many diners, Michelin-starred restaurants represent the pinnacle of food and wine pairing — places where sommeliers uncover hidden gems, champion terroir, and elevate the dining experience through carefully curated...

Chef's Pencil Staff

May 13, 2026

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New Data: Most UK Michelin Chefs Didn’t Go to Culinary School

Food Industry News

In most high-prestige professions, a degree is a required gateway. But what about fine dining? Is a culinary school education necessary to reach the top of the UK’s culinary scene?...

Chef's Pencil Staff

April 30, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Roberta Hall-McCarron Edinburgh, UK

From Michelin-starred kitchens to running a three-restaurant group in Edinburgh, Chef Roberta Hall-McCarron’s career reflects both technical precision and entrepreneurial drive. As the chef-owner behind The Little Chartroom, Eleanore, and...

Chef's Pencil Staff

April 27, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Matthias Brenner of Brasserie Cuvilliés, Rosewood Munich

Recently promoted to Executive Chef at Rosewood Munich, Matthias Brenner is one of the key figures shaping the city’s evolving culinary identity. At the helm of Brasserie Cuvilliés, he brings...

Chef's Pencil Staff

April 20, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Private Chef Montana (Yurii Kliemientiev), Huntsville, Alabama

From long shifts in professional kitchens across Europe to building a private dining business in Alabama from the ground up, Yurii “Chef Montana” Kliemientiev’s journey reflects resilience, discipline, and deep...

Chef's Pencil Staff

April 15, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Chef Aaron Chang of Nōksu, New York

Stepping into the role of Executive Chef at Nōksu, Chef Aaron Chang brings with him the precision and discipline honed at some of New York’s most acclaimed fine dining institutions,...

Chef's Pencil Staff

April 6, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Kostas Papathanasiou of Lita Merylebone, London

With a career shaped in some of the world’s most demanding kitchens, including The Fat Duck and Restaurant Frantzén, Chef Kostas Papathanasiou brings a refined and disciplined approach to modern...

Chef's Pencil Staff

March 30, 2026

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Chef of the Week: Woongchul Park of Sollip, London

Chef Woongchul Park, co-founder of Sollip, is one of the most compelling voices in London’s modern fine dining scene. Together with his wife and pastry chef Bomee Ki, he has...

Chef's Pencil Staff

March 17, 2026

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61% of America’s Michelin-Starred Chefs Are Culinary School Alumni

Food Industry News

The kitchen at Chef’s Pencil wasn’t filled with the scent of searing scallops or reduced demi-glace this week. Instead, it smelled of old yearbooks, digital archives, and the quiet hum...

Chef's Pencil Staff

March 16, 2026

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