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Jay Rayner

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Jay Rayner
A middle-aged man with a salt-and-pepper goatee and neck-length curly black hair wearing a purple-spotted white shirt and black jacket.
Rayner in 2019
Born (1966-09-14) 14 September 1966 (age 58)
Brent, London, England
EducationHaberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
Alma materUniversity of Leeds
Occupation(s)Broadcaster, writer, journalist, food critic
Years active1988–present
Employer(s)Financial Times
BBC
Channel 4
The Observer
The Mail on Sunday
The Independent on Sunday
SpousePat Gordon-Smith
Children2
MotherClaire Rayner
AwardsBritish Press Awards

Jay Rayner (born 14 September 1966) is a British journalist and food critic. After editing the Leeds Student newspaper while at university, he spent time at the Observer, the Independent on Sunday, and the Mail on Sunday before returning to the Observer in 1996. He became a restaurant critic in 1999 and developed a reputation for acerbity in his columns, with several going viral including a takedown of Paris restaurant Le Cinq. Rayner has also been published in Esquire, Granta and Cosmopolitan, the latter as a sex columnist. He left the Observer in 2025 and is currently working at the Financial Times.

Rayner has also published numerous books including a book about the 1947 BSAA Avro Lancastrian Star Dust accident, three compendiums of his columns, several works of fiction, and several works about food including a cookbook. Outside of writing, he has presented The Kitchen Cabinet and the Out to Lunch podcast and has judged numerous cooking shows for numerous broadcasters including MasterChef. His sour demeanour on that medium earned him the epithet "Acid Rayner". In 2012, he founded a jazz band, the Jay Rayner Quartet, which changed its name to the Jay Rayner Sextet in 2022.

Early life and newspaper journalism

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Rayner was born in the London Borough of Brent[1] on 14 September 1966[2] to actor Desmond Rayner[3] and journalist Claire Rayner,[4] and was raised in Harrow on the Hill, London.[5] He and his brother and sister[6] are of Jewish descent,[4] though he is non-observant.[7] Rayner attended the independent Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School and attracted headlines after being suspended in May 1983 for smoking cannabis.[6][3] He was inspired to become a writer aged 14 by the Daily Mail miscellany column Dermot Purgavie's America[8] and studied politics at the University of Leeds, where he was editor of the Leeds Student newspaper,[9] having selected the university with the intention of holding the post.[8] While there, he met Pat Gordon-Smith, who he subsequently married.[10]

After graduating in 1988,[1] Rayner spent as a year editing a tabloid student newspaper before being hired as a researcher by the Observer,[8] a Sunday magazine then owned by the Guardian newspaper.[11] He spent a few months there as its diary columnist,[8] once making the front page of the Observer's arts section with an interview with Sammy Davis Jr.,[12] before spending a few years working freelance and for other newspapers[8] including the Independent on Sunday[13] and the Night and Day supplement of the Mail on Sunday.[14][15] Among his works during this period was an Esquire piece co-written with Gordon-Smith about their fertility troubles.[16] He also spent time as a sex columnist for Cosmopolitan[17] before returning to the Observer in 1996 as a generalist.[8]

Rayner contributed a piece for Granta 65 about Shirley Porter in March 1999.[18] That month, after deciding to develop a specialism,[19] and about three seconds after being told by the Observer's editor that Kathryn Flett would no longer be its restaurant critic, Rayner offered himself for the job, and got it.[20] His reviews were described by the New Yorker in 2014 "sometimes incendiary, often crass, always cheeky"[21] and by the Radio Times in 2016 as "providing a dyspeptic counter-note to the custard sweetness of Nigel Slater’s cookery pages".[6] He went viral in October 2014 for his review of Beast in London[21] and made international headlines for a scathing April 2017 review of the Paris restaurant Le Cinq,[22] shortly after which he was described as "the world's most feared food critic".[23] He stated in 2018 that around a fifth of his reviews were negative.[24]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many restaurants were forced to close, Rayner announced he would no longer publish reviews if he could not be generally positive about them.[25] He resumed the following year after objecting to the cost of a Polo Lounge popup at the Dorchester Hotel.[26] In November 2024, Sky News described him as "arguably the Observer's highest-profile writer".[27] That month, Rayner announced his departure from the Observer for the Financial Times, citing the Observer's pending sale to Tortoise Media,[7] the antisemitism of some Guardian staff,[11] and the Observer's online opinion section "too often" being a "juvenile hellscape of salami-sliced identity politics";[28] he transferred in March 2025.[29][30]

Books and broadcasting career

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In 1994, Rayner published his debut book The Marble Kiss, an art history-based romance thriller based in Florence. The book had been researched via a trip to Italy funded by a £5,000 Cecil King travel bursary he had won for being named Young Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards.[31] A subsequent novel, 1998's Day of Atonement, was shortlisted for the Jewish Quarterly Prize for Fiction[32] and republished as an e-book in 2015 to coincide with Rosh Hashanah,[33] and was followed in 2002 by Star Dust Falling, a book about the 1947 BSAA Avro Lancastrian Star Dust accident.[34] He then published The Apologist in 2004, about a fat, sexually incompetent journalist who becomes chief apologist for the United Nations,[35] followed by The Oyster House Siege in 2007, about two burglars holding up a restaurant in Jermyn Street the day before the 1983 United Kingdom general election.[36]

  • Thou shalt eat with thy hands
  • Thou shalt always worship leftovers
  • Thou shalt covet thy neighbours oxen
  • Thou shalt cook — sometimes
  • Thou shalt not cut off the fat
  • Thou shalt choose thy dining companion bloody carefully
  • Thou shalt not sneer at meat-free cookery
  • Thou shalt celebrate the stinky
  • Thou shalt not mistake food for pharmaceuticals
  • Honour thy pig
Rayner's Ten Food Commandments[37]

Rayner's subsequent books were about food: The Man Who Ate the World (2008) comprised a year of experiences at Michelin starred restaurants in Las Vegas, Moscow, Dubai, Tokyo, New York, London, and Paris;[38] A Greedy Man In a Hungry World (2014) was about food sustainability;[39] The Ten (Food) Commandments (2016) comprised ten food laws he exhorted readers to observe;[40] My Last Supper (2019) used the question of his last meal to explore his food past;[12] and Nights Out at Home (2024) was a cookbook based on meals that had impressed him.[41] He has also published the compilations My Dining Hell: Twenty Ways to Have a Lousy Night Out (2012) and Wasted Calories and Ruined Nights (2018), which each featured 20 of his negative restaurant reviews,[42][24] and Chewing the Fat (2021), which comprised 40[43] of his earlier columns.[26]

Rayner also presented nearly 200 films for The One Show between 2009 and 2016.[44][6] He also presented BBC Radio 4's The Food Quiz[45] and the station's food panel programme The Kitchen Cabinet; by 2023, the latter was airing its 40th series.[46] In March 2019, he began presenting Out to Lunch,[47] a podcast created by The Kitchen Cabinet co-producer Jez Nelson.[48] Most episodes featured Rayner inviting a guest out to a restaurant of his choosing, although some episodes filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic were filmed remotely using takeaways and retitled In for Lunch.[49] Adrian Edmondson took over the podcast in October 2023.[50] Rayner also periodically appeared as a critic on episodes of the UK version of MasterChef and won its 2023 Battle of the Critics edition, for which he won a gold trophy shaped like a knife and fork.[51] The latter was his idea, as he felt readers of Nights Out at Home would not believe his recipes were his.[52] He has also judged the BBC Two series Eating With the Enemy,[53] the first two series of the American show Top Chef Masters,[54] and the Channel 4 series Tried and Tasted.[55] His sour television demeanour earned him the sobriquet "Acid Rayner".[56]

In 2011, Rayner won the Beard Liberation Front's Beard of the Year, beating Brian Blessed into second place.[57] The following year, he was listed at No. 90 on the Independent's Twitter 100, a listing of the most influential users of that platform,[58] and founded the Jay Rayner Quartet, a jazz band.[59] Initially comprising himself on piano, Gordon-Smith on vocals, Rob Rickenberg on double bass, and Dave Lewis on saxophone,[60] the band were hired from people he had met at a private members club he used to jam at.[10] In September 2017, the quartet released a live album, A Night of Food and Agony, which had been recorded at Crazy Coqs[61] in London.[62] Drummer Sophie Alloway and guitarist Chris Cobbson joined the band in 2022, at which point it changed its name to the Jay Rayner Sextet; subsequent performances incorporated pop tracks from the 1980s.[63]

Bibliography

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Fiction

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  • —— (1994). The Marble Kiss. Macmillan. ISBN 9780333621349.
  • —— (1998). Day of Atonement. Black Swan. ISBN 9780552997836.
  • —— (2004). The Apologist. McArthur & Company. ISBN 9781552784167.
  • —— (2007). The Oyster House Siege. Atlantic Books. ISBN 9781843545668.

Non-fiction

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Filmography

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Title Year Role Network
Paper Talk 1996-98 Presenter BBC Radio 5 Live
The Food Quiz 2003-2005 Presenter BBC Radio 4
Masterchef 2007-present Critic BBC One/BBC Two
Eating With the Enemy 2008 Judge BBC Two
Top Chef Masters 2009-2010 Judge Bravo
Great British Waste Menu 2010 Judge BBC Two
Jewish Mum of the Year 2012 (1 episode) Judge Channel 4
Tried and Tasted 2017 Judge Channel 4
The Final Table 2018 (1 episode) Judge Netflix
The World Cook 2022 (1 episode) Judge Amazon Prime

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Interview - Jay Rayner praises Yorkshire food scene". Harrogate Advertiser. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  2. ^ "The 10 commandments of food according to Jay Rayner". The Irish News. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Jay Rayner 'pilloried in public' over school suspension for drug use". Enfield Independent. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Books | The Big Interview: Jay Rayner". Yorkshire Post. 2 June 2013. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Jay Rayner: my life in takeaways". The Face. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d "Food critic Jay Rayner defends BBC Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet | Radio Times". www.radiotimes.com. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  7. ^ a b Maher, Bron (21 November 2024). "Jay Rayner leaves Observer as departing editor slams planned sale". Press Gazette. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Jay Rayner on journalism". ALCS. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  9. ^ "'Pick your targets very carefully': Food critic Jay Rayner on no-guilt reviews and home cooking". Yorkshire Post. 12 September 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  10. ^ a b Rapley, Cath (3 October 2024). "5 minutes with Jay Rayner". Wiltshire Music Centre. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  11. ^ a b Warrington, James (22 November 2024). "Jay Rayner accuses Guardian of employing anti-Semites". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  12. ^ a b Bell, Matthew (15 October 2019). "Conversations at Scarfes Bar: Jay Rayner". Country and Town House. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  13. ^ Rayner, Jay (18 April 2015). "I saw up close how an establishment closed ranks over the Janner affair". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Sarah Vine And Toby Young Ganged Up On Jay Rayner On Twitter And It Didn't End Well". HuffPost UK. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Getting a manicure from Lorena Bobbit". Jay Rayner. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  16. ^ Neustatter, Angela (3 November 1996). "Is it time confessional man shut up?". The Independent. London.
  17. ^ Cole, Angela (7 May 2016). "To hell and back with Jay Rayner". Kent Online. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Books: More to life than Islington". The Independent. 7 March 1999. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  19. ^ Rayner, Jay (17 March 2019). "Jay Rayner: my 20 years as a restaurant critic". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  20. ^ "Jay Rayner: 'I have no time for exclusionist food fads'". The Guardian. 18 May 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  21. ^ a b Goldfield, Hannah (25 November 2014). "Bloody Awful Restaurants and the Critic Who Loves Them". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  22. ^ "Tasting Notes: It's your last day on Earth. What are you having for dinner?". Los Angeles Times. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  23. ^ "Why the 'world's most feared food critic' doesn't deserve the title - Interviews - delicious.com.au". delicious.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  24. ^ a b Vadala, Nick (11 March 2019). "Cheesesteak at London's Passyunk Avenue is nice, says guy who's never had a real cheesesteak". Inquirer.com. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  25. ^ McAllister, James (2 July 2020). "The Lowdown: Post-lockdown restaurant criticism". restaurantonline.co.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  26. ^ a b "Jay Rayner on being a critic, his fondness for Leeds and his passion for good food". Yorkshire Post. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  27. ^ "Veteran Observer restaurant critic Rayner quits over Tortoise deal". Sky News. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  28. ^ Simons, Jake Wallis (22 November 2024). "Revealed: Jay Rayner left Observer over 'antisemites on Guardian staff'". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  29. ^ Rayner, Jay (9 March 2025). "Sharmilee, Leicester: 'It really is worth your time' – restaurant review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  30. ^ "The FT does a deep dive on London restaurant hype". Hot Dinners. 24 March 2025. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  31. ^ Clayman, Maxine (10 March 2005). "'It filled me with a sense of adventure'". Press Gazette. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  32. ^ "Jewish Quarterly Literary Prize Winners 1996 – 2000 inclusive". The Jewish Quarterly). 16 March 2009. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  33. ^ "Jay Rayner: 'My mother was flabbergasted by my second novel'". Ham & High. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  34. ^ Grey, Tobias (7 April 2002). "Spies, gold and a one-way flight". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  35. ^ Lee-Potter, Charlie (16 May 2004). "A very sorry state of affairs". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  36. ^ "The Oyster House Siege by Jay Rayner". News Shopper. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  37. ^ "Eight questions for famed (and infamous) food critic Jay Rayner". ABC News. ABC.net.au. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  38. ^ "Over Eating - Lifestyle News". NZ Herald. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  39. ^ "The Big Interview: Jay Rayner". Yorkshire Post. 2 June 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  40. ^ "The world's most feared restaurant critic, Jay Rayner, is coming to Australia". SBS Food. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  41. ^ "Jay Rayner's best restaurant dishes: After 25 years of dining, the restaurant critic reveals how he cooks at home". The Independent. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  42. ^ Ulla, Gabe (21 June 2012). "Jay Rayner on Negative Reviews and How to Keep Your Job as a Critic". Eater. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  43. ^ "Need a gift for your festive host? You'll find one here". The Independent. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  44. ^ Bevan, Nathan (18 February 2016). "Jay Rayner to bring a night of food and jazz to Swansea". Wales Online. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  45. ^ "Inside Story: The nation's finest food critics". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  46. ^ "Jay Rayner offers food for thought before Belfast jazz gig". 4 March 2023. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  47. ^ McMullen, Marion (15 May 2020). "I'm running out of restaurants near me". South Wales Echo. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  48. ^ "An appetite for life". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  49. ^ "Jay Rayner's podcast offers food for thought". Banbury Guardian. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  50. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Adrian Edmondson takes over the Out To Lunch podcast : Other news 2023 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  51. ^ "Grace Dent breaks down in tears on MasterChef: Battle Of The Critics special". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 December 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  52. ^ "Jay Rayner reveals the thing he dislikes the most about modern dining". Oxford Mail. 20 October 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  53. ^ "Gita has winning recipe". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  54. ^ Ulla, Gabe (15 February 2011). "Jay Rayner on Leaving Top Chef: Masters, David Chang, Saveur, and Anonymity". Eater. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  55. ^ "Michel Roux Jr, Fred Sirieix and Jay Rayner join forces in new TV show". restaurantonline.co.uk. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  56. ^ "Jay Rayner tries to choose between food and sex". Enfield Independent. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  57. ^ "Beard of the Year 2011". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  58. ^ "The Twitter 100: No 60 to 100". The Independent. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  59. ^ Colderick, Stephanie (30 December 2021). "Jay Rayner's life from son of a famous journalist to surprise piano talents". Wales Online. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  60. ^ "Have you heard the one about the food critic?". www.henleystandard.co.uk. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  61. ^ "On record: Pop, rock and jazz". www.thetimes.com. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  62. ^ Davis, Clive (8 December 2015). "Jay Rayner at Crazy Coqs, W1". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  63. ^ Blakeney, Isabelle (5 October 2023). "Jay Rayner: Jazzing up the '80s". The Bath Magazine. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  64. ^ Rayner, Jay (27 May 2001). "House of cards". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  65. ^ "British Press Awards: Past winners". Press Gazette. 22 February 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
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