About the Academy

A culinary entrepreneur from Amman, Jordan and based in Dubai, Leen Al Zaben has worked and lived across multiple continents. Introduced to great food at an early age, Al Zaben's passion and expertise lie in storytelling through food as a means of bringing people together. She works across food, hospitality and culture, advising governments, hospitality groups, foundations and cultural institutions. She built and led the inaugural Jordan International Food Festival and provided creative direction for the Royal Hashemite Court. Earlier, she was part of the founding team at kitchen technology start-up June. 

Alexandra Carlton has been a journalist for more than 20 years, working in-house at several leading Australian publications. She began writing for Gourmet Traveller's annual Restaurant Guide in 2011 and is currently one of its restaurant reviewers. She specialises in food and travel, writing for publications including Qantas Magazine, Escape, The Australian, Virtuoso.com, the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide and the WA Good Food Guide. Based in Sydney, she travels for around half the year and writes from wherever she is in the world.

Jung-Yoon Choi is a chef, culinary researcher and cookbook writer with around three decades of experience across Spain, Australia and Korea. Trained at El Bulli and the Alicia Foundation, she now leads the Sempio Korean Fermentation & Culinary Research Center in Korea. She is also the founder of the NANRO Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the emerging culinary next generation and fostering cross-cultural exchange through food culture. As co-author of The Korean Cookbook, Choi brings the depth and diversity of Korean cuisine to a global audience, combining professional experience with a deep interest in fermentation and research.

Xanthe Clay is a Leith's-trained chef-turned-food writer and has been a Telegraph food columnist for more than 25 years. She is also the newspaper's resident taste tester, reviewing products and ingredients for its readers. Clay contributes to other publications and media, including Delicious magazine and BBC Radio 4, and has appeared as a guest critic on MasterChef. A former president of the Guild of Food Writers, a role she held from 2014 to 2018, she combines practical culinary training with decades of journalism and restaurant experience.

Eleonora Cozzella is a journalist with more than 20 years' experience writing about food, a passionate connoisseur of Italian food and wine traditions, and a graduate in philosophy. She regularly writes for Repubblica and La Stampa and acts as a food critic for conferences, magazines and international TV programmes. Her books Pasta Revolution and La Carbonara Perfetta (The Perfect Carbonara) won her first prize at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and the Prix de la Littérature Gastronomique. She also teaches gastronomic journalism at LUISS University in Rome, sharing her experience of food criticism and culinary culture with the next generation.

The CEO of a luxury tea company that exports its products to five continents, Mohamed El Baroudi is based in Marrakech in his native Morocco. For business and leisure, he travels extensively around the world and uses his trips to discover new restaurants and dining experiences. He has a broad knowledge of the food scenes of Morocco, Africa and beyond, developed through years of international travel and a longstanding interest in hospitality. His work in tea also gives him a close connection to taste, provenance and food traditions. 

Marta Fernández Guadaño is an economist and journalist with three decades of experience. Based in Madrid, she has dedicated her professional career to journalism: first writing about economics and, more recently, gastronomy. She is the founder of Gastroeconomy, a website about gastronomy from a business and trend perspective, which launched in 2011. In addition, she works as a freelance journalist, writing for Expansión and a range of Spanish magazines and publications. She also teaches at the Basque Culinary Center. Her work focuses on the restaurant business, chefs, culinary trends and the economic forces shaping Spain's evolving gastronomic sector.

Based in Santiago, Chile, Daniel Greve is a food and wine writer with a career spanning two decades. A professional olive oil taster, he has also been a presenter for TV programmes focused on food in Chile and Argentina, and was a restaurant critic for Qué Pasa magazine until 2015. He founded and runs Emporio Creativo, a food and wine publishing company that produces Jigger magazine and the Nirvino.cl website, as well as recipe books and culinary guides. Through his publishing, criticism and broadcasting work, Greve has built expertise in Chilean and international gastronomy, wine and culinary culture.

Christian Grünwald has been the editor in chief of Austrian magazine A La Carte for more than 30 years. He has developed extensive knowledge of Austria's restaurant, chef and hospitality landscape, while following culinary developments across Europe and beyond. Grünwald is also the co-author of a number of chefs' cookbooks, bringing his editorial experience to longer-form culinary publishing. His restaurant reviewing and food journalism have made him an established voice in Austrian gastronomy and a longstanding observer of the country's dining culture.

Based in Berlin, Lorraine Haist is an established food and lifestyle journalist. After graduating in law, Haist embarked on a media career that has seen her work across leading newspapers, magazines and digital lifestyle channels. Now freelance, she was formerly a food and features editor at Welt am Sonntag in Berlin and for Elle in Munich. Haist writes about food, drinks, design and jewellery for a range of publications, including B-Eat, Salon and Süddeutsche Zeitung. She also travels extensively, bringing an international perspective to her coverage of restaurants, hospitality, lifestyle and the people and ideas shaping contemporary food culture.

Takefumi Hamada is a Tokyo-based gastronomy expert who has travelled to 128 countries and regions, and has visited every restaurant on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list. He explores globally acclaimed destinations and hidden regional dining gems across Japan and abroad and regularly works with Japanese regional governments to promote gastronomy tourism. His book on gastronomy became a national bestseller in 2024, with editions in five languages, including English and Spanish. Hamada shares his dining insights through Instagram and appears regularly on Japanese television, radio, and in print and online media.

Siddhaarth Jalan oversees the restaurant, nightlife and hotel sectors for The Times of India and manages the multi-city Times Food & Nightlife Awards, a major national awards programme for the hospitality industry. He previously worked in the apparel sector and founded his own start-up before joining one of India's leading experiential dining companies, Impresario. Jalan travels extensively across India, as well as internationally, and revels in discovering new restaurants and cuisines. His work across media, awards and hospitality gives him a broad view of India's fast-changing dining landscape.

Susan Jung is the food columnist for Vogue Hong Kong. For 25 years, she was the food and drinks editor for the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's main English-language daily newspaper, where she became a chronicler of the city's dining scene. She is the author of the international cookbook Kung Pao & Beyond: Fried Chicken Recipes from East and Southeast Asia, and also contributed to Signature Dishes That Matter. Her work draws on decades of restaurant criticism, recipe writing and knowledge of Hong Kong and wider Asian food culture.

Based in Bangkok, Litti Kewkacha is a highly regarded gastronome. Born and raised in Thailand, he has also spent time living in Singapore and the UK. He oversees a range of leisure and hospitality businesses in the fast-casual and fast-food sectors under the Kacha Brothers umbrella, and his family founded and owns the Safari World and Phuket FantaSea theme parks. Kewkacha travels extensively and has visited almost every restaurant featured on The 50 Best Restaurants list (formerly The World's 50 Best Restaurants list), as well as numerous others. 

Based in Singapore, Nicola is a dedicated food and wine enthusiast and a writer for publications such as Tatler Asia and RadarList. Having studied hotel management, today she is a real estate developer by trade, while also contributing to Tatler’s Best Restaurant Guide for Singapore and various other country-wide food and wine awards. Nicola likes to track down rare Champagne bottles – her personal collection is second to none in Singapore – and has previously lectured in hospitality and tourism.

Wine and travel lover Alexandra Michot is a food writer with more than two decades of experience and a former journalist for the French daily newspaper Le Figaro. As a freelancer, she has written for several French and international publications, including L'Obs, Elle, Cook_Ink and Fool Magazine. She is deputy editor-in-chief for Elle à Table and is based in Paris. Across her career, Michot has covered restaurants, chefs, wine and travel, combining mainstream journalism with specialist food publishing.

Based in Lima, Paola Miglio is an established food writer, editor and campaigner. She is the restaurant critic for Peruvian newspaper El Comercio and an editor and partner at food site El Trinche, as well as a co-founder of La Higuera, a database of Latin American women in gastronomy. Miglio also co-edited a book charting the recent history of Peruvian food entitled El Gusto es Nuestro. Through criticism, editorial work and advocacy, she has become a prominent observer of Peru's restaurant culture and a supporter of the people and stories shaping gastronomy across Latin America. 

Based in San Francisco, Virginia Miller is a food and drink writer. She grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles and New York before embarking on a career that has seen her work as an editor for Zagat, as national editor and VP for Table8, a critic for San Francisco Guardian and a Time Out columnist, and has written for international publications. She is fascinated by the drinks sector, covering bars, cocktails and spirits for specialist and mainstream outlets. Miller launched her website, The Perfect Spot, in 2007, documenting restaurants, bars, travel and drinks in San Francisco and beyond.

Crystyl Mo is a food writer, entrepreneur and coach who has been documenting China's restaurant scene for nearly two decades. The former food editor of Time Out Shanghai, Mo has contributed to publications including Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Condé Nast Traveler and The New York Times T Style Magazine. She has also been a featured commentator on CNN, National Geographic, the BBC and CCTV. Her work spans journalism, media and entrepreneurship, giving her a long view of the evolution of dining in China.

Yang Guang is a former architect who worked in the US and China but is now a full-time gourmet. Based in Beijing, Yang runs a successful cooking channel on social media, as well as visiting numerous restaurants for work and pleasure. He is an expert in Chinese and international cuisines Through extensive restaurant visits and online content, he follows culinary developments across mainland China and beyond, from regional traditions to contemporary fine dining. 

Rosa Moraes is a culinary educator and gastronomy columnist for Vogue Brazil. She has devoted nearly three decades to reimagining culinary education, developing and implementing Brazil's first higher-education gastronomy programme in 1999 and later helping expand culinary education across the country. She is also tourism and hospitality ambassador at Ânima Educação and works in institutional relations with Le Cordon Bleu São Paulo. A passionate supporter of Gastromotiva, which promotes social change through gastronomy, Moraes has also worked on innovation and social technologies for the organisation. 

Valentina Ortiz Monasterio has been involved in the world of gastronomy since she studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris in 2000. With a law degree, she has worked as a consultant in public affairs for two decades. She founded the online daily newspaper Animal Gourmet in 2013 and set up a vineyard and wine project in Baja California in 2015. Her career brings together gastronomy, media, wine and public affairs, giving her a perspective on Mexico's food and hospitality landscape. 

Ekaterina Pugacheva is the owner and editorial director of travel guidebook publisher Argento Group, based between Moscow and Prague. She is also editor-in-chief of Russian food title Posta Gourmet. An accomplished cook, she studied the science of cooking at Harvard University. Through her work in publishing and gastronomy, Pugacheva has developed extensive knowledge of restaurants, travel and culinary culture across Russia, Europe and beyond. Her editorial roles combine destination expertise with a longstanding interest in food. 

Jamila Robinson is the editor-in-chief of Bon Appétit and Epicurious, leading an award-winning team covering recipes, restaurants and food culture. Previously, she was assistant managing editor for food and culture at The Philadelphia Inquirer, where she led the digital transformation of its food and dining coverage and won an Emmy Award for Wildest Dreams, a multiplatform project on the Black experience. Robinson has also held senior leadership roles at Atlantic Media and the USA Today Network and is recognised as an influential figure in food media.

Based in Cape Town, Tamsin Snyman owns her own culinary consultancy and cookbook publishing company. She is an editor and cookbook author, and publishes the works of local culinary icons. She contributes to South African food publications and previously headed up the annual American Express Platinum Fine Dining Awards in her country for 18 years. Snyman also launched Plant-Based Creative, a restaurant consultancy service that assists with introducing special dietary and vegan dishes to menus and produces vegan products available in stores throughout Cape Town. 

Per Styregård, a food and wine writer and author, is based in Stockholm. He writes a weekly column for Swedish business daily newspaper Dagens Industri and is the food editor of lifestyle publication Icon Magazine. He also writes for international outlets and is the co-founder of the Circular Gastronomy Challenge, a restaurant innovation award focused on a more sustainable food system. Styregård has previously been the editor of both Swedish Gourmet Magazine and White Guide, and he has written books, including Smakens Makt (The Power of Taste).

Renée Suen is a Toronto-based restaurant and travel journalist and photographer who searches the world for memorable tastes and the stories behind the plate. She is a columnist at SingTao's EliteGen and a contributor to the Toronto Star, Chatelaine, re:Porter and other publications. Formerly the food and lifestyle editor at Zoomer Media, she is best known for her 13 years of food and restaurant reporting at Toronto Life. A former academic scientist, Suen has been covering the Canadian food scene for more than a decade. 

Cemre Torun is an Istanbul-based food writer, editor and consultant. She has been the food editor of Vogue Turkey for more than a decade and has also worked as the food editor of GQ and Condé Nast Traveller Turkey. She is a co-founder of YEDI, a conference that brings industry representatives together through food. Torun has published two cookbooks focusing on regional ingredients and also works as a brand and content consultant for sustainable food businesses and restaurants. 

Literary scholar and restaurant critic Femke Vandevelde is not a trained chef. She prefers words to pans and considers language her ultimate flavour enhancer. Her culinary journey started behind a keyboard, as a curious food blogger in 2009. Since then, she has written dozens of chefs' cookbooks and culinary guides in both Dutch and English. Alongside her journalism for publications such as De Morgen, Monocle and National Geographic, she curates food festivals and is a much-invited voice on gastronomic stages. Based in both Ghent and Ostend, she is more accurately described as perpetually en route. 

Based in Helsinki, Kenneth Nars is a food writer and the creative director of the World of Mouth app. His writing has appeared in publications such as Gourmet Sweden, Lucky Peach and Monocle, and he has been the editor of food and design magazine Leon. He is also a food reporter at the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE and has featured in TV productions including Niklas Ekstedt Food & Fire, Top Chef Finland and Finland's Best Bakery. Nars has written and published 11 cookbooks, several of which are award-winning.