Jay Rayner

Jay Rayner (born 14 September 1966) is an English 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 last as a sex columnist. In 2025, he transferred from The Observer to 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.