‘It’s about weaponising opinion’: the power of Topjaw’s online foodie show

<p>Restaurants can see bookings surge by hundreds after a feature by Jesse Burgess. But is it just hype?</p><p>When the presenter Jesse Burgess goes to a restaurant, the kitchen always sends him dishes he didn’t order. One of the ironies of fame is that the more you can afford, the less you have to pay for it. Except that Burgess isn’t a celebrity, he says. “I’m just a guy who really likes food.”</p><p>Burgess is the 34-year-old host of Topjaw, a small but mighty internet platform featuring chefs and foodies, whose “Best of” series, for better or worse, has changed the way Londoners – and those beyond – eat out. The Topjaw channel has been around since 2015 but Burgess started the viral series in 2023 with his friend Will Warr, who is also Prince and Princess of Wales’s videographer (he made Kate’s cancer statement <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2024/mar/22/princess-of-wales-reveals-she-has-cancer-and-is-undergoing-chemotherapy-video">video</a>), it has now grown to more than a million followers.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/oct/17/topjaw-restaurant-reviews-online-chatshow-jesse-burgess-london">Continue reading...</a>