The Maldon® Salt 50 is back for 2026.
This year, the celebrated list – honouring the 50 most influential users of Maldon’s iconic sea salt flakes – casts its net wider than ever before, recognising not only the chefs who continue to champion the beloved British brand, but a larger number than ever before of individuals and communities colouring the modern culinary landscape.
This year’s list is organised into five completely new categories, each shining a light on a different dimension of influence: The Disruptors, The Voices, The Nomads, The Patrons and The New Wave.
The Disruptors
The hospitality industry is an ever-evolving place to work. Its potential to break boundaries is undoubtedly part of its charm – and why so many have carved out such successful careers in it.
The Disruptors are the chefs, entrepreneurs and industry figures who are rewriting what a career in food can look like. Some are challenging the culture of professional kitchens from within, championing wellbeing, transparency and sustainable working practices.
Others are building entirely new business models – ghost kitchens, supper clubs, product ranges, content empires – that bear little resemblance to the conventional restaurant path. Others still are pushing at the boundaries of what food itself can be.
What unites them is a belief that food can always be better – and an insistence on quality – from the kitchens they’re building to the ingredients they reach for. Included in this category are Ollie Templeton, Thomasina Miers and Adam Handling.
The Voices
Food has always had a story to tell. But the people who shape how that story reaches us – the food writers and editors, the broadcasters, the critics, the photographers, the podcast hosts and journalists – wield a particular kind of power. They frame the conversation.
They decide what matters, what’s worth celebrating and what deserves scrutiny. They can make careers and alter perspectives. The Voices are the media figures with an appetite for the authentic. Across print and digital, radio and television, podcasts and newsletters, they are the ones asking the questions, filing the reviews and bringing the world of professional cookery to a wider audience.
Whether they are championing a debut restaurant, interrogating the ethics of the food industry or simply making people hungry with the quality of their storytelling, their influence on food culture runs deep. United in their craft and their uncompromising standards, The Voices know instinctively what elevates a dish from good to extraordinary and Maldon Salt is rarely far from the conversation – or the table. For this category, Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater and Marcus Wareing are of course included.
The Nomads
Some chefs find their voice in a single kitchen, in a single postcode, over the course of a career spent in one remarkable place. The Nomads have found theirs everywhere, and in everything that came before.
Rather than staying in one place, they are the cooks imbued with a sense of wanderlust – always on the move – travelling across continents, absorbing techniques and flavours with the kind of reverence that only comes from genuine curiosity. What they share is the understanding that great cooking is rarely native to a single address.
Palates are formed in other people’s kitchens, on other people’s tables, across generations and through meals that, while never meant to be instructional were, quietly, precisely, just that. Their food tells these stories. And wherever their journeys began, however far they have travelled, Maldon Salt has always been an ever present. Men with the Pot, Rachel Khoo and Gennaro Contaldo.
The Patrons
The hospitality industry gives an enormous amount. It feeds people, gathers communities, creates livelihoods and, at its best, offers a genuine sense of belonging to those who work within it, creating fulfilling lifelong careers. For many who cross its threshold, the desire to give something back is strong.
The Patrons is one such group. Altruistic chefs, organisations and industry figures who understand that a rising tide lifts all boats, The Patrons are investing their time, expertise and resources into the industry they love. Some are mentoring the next generation of chefs, offering opportunities to those who might otherwise never find their way in.
Others are addressing food poverty, championing inclusivity or working to make the hospitality sector more sustainable, more equitable and more representative of the communities it serves. What makes hospitality remarkable is not the restaurants or the accolades. It is the people.
The Patrons understand this better than most – and they have chosen to give their time, their knowledge and their energy back to an industry that shaped them. Simon Boyle and Josh Eggleton are true Patrons and inductees for this category.
The New Wave
The New Wave are the chefs and food personalities who, while only just getting started, are already making it incredibly difficult to avert our collective gaze. Some have come through the traditional route: culinary college, long stints in demanding kitchens, working their way up through the ranks. Others have arrived via social media, supper clubs or pop-ups, building devoted followings and honing their skills entirely on their own terms.
What they have in common is momentum. These are the names being passed between industry insiders, the talents being watched by the chefs who trained them, the rising stars who are undoubtedly destined for greatness.
They may be new to the Maldon 50. But the quality of what they’re already producing suggests they won’t be newcomers for long. Recognised in this category are Emily Bonner, Finley Richards and Susie Flory.
A rich culinary landscape
Together, the five categories reflect a rich, culinary landscape – one that is more diverse, more connected and more dynamic than ever before. From Michelin-starred chefs to community projects, brand launchpads and charities to fresh and exciting social media sensations, this year’s Maldon® Salt 50 is a portrait of an industry that flatly refuses to stand still.
“With each new edition of The Maldon Salt 50, we try to evolve the categories to reflect the times and the diversity of the exciting industry we love,” says Maldon Salt’s Managing Director, Steve Osborne. “While all five categories are united by a shared passion for our world-famous sea salt, this year we’ve broadened the lens – celebrating those who nurture and support the industry, those who shape conversations around food and those who push boundaries in the kitchen and beyond. We can’t wait to unveil our inductees for 2026!”
The twisting shorelines of Maldon
All inductees of the Maldon® 50 are influential users of Maldon hand-harvested flakes, an essential ingredient in any professional or home kitchen from the twisting shorelines of Maldon.
Maldon® Salt’s heritage dates back almost 145 years. Its salt continues to be crafted using traditional methods, resulting in a consistency trusted by chefs all over the globe.
In recent years Maldon® has expanded its range to include flavoured salts – expertly blending its beloved sea salt flakes with premium ingredients to create Chilli, Garlic, Salt & Pepper varieties as well as its ‘Selected by Maldon®’ Merchants range: consisting of the finest sea salts from around the world, including Himalayan Pink Salt and Kalahari Desert Salt.
Find out more about Maldon® Salt’s range – Handcrafted Flaky Sea Salt Pyramids - Our Salt & Story | Maldon Salt.
The full edition of the Maldon Salt 50 for 2026.