Topjaw

Is this the most influential man in the restaurant business today?

- Morwenna Ferrier

When 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.”

Burgess is the 34-year-old host of Topjaw, a small but mighty internet show with chefs and foodies, whose “Best of” series, for better or worse, has changed the way Londoners - and beyond - eat out. Launched in 2023 with his friend Will Warr, who is also the Prince and Princess of Wales’s videographer (Warr made Kate’s cancer statement video) it has now grown to over a million followers.

Topjaw’s premise is simple. In a snappy 90 seconds, Burgess asks influential food types for their favourite places to eat, drink or get drunk. Featuring a mix of chefs, critics and celebrities including Gordon Ramsay and Andrew Garfield, the quickfire formula - best coffee in London? Best Sunday lunch? Best burger? - shares some DNA with the “man on the street” vox pop, in which someone with a microphone stops people to ask about their relationship or outfit.