The FT is expanding its food and drinks coverage

The Financial Times has announced the appointment of Jay Rayner as restaurant critic, Tim Hayward as food writer and Marina O’Loughlin as columnist as part of an expansion of its food and drink coverage.

Rayner is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author whose work is well known in British and international media. His broadcast career highlights include appearing as a judge on television series “MasterChef,” hosting BBC Radio 4’s “The Kitchen Cabinet,” and creating the hit podcast “Out To Lunch.” In 2023 he was named Critic of the Year at the UK Press Awards. Rayner joins the FT from The Observer, where he has spent 25 years as restaurant critic.

The FT has also announced that former Sunday Times restaurant critic and Noble Rot contributing editor O’Loughlin will be writing a monthly column for the magazine about the global restaurant scene and food culture following her successful FT summer series “Critic Unchained.”

The FT’s award-winning restaurant critic Tim Hayward, who has been writing for the FT since 2010, will become the FT’s food writer, contributing deep-dives on home cooking projects and other culinary fixations.

“Twelve years is a long time to be critical about restaurants,” said Hayward in a statement. “I’m looking forward to being able to write fully about the thing I love, enthusing about food, in breadth and depth.”