Since the series premiere of FX's The Bear in 2022, Jeremy Allen White's Carmy, clad in his signature blue apron with a muscle-hugging white T-shirt, has triggered a seismic shift in the internet's collective subconscious. As one X (formerly Twitter) user so perfectly put it, “I’m actively in therapy to help me stop falling in love with men who look like this but The Bear on Hulu is worth the mental setback.” Because of the show's influence, viewers like myself began romanticizing what it would be like to date a chef—someone cool in the face of chaos, a person capable of making me a croque madame the second my stomach growled with hunger every morning.
Sure, beloved Food Network personalities like Bobby Flay and Ina Garten and Guy Fieri and Sunny Anderson have for years made an impact for their good looks and undeniable charm ("how easy is that?"). Yet, The Bear's popularity has helped shine a light on social media savvy cooks who are easy on the eyes, have a fabulous sense of style, and can also concoct meals worthy of anyone's dream Pinterest board. Here, we've compiled a list of the eight hottest—i.e., coolest, of-the-moment, instantly likable—chefs taking over our feeds this summer. What these creators share in common is their ability to match their unique personal aesthetic (#vibes) with charisma and scrumptious dishes that pop on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Take, for instance, Meredith Hayden (popularly known as Wishbone Kitchen), who prepares dinner parties with ease in a beach home straight out of a Nancy Meyers film. Excuse me, where’s my invite? Or Sophia Roe, who delights the senses in her sun-washed Brooklyn kitchen while wearing lively outfits second only to the picturesque, edible creations that flood her feed. Jesse Jenkins, aka Adip Food, makes recipes like chilaquiles and prawn katsu sandwiches look effortless with his ASMR-style videos. That platinum blonde buzz cut? Yes, chef!
To satiate our craving for those who turn up the heat in the kitchen, InStyle rounded up our favorite hot chefs to talk food, romance, and style. Below, get to know your new crushes as they spill on their date night 101.
Sophia Roe: James Beard Award-Winning Chef, Emmy Nominated TV Host, and Founder of Apartment Miso
Courtesy of Sophia Roe/ InStyle
InStyle: What are your hobbies outside of the kitchen?
Sophia Roe: Sweeping the internet for vintage T-shirts, mycology, trips upstate, collecting antique cookbooks, fast cars, impromptu tattoos, and mood-boarding my dream home.
InStyle: First food you remember loving?
SR: Shrimp fried rice from a shopping mall Chinese spot called China King at 5 years old.
InStyle: What is your cooking hot take?
SR: I know it sounds sorta obvious, but most of the time, your food taste better if you properly season it as you go. Knowing how to salt your food is incredibly important, but often overlooked.
InStyle: Whose kitchen do you want to be sitting in?
SR: Any kitchen with a small farm or garden in the back, with loads of natural light, delicious wine, filled with sexy and hungry people.
Courtesy of Sophia Roe/ InStyle
Gail Simmons: Chef, Food Writer, and Emmy-Winning TV Personality
Courtesy Gail Simmons/ InStyle
InStyle: Best food and cocktail pairing?
Gail Simmons: Oysters and a slightly dirty, briny gin martini, or super spicy Southeast Asian food and a dry riesling.
InStyle: What's your go-to shopping tote and what does your tote bag say about you?
GS: My go-tos are both from charities I love to support and work with: Hot Bread Kitchen and Feed. Both support families through food, the restaurant industry, cooking, and [they] empower women, which are what I care most about in the world.
InStyle: Whose kitchen do you want to be sitting in?
GS: Carmela Soprano.
InStyle: What would the name of your restaurant be?
GS: Le Pisque. Pisk is the yiddish word for mouth or, specifically in my family, it means "loud mouth.”
InStyle: First food you remember loving?
GS: Biltong and dried mango. My father is South African and my first travel memories are of eating them on a trip there when I was 5 years old.
Courtesy of Gail Simmons
Meredith Hayden: Private Chef, Recipe Developer, and Founder of Wishbone Kitchen
Courtesy of Meredith Hayden/ InStyle
InStyle: When on a date, sharing or no sharing?
Meredith Hayden: Sharing!
Courtesy of Meredith Hayden
InStyle: Which food trend do you hate? Which do you love?
MH: [I] hate slapping meat, love tomato girl summer, strawberry girl summer, onion girl summer, seafood girl summer… [whatever] girl summer.
InStyle: What do you cook when you have nothing left in the fridge?
MH: Pasta, Rao’s roasted garlic tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, and butter.
InStyle: What meal would you make for someone in the morning?
MH: Taylor ham egg and cheese on an English muffin.
InStyle: What do you wear in the kitchen to make you feel confident?
MH: Denim.
Courtesy of Meredith Hayden/ InStyle
Tara Thomas: Plant-Based Chef, Urban Farmer, and Co-Founder of Breaking Bread NYC
Courtesy of Tara Thomas
InStyle: What is the most romantic type of food?
Tara Thomas: Bread and butter. The act of buttering the bread, taking bites, and reaching into a communal basket is oh, so delightful.
Courtesy of Tara Thomas
InStyle: Favorite fictional chef?
TT: Princess Tiana. She really made the dream work.
InStyle: A memorable cooking flop?
TT: When I first became a chef, I was visiting family in The Netherlands so I wanted to make a vegan apple pie for them. Instead of sugar I used salt and didn’t realize until it was too late.
InStyle: Dream dinner guests?
TT: My great, great grandmother Eva. She ran a beautiful farm for our family and fed her community as well. She was a midwife creating safe spaces for Black women to give birth back in the days before civil rights. I would share more, but would need to think for a while! Along with Rihanna, Edna Lewis, Ina Garten, and all my besties.
Courtesy of Tara Thomas
Jesse Jenkins: Chef, Skateboarder, and Fashion Photographer
Courtesy of Jesse Jenkins/ InStyle
InStyle: First food you remember loving?
Jesse Jenkins: Potato chips in sandwiches.
InStyle: Which food trend do you hate? Which do you love?
JJ: Hate: Chopped salad sandwiches. Mama bird, baby bird situation. Love: Cooking on the internet.
InStyle: If you were on Chopped, what would be your nightmare ingredient?
JJ: Anything that required me to do baking on the fly—full panic.
InStyle: Dream dinner guests?
JJ: My wife and kids.
InStyle: It's Friday night and there’s nothing left in the fridge. What is your takeout order?
JJ: U.K. Chinese: hot and sour soup, crispy seaweed, fried rice, duck and pancakes, crispy chili beef, and something I haven’t tried before.
Courtesy of Jesse Jenkins/ InStyle
Sydney Lynn Carlson: Home Cook, Internet Personality, Founder of Lynnee and Co-Founder of Wildflower Cases
Courtesy of Sydney Lynn Carlson/ InStyle
InStyle: Do you like when people cook for you or do you prefer to be the chef?
Sydney Lynn Carlson: My love language is definitely cooking for people so usually that, but it depends on who’s cooking.
Courtesy of Sydney Lynn Carlson
InStyle: What are you ordering for the table?
SLC: If you ask my friends this they’d probably say “everything.” I’ve been known to over-order and it’s a habit I cannot break.
InStyle: What is your cooking hot take?
SLC: You don’t have to be a certified chef to make something delicious. Confidence and an open mind will get you far.
InStyle: Follow the recipe or go off the book?
SLC: A little of both. I like to put my own twist on things.
InStyle: Sweet or savory?
SLC: Sweet, then savory, then sweet again, then probably savory again.
Courtesy of Sydney Lynn Carlson/ InStyle
Romilly Newman: Chef, Internet Personality, and Food Stylist
Courtesy of Romilly Newman/ InStyle
InStyle: What do you wear in the kitchen to make you feel confident?
Romilly Newman: Six-inch heels and waist-cinching dresses. Every time.
InStyle: If you were on Chopped, what would be your nightmare ingredient?
RN: I was on Chopped and got chopped in the first round for overcooking my salmon, so that.
InStyle: What meal would you make for someone in the a.m.?
RN: I make a mean soft scramble on buttered sourdough toast. Sometimes salmon roe, bottarga, or truffle make an appearance if I have leftovers.
InStyle: First food you remember loving?
RN: I have a strong memory of eating escargot as a child and mopping up the garlicky green sauce with crunchy baguette.
Courtesy of Romilly Newman/ InStyle
Samah Dada: Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, and Blogger Behind Dada Eats
Courtesy of Samah Dada/ InStyle
InStyle: Follow the recipe or go off the book?
Samah Dada: Off the book. Although I will admit, I do sometimes refer to my own cookbook when cooking my recipes. I have a lot of recipes to store up in my head, okay?
InStyle: Go-to comfort food?
SD: For savory, I’d say my mom’s home cooking, a great veggie burger and fries, and hummus with freshly baked pita. For sweet, coffee ice cream. Also, warm dates stuffed with peanut butter and chocolate, and sprinkled with flaky salt.
InStyle: What are you ordering for the table?
SD: All of the condiments. No matter how many are offered on the menu, I’m getting all of them. Being a condiment princess is probably my best quality, and everyone thanks me for it. Also, greens, sourdough bread (with olive oil and balsamic vinegar), fries, castelvetrano olives, hummus, and dessert.
InStyle: Dream dinner guests?
SD: My best friends. I always say that my friends, loved ones, and the people I’m lucky to have around me are my absolute favorite part about myself. I would take a night cooking for my people over anyone, any day.
Courtesy of Samah Dada/ InStyle
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