November 2026 · from our creator database
Food influencers on Instagram: 15 US creators to work with
| Creator | Followers | Typical likes | Engagement | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jet Tila@jettila | 799k | 1.1k | 0.14% | Chef, Los Angeles |
| Pasquale Sciarappa@orsararecipes | 798k | 2.6k | 0.33% | Simple Italian recipes, New Jersey |
| Herman at Home@hermanathome | 793k | 12k | 1.7% | Asian-inspired recipes, Los Angeles |
| Japan Eat@japaneat.gram | 793k | 6.8k | 0.87% | Japanese food finds |
| Emeril Lagasse@emeril | 793k | 2.4k | 0.30% | Chef and restaurateur |
| Steph Bae@happy_baes | 792k | 16k | 2.2% | Family recipes for busy moms |
| Kristen Kish@kristenlkish | 790k | 10k | 1.3% | Chef and Top Chef host |
| Sarah SY@sarahsy_lifestyle | 789k | 2.9k | 0.41% | Fine dining and foodie finds, New York |
| Oshane Daley@taste_of__jayardstyle | 787k | 23k | 2.9% | Private and travel chef, Atlanta |
| Holly@hollyzeilenga | 379k | 29k | 7.7% | Food and lifestyle |
| Chef Pops@heyitschefpops | 296k | 67k | 22.6% | Food creator, Los Angeles |
| ijaekim@cookimsa_ | 216k | 4.1k | 1.9% | Korean food and life in California |
| Kenny Wu@sidequestkenny | 154k | 13k | 8.5% | Restaurant kitchens around the world |
| Jinous@goldenspoon_byjinous | 119k | 306 | 0.29% | Easy recipes |
| Sam Sternstein@foodbystern | 59k | 3.0k | 5.2% | Recipes and restaurants, NJ / NYC |
Public profile data, November 2026. Engagement is (likes + comments) on a typical post ÷ followers. Listing a creator doesn’t mean they work with us or endorse HotInfluencer.
Choosing food influencers for your brand
Food influencers work with food and drink brands, kitchenware, grocery and delivery, restaurants and meal kits. Before you reach out, check three things:
- Decide between recipe creators (they cook with your product) and restaurant or review creators (they visit and react).
- Check the cuisine and diet they cook for: plant-based, family dinners, Asian, Italian, baking.
- Recipe content keeps working after it’s posted, so ask about usage rights if you want to reuse it.
Want someone to do that for you? Your agent reads every profile, checks the numbers and the audience, and only sends creators who fit, each with the reason.
Questions
How were these food influencers chosen?
From our live influencer database in November 2026: US Instagram creators with 30,000 to 800,000 followers who post about food and posted at least four times in the last month. We checked each one by hand and left out brands, repost pages and accounts run for children. “Typical” numbers are the median of their recent posts, so one viral post doesn’t inflate them.
What is a good engagement rate for food influencers?
Across all active Instagram creators in our database, the median is about 0.85% at 10k–100k followers and 0.53% at 100k–1M. Above that for the size is good. Check any creator with our free engagement rate calculator. Engagement rate calculator
How much do food influencers charge?
It depends on their size, the number and type of posts, and usage rights, especially if you want to run their content as ads. Your agent asks the creators you approve for their rates and negotiates for you, and every deal can be paid through protected payments, held until the posts are live and approved.
Can you find food influencers who fit my brand?
Yes. This list is a sample. Send your agent a brief (the market, platform, size, budget and the kind of food creator you want) and within the hour you get about ten who fit, each with the reason, from more than 18 million creators. Then your agent contacts the ones you approve. How it works
Your next shortlist, within the hour
Send your own agent, a real person on our team, a brief. About 10 creators who fit come back within 60 minutes, each with the reason, and your agent contacts the ones you approve.
US$50 once for 24 hours · 2 briefs · it doesn’t renew · or see the monthly plan