When the presenter Jesse Burgess goes to a restaurant, the kitchen always sends him dishes he didn\u2019t 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\u2019t a celebrity, he says. \u201cI\u2019m just a guy who really likes food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burgess is the 34-year-old host of Topjaw, a small but mighty internet platform featuring chefs and foodies, whose \u201cBest of\u201d series, for better or worse, has changed the way Londoners \u2013 and those beyond \u2013 eat out. The Topjaw channel has been around since 2015 but Burgess started the viral series in 2023 with his friend Will Warr, who is also Prince and Princess of Wales\u2019s videographer (he made Kate\u2019s cancer statement video<\/a>). It has now grown to more than a million followers.<\/p>\n The series\u2019 premise is simple. In a snappy 90 seconds, Burgess asks influential food industry types for their favourite places to eat, drink or get drunk. Having featured a mix of influential chefs, critics and celebrities including Gordon Ramsay, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, the quick-fire formula \u2013 best coffee in London<\/a>? Best Sunday lunch? Best burger? \u2013 shares some DNA with the \u201cman on the street\u201d interview, in which someone holding a microphone stops people to ask them about their relationship, or their outfit.<\/p>\n Jesse Burgess at an event hosted by Gordon Ramsay at his Lucky Cat restaurant in London this month. Photograph: Dave Benett\/Getty Images for Studio Ramsay<\/p>\n Beyond his Instagram followers, Burgess is an unknown entity. But if you\u2019re a chef who has appeared on his show or seen your restaurant recommended on it? \u201cIt\u2019s a hugely important platform,\u201d says Ois\u00edn Rogers, who owns the Devonshire, a central London pub famed for its food and Guinness, and who has appeared on Topjaw several times.<\/p>\n With his Rembrandt curls, square jaw and wry sense of humour, Burgess\u2019s appeal is obvious, and the content he makes is informative and wholesome. It\u2019s been so successful that Burgess and Warr have taken the format beyond London, to Cornwall, Paris and New York, while Burgess has started fronting a new behind-the-pass TV series, Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars, on Apple TV.<\/p>\n But Topjaw has also become something of a target for some who find its format infantilising. One restaurant industry insider said: \u201cIt\u2019s lowest common denominator content, which is the stuff that absolutely slaps but what else does it do?\u201d Another describes it as: \u201cOne dimensional but highly addictive.\u201d As culture becomes increasingly atomised online, they argue, it\u2019s predicated on \u201cchasing the zeitgeist\u201d, which has the effect of creating hype where perhaps there isn\u2019t any, a phenomenon that the writer Gabrielle Bluestone describes as \u201cSchr\u00f6dinger\u2019s catfish\u201d in her book Hype.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes Topjaw drive customers? Certainly,\u201d says Rogers. \u201cYou know if someone\u2019s come because of Giles Coren or Grace Dent or Topjaw because they\u2019ll often tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just hype though,\u201d he adds. \u201cThere is an element of zeitgeist but asking people who are influential or good at restaurants is just a simple idea: it\u2019s about weaponising opinion. [Topjaw has] no skin in the game so when you trust the person recommending it, and you do when it\u2019s from the horse\u2019s mouth, that information is invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n Topjaw has featured some of the country\u2019s biggest stars, including Florence Pugh. Photograph: TopJaw<\/p>\n At a time when choosing where to eat out can feel overwhelming, the power of influencers grows ever stronger. In spring, the government introduced a new law banning \u201cfake reviews\u201d or \u201cconcealed incentives\u201d aimed at influencers (and other beneficiaries) attempting to conceal or omit if they\u2019ve been paid to promote something. Just as restaurant critics usually pay for the meal they critique, Burgess says he and Topjaw \u201cnever have and never will be paid by any restaurant we feature or speak about so as to not skew the authenticity of our recommendations\u201d. That said, he also thinks consumers have reached a point where even though they are wise to paid content, they don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Recipes from all our star cooks, seasonal eating ideas and restaurant reviews. Get our best food writing every week<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cPeople may respect my opinion, but I\u2019m not a critic, and really I\u2019m not there to criticise,\u201d Burgess says. Rather he is one of a new breed of gatekeepers through which people in the know can impart the sort of approval that can make or break a place.\u201cRestaurant critics are a different channel,\u201d says Rogers. \u201cThey are incredibly important, and they set the base for what people look for in restaurants. But you just need to look at the reach of a [Topjaw] clip to see how influential it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed the Topjaw effect is tangible. Restaurants<\/a> such as Akub, Kudu, the Seed Library and Fonda are among those that say they have experienced noticeable demand after appearing in videos. According to one restaurant PR, a positive review on Topjaw can bring several hundred new bookings.<\/p>\n On the other hand, one of the most popular questions is the most overrated spot, of which Mayfair\u2019s Sexy Fish, the former tick-box It restaurant with an onyx exterior and a carb-lite menu, is one of the most namechecked. \u201cIt seems to represent a group of restaurants where diners are there to \u2018be seen\u2019 rather than for the food offering,\u201d Burgess says. \u201cLondoners have a general disdain for that type of establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n The Guardian approached Sexy Fish for comment.<\/p>\n Surely the only real beneficiary of Topjaw\u2019s screengrab content is consumerism? Rogers disagrees: \u201cAsking where to get a decent pint? That\u2019s just a really good, simple question.\u201d<\/p>\n Jesse Burgess\u2019s top London picks<\/p>\n Best restaurant:<\/strong> Camille in Borough<\/a>.<\/p>\n Best coffee:<\/strong> Bar Italia.<\/p>\n Best pub:<\/strong> I bounce enthusiastically between the George in Fitzrovia and the Coach & Horses in Soho.<\/p>\n Place I\u2019d travel for:<\/strong> Janda Diner<\/a> in Peckham.<\/p>\n