When it comes to foodie TV shows, there has always been a hierarchy in terms of what chefs want to appear on. At the top? To be a guest judge on Great British Menu. Then it’s the same job but on MasterChef, followed by a slot on Saturday Kitchen or Sunday Brunch. But now there’s a new show every chef is desperate to get a slot on — and it’s not on TV. It’s not even set in a kitchen. It’s a 90-second video series on Instagram called TopJaw, presented by the 32-year-old property developer Jesse Burgess and filmed by his best friend, Will Warr, 33.
The format is simple. Each episode is filmed on the street with a restaurant owner or chef. Each interviewee is asked the same set of questions: best restaurant, best roast, best pub, best cocktails, best burger, and so on. It’s a chance for them to flex their culinary muscles and show off that they are “in the know” — after all, if you’re into food, recommendations are like social currency. It’s fun to watch, you might get a new restaurant tip and sometimes the interviews go viral: when the chef Marcus Wareing, whose eponymous restaurant has a Michelin star, revealed this summer that his favourite pizza in the world is Pizza Express’s American Hot, his controversial comments hit the headlines.
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