As the web’s most popular video platform, YouTube naturally attracts a variety of colorful personalities from across the restaurant industry. Where visually-engaging food content was once the domain of TV networks, today’s top restaurant shows now premiere online. This makes YouTube an invaluable resource for restaurant owners, cooks, and waitstaff alike. Now, every member of your team can learn new skills individually – and use them for your business’s success. But how do you know which YouTube channels for restaurant owners are the best…?
Fortunately, Otter’s team of digital restaurant experts is well-versed in finding valuable, engaging YouTube content for our users. In this roundup of restaurant and cooking channels, you’ll find timely information on new recipes, industry trends, and customer preferences. You’ll also get a look into what the restaurant world expects of today’s eateries – and how to serve its demands. We’ve brought together 10 channels with active posting schedules and passionate fanbases to give you the best of Restaurant YouTube. Let’s dig in!
1. America’s Test Kitchen
We’ll begin this list with one of YouTube’s most popular channels for general restaurant content: America’s Test Kitchen. This channel provides a wide variety of videos surrounding cuisines, technology, and equipment made for viewers in the restaurant industry. It also offers in-depth tutorials on advanced cooking methods, and reviews new products that are seeing popularity in the industry. America’s Test Kitchen is ideal for restaurant owners seeking to broaden their restaurant’s horizons – or take their cooking skills to the next level.
2. Alexander the Guest
Fancy a trip across the world’s best restaurants? Let Alexander the Guest be your guide! Focusing on a diverse collection of eateries throughout the globe, this channel evaluates restaurants with no less than 3 Michelin stars (that’s the most you can have!). You’ll see reviews of the best-prepared and best-served food on Earth, here – and understand how the industry’s leaders perform. This channel is very useful for aspirational business owners eager to compete with (or learn from) the restaurant landscape’s champions.
3. Eater
The Eater brand represents one of the country’s most trusted restaurant publications, and their video branch follows suit. On YouTube, Eater showcases popular and niche restaurants across the entire U.S., and highlights individual owner stories. Like the Eater website, this channel is dedicated to promoting authentic American eateries of all types, serving a diverse audience. Restaurant owners interested in what the industry is like from a personalized perspective will find Eater’s content engaging and informative.
4. Insider Food
Produced by Business Insider, a leading economic journal, Insider Food displays international cuisine that’s typically unfamiliar to American audiences. The channel discusses how different kinds of food shape our culture and personalities – and how to access these foods locally. Insider Food is the ideal channel for any restaurateur eager to learn about new ingredients, cooking methods, and traditions. It’s also an excellent resource on the perception of certain foods throughout the world, and the impact that perception has on the restaurant industry.
5. Bon Appétit
If you’re craving some of the trendiest restaurants, meals, and cooking methods in today’s kitchen landscape, this is the channel for you! Bon Appétit is centered entirely around what modern eaters want – and how modern restaurants can satisfy their appetites. The channel reviews restaurants in top American food cities, reviews popular brands, and displays impressive cooking talents from skilled chefs. This content is excellent for restaurant owners looking to build up a customer base of passionate, engaged eaters.
6. Jamie Oliver
Hosted by a major name in modern cooking, Jamie Oliver’s YouTube channel commands an enthusiastic audience of over 5 million. As part of Oliver’s passion for creating strong home cooks, this channel is great for restaurant owners beginning their careers. On it, you’ll find easy-to-follow recipes for popular meals, demonstrated by some of the UK’s most successful restaurateurs. You’ll also learn about the staple ingredients of today’s restaurant menus, and how to put a signature twist on them.
7. Food Network
For decades, Food Network created the most popular cooking and restaurant-related programming on TV. Now, the network’s YouTube channel provides thousands of clips from all that content in convenient, bite-sized pieces! Classic food series like Good Eats, Rachel Ray, and Guy’s Big Bite are featured alongside newly-produced videos with industry icons. Restaurant owners looking to reconnect with popular recipes and business insights will find that Food Network’s YouTube channel is essential.
8. Sorted Food
One of the most important aspects of any successful restaurant is a willingness to experiment and innovate. That’s what Sorted Food’s YouTube channel is about – new, unfamiliar, non-traditional ways of cooking. Hosted by a range of professional and home cooks, Sorted Food showcases kitchen techniques and technology from around the globe. The channel aims to find the best ways of preparing and serving food in various environments without significant costs. Refer to Sorted Food if you’re looking to shake up your restaurant’s routine!
9. Babish Culinary Universe
Chef Andrew Rea’s Binging with Babish series is one of the most popular YouTube cooking channels of the decade. It holds over 10 million subscribers, and has been endorsed by top chefs nationwide and beyond. The channel’s focus is on cooking interesting meals from several cultures, sources, and reference points in a fun, engaging way. Restaurant owners can use Babish Culinary Universe to inspire their own unique menu ideas – or to re-create viral hits. These videos are also useful for learning what today’s eaters value in creative restaurant meals.
10. Barry Lewis
Since 2010, self-taught chef Barry Lewis has established himself on YouTube by cooking popular recipes and beginner-accessible meals. He’s also well-known for his series of kitchen gadget reviews, where he tests out unusual and interesting restaurant tech. Stemming from this channel are a number of published cookbooks and TV appearances, drawing praise from across the international restaurant scene. Barry Lewis’s channel is ideal for restaurants looking to discover which restaurant innovations work best – and which ones don’t.
The right YouTube channel for your restaurant is a click away!
Like all learning resources, a strong YouTube channel is an invaluable asset for your restaurant’s team and development. Follow the creators we’ve highlighted here to discover new trends, update your menu ideas, and see what today’s eaters crave. No matter which channel you end up subscribing to, you’ll gain a key tool in building a successful modern restaurant. Don’t forget: Otter’s own YouTube channel is fully-stocked with user testimonials, tutorials, and app demos for your restaurant’s viewing pleasure. Check it out the next time you’re on YouTube!
