Welcome to The Maldon® Salt 50, the second instalment of our power list and a rundown of the 50 most influential users of our iconic, hand-harvested sea salt flakes. For 2025, we’re excited to bring five NEW categories to the fore in a celebration of all things global, social, sweet, savoury and smoky.
Winners for each category have been chosen by a panel of industry experts, including individuals from Maldon Salt, The Craft Guild of Chefs, The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, Great British Chefs and The Staff Canteen.
The Alchemists
Those behind the bar in pubs, hotels and restaurants, creating liquid magic with cocktails and mocktails.
Top mixologists possess a unique skillset. So much more than just pourers of drinks, bartending is an art form, one which also thrives upon a mastery of science – combining technical knowledge with creative flair to uncover innovative flavour pairings and create liquid magic. Alchemy.
That ability to perfectly balance flavour often comes down to (whisper it with us) a sprinkle of sea salt in their cocktail shakers, knowing full well that far from giving their serves a saline edge, its properties in fact do the opposite – tempering bitterness, elevating sweetness and allowing the ingredients to sing. Concocting and experimenting, shaking and serving, those who stand behind the bars across the country’s pubs, restaurants and hotels are nothing short of alchemists.
Pastry chefs and bakers leading the sector to new realms with innovative recipes and reimagined classics.
Breads and buns, cakes and cookies, pastries and pies. From the amateur bakers experimenting with sourdough starters in their home kitchens to the expert pastry chefs producing exquisite pâtisserie, baking holds a very special place in the British psyche.
The quintessential afternoon tea remains a hotel favourite, artisan bakeries are making a well- deserved comeback and 15 series in, The Great British Bake Off is as popular as ever. And yet, infused with the traditional is a palpable element of the modern – innovative flavours, forms and techniques helping to feed a baking frenzy. At the vanguard of this revolution? The Breadwinners, the upper crust of the baking world. Individuals who know that whatever they’re making – modern takes or traditional bakes – one thing remains true: a pinch of Maldon Salt is the not-so-secret ingredient that elevates and enhances, taking baked goods to baked greats.
The pitmasters and mistresses revolutionising the world of outdoor cooking.
The urge to cook over open flame may be a primal one, but the growth in and interest around the art of grilling, especially in the UK (despite our less than clement climate) has been stratospheric.
No longer the macho preserve it once was, diverse new faces and personalities are emerging on the fire cooking scene to teach us techniques both new and time worn, honouring the dual traditions of smoking and ‘low and slow’ cooking while breaking down the barriers of what we previously thought possible and with proper seasoning – whether to brine, marinade, or finish a dish – a key part of that process.
Vegan and vegetarian fire food now sits pride of place alongside more familiar meat-heavy menu items, while a heightened interest in year-round barbecuing is fuelling a new grilling economy. Here, we meet some of the leading lights tending the flames of the new fire cooking revolution.
Chef influencers and social media sensations who don’t necessarily wear whites every day.
To be an influencer is to be constantly looking for ways to connect with your audience – and in the foodie world, more often than not, that means over a (virtual) bowl of deliciousness. The drive for virality, perfectly-optimised videos or algorithm-friendly content is ever present as users seek to cut through the noise and create extraordinary dishes, elevated from the everyday.
For foodies, social media has created endless opportunities. Providing a platform for countless start-ups, at-home cooks and individuals who may not wear whites in their day jobs, social media has become a powerhouse of a tool for the sensational chefs who have made their home kitchens their offices.
Regardless of motivation – quick eats, weekend brunches, slow food, meal prepping, date night dishes – the socialites have one thing in common, to create inspirational content that looks good and tastes amazing. With legions of fans (and even more influence), the socialites are redefining what it means to be an influencer in 2025.
Globally renowned chefs whose skill, talent and creativity is making waves and headlines at home and abroad.
The global fine-dining scene is – somehow fittingly – out of this world. Thanks to a proliferation of chefs determined to break new ground, existing boundaries have been pushed, new culinary techniques have been developed and restaurants around the world are offering visitors entirely unique dining experiences.
Often key in this groundswell are the highest quality ingredients – Maldon Salt amongst them – with chefs determined to source the very best produce worthy of the love and care with which they use it.
The Worldies are at the forefront of this international movement. Globally renowned, classically trained and drilled in professional kitchen life, they’re the proof that hard work really does pay off – often with the reality of Michelin stars, international accolades and tribes of devoted customers.
The Maldon 50 2025
Last year's Maldon Salt 50
Loved the world over, for a long time our beautiful pyramid flakes have been the salt of choice for chefs and caterers, bakers and bartenders. The Maldon 50 2024 celebrates all of those individuals.
