13 Women in Food That You Need to Follow on Instagram in 2022

In 2021 we were lucky to work with and feature so many talented women in food on Kitchn. Their recipes, tips, and stories brought us joy and inspiration. This year, cooks like Yasmin Fahr, Shanika Graham, TJ Lee, and — of course — both Martha Stewart and Ina Garten gave us more than we bargained for with their never-ending lists of dishes to enjoy.

While the aforementioned cooks and chefs have all probably found special places in your heart over the last few years, if there’s a little more room for you to expand your list of chefs to adore, Instagram is a good place to do it. And lucky for you, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorites to get you started.

These 13 women shared their culinary gifts and told personal stories through their food all year long, and we expect even bigger things to come from them in 2022. Whether you’re looking for baking techniques or prepping tips, or simply want to look at beautiful plating, follow these chefs and fill your feed with recipes and inspiration.

As chef and owner of ​​elegant eatery Les Trois Chevaux, Angie Mar’s Instagram is a beautiful balance between grit and glamour that gives us an intimate look into an NYC restauranteur’s lifestyle as well as luxurious food photography. Although step-by-step recipes aren’t what you’ll get when you follow her, if you aspire to cook lavish meals like Mar, however, you can cop her cookbook, Butcher + Beast: Mastering the Art of Meat.

Naming her Filipino and Black upbringing as the primary influence behind her cooking, Tiana Gee’s colorful feed creates a world where Ube Suman and Catfish & Grits with Okra & Collard Succotash shine deliciously side by side. The former sous chef at Marcus Samuelsson’s Harlem restaurant Red Rooster is as comfortable behind the camera as she is in front of it, like when she’s hosting her YouTube Channel, “Cookin’ with Tee.” 

In 2019, the New York Times named Kia Damon in their list of “16 Black Chefs Changing Food in America” and they couldn’t have been more right. Since then, Kia has served as Cherry Bombe magazine’s first Culinary Director and appeared on the hit television show Chopped. She also co-founded a nonprofit organization that brings awareness around food insecurity and provides food-related job opportunities for LGBTQ people of color. Her feed follows her on food market runs, explores mental health awareness, and shows off her cat, Biscotti Pippen.

With a Biomedicine degree from Harvard University, Kanchan Koya isn’t your everyday food influencer. The sustenance scientist’s recipes show us how to make tasty dishes that contain many health-boosting properties while educating us on their powerful benefits.

When Yewande Komolafe began her journey, she cooked dishes from her home country of Nigeria to connect to her culture after an administrative blunder at her culinary school led to losing her student visa status and, with it, the ability to travel back to her country. Today, however, Yewande is a food writer, author, and recipe developer dedicated to bringing Nigerian food to the rest of the world.

We can all use an extra hand in the kitchen. So it makes sense that Egyptian-American sisters and Minnesota moms Alia and Radwa — known collaboratively as the Food Dolls — paired up to share cooking duties on their popular Instagram account. Their onscreen chemistry makes following along fun, and their recipes are simple with dishes like baklava cinnamon rolls that pay homage to their mixed upbringing.

Marnely Murray is a pastry chef and food writer living a life we’re all jealous of on Martha’s Vineyard. On her Instagram account, Marnely cooks, eats, and writes her way through the island while giving us beautiful shots of perfectly seared scallops and luscious lobster rolls.

Tía Clara — or Aunt Clara, when translated — cooks up traditional Dominican dishes and Dominican-inspired recipes. With over 20 years deep in the food blogging game, Clara’s feed is rich with ideas. According to Clara, her site — dominicancooking.com — is the oldest and largest site dedicated to Dominican cooking. Inspiration for your next quinceañera is never more than a click away.

When it comes to Diana Yen‘s feed, we don’t know what’s fresher: her produce or her ‘fits. Diana wears many hats — both literally and figuratively — as an author, food consultant, and founder of a multidisciplinary creative studio that explores connections between storytelling and food. Her cooking is heavy on in-season produce, and she’s a big fan of fermentation. 

Claudette Zepeda went from “teen mom on welfare” to two-time Top Chef, and her Instagram is a celebration of her delicious journey. The San Diego-based chef, who split her youth between the U.S. and Tijuana, highlights her bold culinary style, passion for regional Mexican food, and motherhood. 

Ixta Belfrage grew up in Italy to a Brazilian mother (who spent time in Cuba via Mexico) and a British-American father. When she began her culinary career, Belfrage worked alongside famous Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi in his London test kitchen. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that her cooking confidently combines flavors and cultures from around the globe.

Daniella Abraham — or, as she’s known to many, Chef Danie — isn’t your ordinary chef. Showcasing delicious and luxury-inspired meals (like her Chanel pancakes and 24-karat gold lobster sushi rolls), her worldwide traveling, and snaps of her with her range of celebrity clientele — like Oprah, Diddy, Rick Ross, and more — you’ll loving tagging along for her journey to carve out more space for women who look like her in the culinary industry.

Mariam’s bio reads, “I sleep in my kitchen,” and the way she cranks out mouth-watering videos, we don’t think she’s exaggerating. Her artistic but fun approach to cooking lends itself to beautifully detailed photography that will have you wanting to recreate her recipes in your kitchen.