These 14 People, Products, and Companies Are Changing the Game for Everyone

Dear Pros,

You've got Amelia this week, and what a week it has been. On Tuesday, we announced our fifth annual list of F&W Game Changers: 14 people, products, and companies that are changing the way we eat and drink.

It's my second year producing this package, but selecting the award winners is a full-on team effort. The F&W editors sorted through hundreds of nominations from entrepreneurs and restaurant professionals (many of whom were Game Changers from years past), to land on a select few. We select winners based on their overall impact, but we also consider the list as a whole, making sure we're covering a wide range of different topics, like tech, sustainability, and travel. It takes weeks for us to land on a balanced collection of Game Changers, and editor in chief Hunter Lewis would always say, "We'll know it when we see it."

Well finally, we saw it, as clear as day.

Many of this year's Game Changers lean into accessibility. There's LifeStraw, a retail brand creating filtration devices for people who don't have access to clean water. There's the Ninja Crispi, a portable air fryer that makes it possible to cook anywhere, anytime. And there's the one and only Ayesha Curry, the actress and restaurateur whose nonprofit Eat. Learn. Play. has already provided over 25 million meals to children and families in Oakland, California.

One of our Game Changers is a package deal in the form of two restaurants with no relation to one another, other than their near-identical philosophy. Yellow Bittern in London and Eulalie in New York City reject technology in favor of a slow, old-fashioned, hospitality-first style of service. In the profile, writer Nina Caplan says, "An ocean apart, both restaurants are united by an appetite for hard work and a belief that serving good food to loyal, appreciative customers is its own reward. In an era of takeout apps and slickly impersonal chains, cozy intimacy with house-baked bread may be just what diners hunger for."

Before you know it, we'll be reaching out for nominations for the sixth annual list of Game Changers. Got any early ideas? Send them my way. And if you're looking for inspiration, boy, do we have the place for you. The Food & Wine Classic in Aspen is just around the corner and there are just a few tickets left — you might even spot some of our 2025 Game Changers at the Grand Tasting tents.

Will I see you there? I hope so!

Until then,
Amelia Schwartz