Jaya Saxena

Today, I and my fellow founding worker-owners--@aemccarthy , @shokdiesel , @thecourtneyesmith and @francesdoingthings --are launching the subscription drive for Ravenous (@feedravenous ), a new food and culture site. We are a group of experienced and award-winning food journalists here to publish thoughtful writing and incisive reporting from around the food world, work that we increasingly feel is being cast aside in media in favor of pithy summaries and AI-"written" content. We have spent the last six months of our lives planning and building this, with no loans or VC money, just a wing and a prayer and the hope that when we launched this subscription drive, enough other people would see the value in what we're trying to do. We know our audiences well, and we know the kind of work we do has resonated with our readers. The more we raise here, the more we'll be able to publish, both from the current worker-owners and from freelancers. For years, I have dreamt about building a worker-owned food publication, gathering information here and there and hoping someday it would be the right time. When I lost my job in August, I briefly began looking for other jobs, but any company that was hiring for the kind of work I wanted to do either had politics I morally could not align myself with, or was also having a round of layoffs every six months. In that climate, we couldn't not try to build something different. It was time. I am so proud of what we've already built, and all the stories we already have planned for our launch day on May 6. In this next month, we hope to raise enough money to keep us going for the next year, and of course would love to earn even more than we've budgeted for that. So please, subscribe or donate, tell your friends, tell your enemies, and I can't wait to show you more.

‘Gastronauts’ looks like a regular food competition show. There’s a host, a panel of judges, and extreme cooking challenges meant to test a chef’s skill and creativity. The only difference is that while other shows play up the drama, ‘Gastronauts’ (@dropouttv ) knows this is comedy. “Food competition shows are extremely bizarre in general, and I feel very lucky that with mine we get to lean into them being bizarre rather than having to pretend like they’re not,” says ‘Gastronauts' host Jordan Myrick. The result might be TV’s ultimate competition show. Head over to the link in bio to read.

I interviewed @jordanmyr1ck about Gastronauts on @dropouttv , and how it completely breaks the food competition show. Read it on @feedravenous .

From its conception, Manhattan’s HAGS (@hags_nyc ) has built a pay-what-you-can Sunday brunch into its business model. And chef Telly Justice (@oatmeal_goth ) wants to use her model as a prototype, touring the U.S., sharing her knowledge of how pay-what-you-can service works, and encouraging other restaurants to take up the cause. Despite tight margins and rising costs, Justice knows you can build a successful restaurant around the idea that some people might eat for free. Read @jayasax 's story on our website. Link in bio.

I’m so proud to publish my first piece on @feedravenous today. It’s about @oatmeal_goth at @hags_nyc , and the amazing work she’s been doing to spread the word of pay-what-you-can dining. I spoke to @arimillerx , @chefsamhart and @millerunionchef about the ups and downs of experimenting with this model, and how trusting diners to pay what they can is the purest form of hospitality. Link in bio, and remember to subscribe to Ravenous for more like this. 💜🐦‍⬛

This May Day I want to thank all the other worker-owned coops that have provided such insight and support and cheerleading to @feedravenous along the way— @defectormedia , @coyotemediacollective , @gourmet.lives , @bestfoodblogdotnet , @hearingthingsco , @51stnews , and so many more. We are stronger together. Solidarity forever.

Went to London for the No Gods No Mayors live show and all I got was a lot of good food and great company and only a little annoyed at how everyone utilizes the sidewalk

This is the story of how a Slack conversation led us to compare notes on tuna tostadas in New York, Dallas, Houston, and Chicago. And to the realization that what food trend reporting really needs is reporters all over the country to tell every angle of the story. Read by tapping the link our bio. Subscriber drive update: There are 13 days left to be an early bird subscriber to Ravenous before we launch. Check out the link in bio to join the rave today!

Back in August 2025, Jaya Saxena (@jayasax ) sent an email to organize a group of us to start a worker-owned food culture website. This message was the first step in our journey of building Ravenous. Today, we have an interview with founder-owner Jaya Saxena, a James Beard Award-nominated writer and editor based in Queens, NY. She tells us what drew her to the worker-owned media movement, the lack of transparency in traditional food media, and the go-to $20 meal in her neighborhood. Tap the link in bio to check out the full Q&A. Heads up, there are 15 days left in our subscriber drive. Help us get to the finish line and subscribe today through the link in our bio.

@francesdoingthings interviewed me for our Meet a Founder series! Go read it on @feedravenous 💜🐦‍⬛

Had the absolute best time this weekend in Seattle celebrating the birthday of one of my oldest and best friends @wishme !!! Friendship is cool and good!!

We’re on the @taste podcast! Ravenous founder-owner Jaya Saxena (@jayasax ) sits down with Matt Rodbard (@mattrodbard ), TASTE editor-in-chief, about what’s been missing in food media, what Ravenous brings to the table, and why the worker-owner model is the path forward to building a sustainable food media business. Plus, she reveals some stories we’ve been working on behind the scenes. Let’s just say there will be Malort and maybe the pope. 👀 Head to the link in our bio to listen to the full interview. BTW, we have 24 days left in our month-long subscriber drive. Be part of the worker-owned food media movement. Hit subscribe.