Best Served Hot: April 12–18, 2026

happy sunday!

You’ll notice we have a fresh new cover style this week to match some important updates behind the scenes.

I’ve refined my data criteria to ensure we are looking at the true “top tier” of the industry. To be included in our tracking, a site must now have a Moz Domain Authority of 40+, a combined social media following of 100K+, and run Raptive ads. By tightening these parameters, we’re now tracking a focused group of 585 elite sites, allowing for much sharper analysis in an increasingly crowded market.

If we haven’t yet met, I’m Rachel Cunliffe, food blog designer + statistician at cre8d design. Every Sunday, Best Served Hot provides exclusive trend analysis and clear-cut insights and industry news you need to know.

If you find this analysis valuable, please consider sharing this Substack with your food blogging friends.

Methodology: Top food blogs are defined as those running Raptive ads with a Moz Domain Authority of 40+ and 100K+ combined followers on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Facebook. Lifestyle, cocktail-only, and aggregator sites are excluded.

Cover: National Pecan Day, April 1