--- description: Find out why Brooks Headley is one of the 100 most influential people of 2024. title: Brooks Headley: The 100 Most Influential People of 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfde6dc4a562196d/698a558c0116823ebe985aab/time-100-2024-brooks-hadley.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 17, 2024 # Brooks Headley by David Chang  Brooks Headley, the chef and an owner of Superiority Burger, speaks with patrons at the restaurant in New York, June 9, 2023\. Headley could have cloned his wildly popular vegetarian spot -- instead, its new space doubles down on idiosyncrasy. (Karsten Moran/The New York Times) Brooks Headley, the chef and an owner of Superiority Burger, speaks with patrons at the restaurant in New York, June 9, 2023\. Headley could have cloned his wildly popular vegetarian spot -- instead, its new space doubles down on idiosyncrasy. (Karsten Moran/The New York Times)Karsten Moran—The New York Times/Redux Before he was a chef, Brooks Headley was a drummer. To follow his journey from hardcore-punk clubs to fine-dining kitchens to the forefront of [culinary innovation](https://time.com/6551606/is-plant-based-diet-healthier-you-are-what-you-eat/ "undefined") is to reconsider not just how we view cooking, but also how we all might better express ourselves. His New York City restaurant, Superiority Burger, brings together a motley crowd for a shared dining experience unlike any other. The menu—which I hesitate to describe as “vegetarian” because it sounds so restrictive—is a dynamic canvas for the freshest farmers’ market finds. The namesake burger is otherworldly. His focaccia is unreal. The gelato’s outrageous. To me, Brooks is the American embodiment of the Japanese _shokunin:_ a singularly dedicated, innovative, authentic craftsman. His restaurant challenges our notions of what makes for great cuisine and where you can find it. He has influenced the global dialogue about sustainability and ethics in food, all while actively avoiding the spotlight. Brooks is happiest working in the background. After all, he is a drummer at heart. _Chang is a restaurateur, author, and podcaster_ Brooks Headley Is on the 2024 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964708/brooks-headley/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964708/brooks-headley/"},"headline":"Brooks Headley","datePublished":"2024-04-17T11:11:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:29:41.367Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964708/brooks-headley/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","2024TIME100","T100Artists2024"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfde6dc4a562196d/698a558c0116823ebe985aab/time-100-2024-brooks-hadley.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfde6dc4a562196d/698a558c0116823ebe985aab/time-100-2024-brooks-hadley.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964708/brooks-headley/","name":"Brooks Headley"}}]}] ```