About
The formula was simple: one man, a folding table, a camping chair, and a takeaway meal. From this setup, Danny Malin, a former butcher from Barnsley, built Rate My Takeaway into a viral YouTube channel and cultural touchstone that championed local businesses during COVID-19. His catchphrase, "Now then guys," became the opening to reviews that felt like a chat with a mate. In September 2025, Malin announced he was quitting, citing "challenges behind the scenes" — cleaving the brand in two and revealing a story of health struggles, ethical battles, and a bitter split between creator and media property.
Rate My Takeaway: From Barnsley Butcher to YouTube's "UK Breakthrough Creator of the Year"
Born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, in November 1979, Danny Malin worked as a butcher at Malcolm Michaels' Quality Butchers in Leeds's Kirkgate Market. The Rate My Takeaway channel launched on June 21, 2020, during COVID-19 lockdowns. His on-the-street reviews of local food businesses offered vicarious escape, and growth was explosive. In 2021, he won YouTube's "UK Breakthrough Creator of the Year Award." By August 2022, the brand toured the US: New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles.
Personal milestones marked this period. His long-term partner Carrie Taylor passed away in February 2021. By December 2022, he announced his engagement to journalist Sophie Mei Lan; they married in June 2023 and welcomed a daughter in September 2023. In February 2024, Malin revealed two strokes and a blood clot on his brain diagnosis, later linked to professional stress.
Rate My Takeaway Content: Street Reviews, International Expansion, and Brand Licensing
The format was consistent: setting up outside a takeaway, ordering food, and delivering an unscripted verdict. The reviews championed small, independent businesses during a time of crisis. Content expanded to international locations (US tour) and special episodes. The style was intentionally unpolished — no studio, no script, just authentic reactions at a folding table.
How Rate My Takeaway Made Money: Sponsorships, Brand Licensing, and Cameo
Revenue included YouTube AdSense, brand sponsorships (including a significant KFC partnership), Cameo personalized videos, and live touring events. Malin's management was handled by the agency Off Limits Entertainment.
Rate My Takeaway: Danny Malin's Departure and the Brand Schism
In September 2025, Malin quit, citing "challenges behind the scenes." The departure revealed that the Rate My Takeaway brand, intellectual property, and channel were not solely his — creating a bitter split between the creator who was the brand's face and voice, and the media property he made famous. As of late 2025, the channel's future without Malin remains uncertain.
Rate My Takeaway Today
Danny Malin's Rate My Takeaway demonstrated how a simple, authentic format — one man, one table, one takeaway — could become a powerful media property during an unprecedented moment in history. His departure leaves the brand at a crossroads: a channel built entirely on one personality, now attempting to exist without him.