John Keenan – journalist

EATING in Brighton used to share a few attributes with the seaside's traditional entertainments - it was quick, cheap, and cheerful.

Not any more. Food in the city is a serious business. Brighton and Hove was recently rated number one in the UK in the Condé Nast Traveller reader awards, knocking London off its perch and putting the city into the world’s top 100 culinary destinations.

Each week seems to bring a new gourmet burger joint, a quirky cafe or a themed restaurant.

Now entering into its 14th year, the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival is the largest of its kind in the UK and generates around £3.5 million for the local economy. Organised by a not-for-profit community interest company, the food festival has proved itself to be a mobile concept.

According to Visit England, food tourism now pulls in more punters than shopping and sightseeing. But it is not just the tourists who surf the streets looking for a snack.

The boom in trendy eateries is a direct corollary of the rise in the city's other much vaunted asset - the digital sector. In January, Brighton Fuse will unveil its research into freelance workers in the creative, digital and IT industries. Brighton’s creative firms on average use seven freelancers a year. They also employ on average seven workers. So freelancers are responsible for a large part of the wealth generated by the digital sector. I'm going to stick my neck out and predict that when the report is unveiled at the Sallis Benney Theatre in Grand Parade it will not reveal that the creative types are taking their wages home in wheelbarrows. The jobs may sound prestigious but the salaries are modest.

So if you are paying eye-watering rents you might as well forget about putting down roots and raising a family. Going out is the new growing up - and it looks a lot cooler on social media.

Foodie bloggers and vloggers vie with each other to debate the merits of the latest pizza topping. Recently I spoke to the boss of an e-commerce company who was celebrating wining a prestigious award. He told me he hoped to double the size of his company but he seriously doubted he could do it and remain in Brighton. The notorious lack of decent office space looks like claiming another victim.

There is no room, it seems, for firms that wish to get big, but plenty of space for those who will fill your stomach.