Jay Rayner is leaving The Observer after 25 years as its restaurant critic, to join the Financial Times – which means that for many readers his weekly reviews will disappear behind a paywall.

Marina O’Loughlin, formerly of the Sunday Times and before that The Guardian, has also joined the FT and will write a monthly column on the global restaurant scene, having had a trial run in the paper’s Saturday magazine this autumn.

Tim Hayward, the FT’s restaurant critic for the past 12 years, is moving to a new role as food writer, “contributing deep-dives on home cooking projects and other culinary fixations”.

For several years Jay has been the most prominent national restaurant critic whose reviews are freely available online. He leaves The Observer at a time when the paper’s future is in some doubt; journalists at the paper and its sister publication The Guardian are planning to strike for 48 hours early next month in protest at The Observer’s proposed sale to Tortoise Media.

Commenting on his new role at the FT, Jay said: “I have been both an avid fan and devoted reader of the paper for many years and it’s an honour to become part of a team I have admired from afar for so long. I can’t wait to play my part alongside the huge talents that are Jancis Robinson, Tim Hayward and Marina O’Loughlin, in providing the most entertaining and authoritative food and drink coverage in the business.”