The Go To Food Podcast

Today we're joined by one of our favourite guests of all time in the delightful Calum Franklin, who currently oversees 2 incredible restaurants in; The Public House in Paris and The Georgian in Harrods. However, he's best known as The King of Pies, having gone viral all around the world during lockdown when he was showcasing his creations from his Pie Room kitchen at his award winning restaurant The Holborn Dining Room. Calum's had an incredible career working in some of the finest restaurants in the country, from the glory days of working at The Ivy cooking for the likes of; Al Pacino and Axl Rose to arguing with angry American OAPs at Borough Markets famous Roast. However it hasn't all be plain sailing, as he suffered for many years with a serious alcohol addiction that nearly cost him his life and shares with us the experience that had on his mental and physical health. Plus we hear about the trials and tribulations of opening a British Brasserie in the heart of Paris, how he recovered from a shocking review from Jay Rayner, why he's so passionate about extinguishing bullying from the kitchen, the magic of resurrecting London's oldest dining room in The Georgian and much much more.....
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Order award winning meats direct to your door from Swaledale Butchers - https://swaledale.co.uk/

Head to www.delli.market and discover the thousands of creative products dropping daily and use the code GOTODELLI25 for 25% off everything from us.

Check out Square's an all-in-one restaurant tech solution here - www.square.com

Please subscribe and leave us a comment, and if you enjoy the podcast please listen to our audio only podcast that we bring out each Thursday whereby we interview the top chefs in the UK and beyond - https://link.chtbl.com/Vg8g3qpb

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter here - https://open.substack.com/pub/thegoto...

Today we're joined by the co-founder of the ridiculously successful Indian inspired restaurant group Kricket in Will Bowlby to hear about his incredible journey that's taken him from learning his craft under the legendary Rowley Leigh at Le Café Anglais to being given an incredible opportunity to go move to Mumbai to set up a European restaurant and all the ridiculous unforeseen challenges which came with that including; nearly being killed by a stalker outside his flat, having to constantly change his menu to meet the needs of the locals and the joys of fighting off a deadly parasite. However it was in India where he fell in love with the local food and so upon returning back to London 2 years later he went and did an apprenticeship under Vivek Singh at The Cinamon Kitchen and learnt the basics of Indian cooking. 6 months later he set up the first Kricket restaurant in a 15 cover shipping container in Pop Brixton and after stunning reviews from the likes of Jay Rayner, Will now oversees 6 individual restaurants and 2 Bar's in London and today he shares with us his secrets to such success.
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Download The Appetite app now and track your fav spots or places that you're dying to check out and book them easily all through the app - download it now. https://shorturl.at/yFXyK

Today we're joined by arguably the most successful restaurateur in the country in Jon Spiteri who has created such institutions as The French House in Soho, St John in Farringdon and latterly Sessions Arts Club. He takes us through his colourful career from working at Joe Allen's in the 70s as a waiter, to winning mixologist of the year in Australia, to mastering the art of hospitality in America before returning to the UK where a chance meeting with Fergus Henderson changed his life and London's restaurant scene over night. We hear about the hardships of setting up such famous institutions, the challenges of convincing diners to trust 'nose to tail' in the early days, the art of the long lunch, Jons close shaves with alcohol and drugs, the secrets behind hospitality, the main challenges facing the industry and much more....
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Order award winning meats direct to your door from Swaledale Butchers - https://swaledale.co.uk/

Head to www.delli.market and discover the thousands of creative products dropping daily and use the code GOTODELLI for 25% off everything from us.

Check out Square's an all-in-one restaurant tech solution here - www.square.com

Please subscribe and leave us a comment, and if you enjoy the podcast please listen to our audio only podcast that we bring out each Thursday whereby we interview the top chefs in the UK and beyond - https://link.chtbl.com/Vg8g3qpb

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter here - https://open.substack.com/pub/thegoto...

Happy Boxing Day to you all and we hope that you all had a fabulous Christmas, today we bring you something slightly different as we sit down with Appetite co-founder James Green and serial entrepreneur and founder of 'The Jet Business' Steve Varsano to discuss both of their incredible businesses and favourite places to eat in London. Plus Steve shares with us some crazy stories on; being kidnapped by gangsters, having a gun held to his head during his first business deal, why he uses metal business cards and what foods like on private jets!
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Download The Appetite app now and track your fav spots or places that you're dying to check out and book them easily all through the app - download it now. https://shorturl.at/yFXyK

Today we're joined by one of the most famous Chefs in the country in Jackson Boxer, who now oversees an empire of successful restaurants including the multi-award winning Brunswick House and the previous 'Best New Restaurant of The Year' winner Orasay. Starting out as a kitchen kitchen porter for Margot Henderson at the bonny age of 16, Jackson Boxer was no stranger to kitchens by the time he opened Brunswick House with his brother Frank, aged just 24. Having experienced success alongside him the previous year with the opening of Franks Peckham, they decided to team up and turn an antiques showroom into what would soon become London's hottest restaurant. It hasn't all been plain sailing however, Jackson has been very vocal about his alcohol and drug addictions throughout his 20s and how that almost cost him his life and career. He also opens up about some past failed ventures including opening St Leonards with Vice Media in the same month they were going bankrupt and how messy that got. Plus shares his wisdom on the state of play of the industry currently and why it's never been tougher to be in hospitality although if you look hard enough there are always incredible opportunities to be had, reveals some secret Christmas dishes from the Boxer archive and much much more.....
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Order award winning meats direct to your door from Swaledale Butchers - https://swaledale.co.uk/

Head to www.delli.market and discover the thousands of creative products dropping daily and use the code GOTODELLI for 25% off everything from us.

Check out Square's an all-in-one restaurant tech solution here - www.square.com

Please subscribe and leave us a comment, and if you enjoy the podcast please listen to our audio only podcast that we bring out each Thursday whereby we interview the top chefs in the UK and beyond - https://link.chtbl.com/Vg8g3qpb

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter here - https://open.substack.com/pub/thegoto...

Today we're joined by one of our greatest ever guests in the larger than life legendary wine trader and owner of 'Passione Vino' Luca Dusi to sample some of his gorgeous wines, but more importantly hear his incredible stories from a life eating the best food and drinking the best wine in the world. We discuss; how he fell in love with wine bunking off school as a 10 year old and sneaking into local bars in Verona, where the best food is found in Italy & why he's not a fan of garlic in his food, how he created the best wine bar in London, the trials and tribulations of being a wine trader, why he wants restaurants to be braver with their wine lists, how supermarkets are ruining the wine industry, where to find the best italian food in London, his memories of working with the best chefs in the country, the best restaurant he ever went to in Tokyo which changed his life forever, what we should be drinking this Christmas and much much more....
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Download The Appetite app now and track your fav spots or places that you're dying to check out and book them easily all through the app - download it now. https://shorturl.at/yFXyK

Today we're joined by one of the most recognisable faces in the country in multi-award winning; chef, food writer, TV star, restaurateur & now social media star Gizzi Erskine. Gizzi takes us through her incredible career which has taken in so many twists and turns along the way; from working in some of Londons top restaurants having been inspired by her mother's incredible food, to winning national competitions across the board for her culinary creations, to becoming the most famous lady on TV alongside Nigella, to starting restaurants with her Rock N Roll friends in Pro Green and Libertines singer Carl Barat, to losing her money in failed foodie ventures, to being at the forefront of the pop up movement, to getting abused by famous chefs and much more...
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Order award winning meats direct to your door from Swaledale Butchers - https://swaledale.co.uk/

Head to www.delli.market and discover the thousands of creative products dropping daily and use the code GOTODELLI for 25% off everything from us.

Check out Square's an all-in-one restaurant tech solution here - www.square.com

Please subscribe and leave us a comment, and if you enjoy the podcast please listen to our audio only podcast that we bring out each Thursday whereby we interview the top chefs in the UK and beyond - https://link.chtbl.com/Vg8g3qpb

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter here - https://open.substack.com/pub/thegoto...

What an honour it is to be sat at the Rotunda interviewing the man who's restaurant's just been crowned the best restaurant in the whole of the country in Endo Kazutoshi. In this interview he opens up like never before talking us through; 

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Download The Appetite app now and track your fav spots or places that you're dying to check out and book them easily all through the app - download it now. https://shorturl.at/yFXyK

Today we're delighted to be joined by award-winning food writer and critic the wonderful Tom Parker-Bowles, to celebrate his incredibly colourful career and his new book 'Cooking & The Crown'. From getting set up by the Fake Sheikh in Cannes for a cocaine deal, to his raving days in the warehouses to his days working for the 'terrifying' and 'horrible' Mohamed Al-Fayed it's all uncovered in this fascinating interview. We of course mostly talk about food and his love of it from a very early age, including his memories of his mother (The Queen's) cooking, his local chippie, his addiction to chilli aka 'Culinary Cocaine', his favourite restaurants, his books, his travels, the joys of his job as a food critic, the royal families foodie secrets and so much more.....
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Order award winning meats direct to your door from Swaledale Butchers - https://swaledale.co.uk/

Head to www.delli.market and discover the thousands of creative products dropping daily and use the code GOTODELLI for 25% off everything from us.

Check out Square's an all-in-one restaurant tech solution here - www.square.com

Order a copy of Tom's incredible book here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooking-Crown-recipes-Victoria-Charles/dp/1783256060

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter here - https://open.substack.com/pub/thegoto...

Today we're joined by one of London's most exciting young chefs in Ben Murphy, who was crowned National Chef of the Year 2022 by the Craft Guild & who's worked under some of the most iconic chefs in the world including; Pierre Koffmann, Michel Guérard, Éric Fréchon & Thomas Keller. Ben has worked his way through some of the most famous restaurants in the world from London to Paris to New York and today reveals the reality of being an Englishman in a foreign kitchen. From language barriers, to bullying, to dodgy bosses, crazy hours and everything in between. He then went off to set up his own restaurant 'Woodford' at just 24 which won Evening Standards restaurant of the year and received a rare 5 star review from the legendary A.A Gill, but ultimately ended up closing, when it turned out his investors were dodgier than he could have ever imagined. He's recently been Chef Patron at the award winning  Launceston Place, but has now left to pursue an incredibly exciting new opportunity!
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Download The Appetite app now and track your fav spots or places that you're dying to check out and book them easily all through the app - download it now. https://shorturl.at/yFXyK

How do you summarise the impact Phil Howard has had on the London food scene, well it’s impossible to do so! Having earnt his stripes working under the holy trinity of; Marco Pierre-White, Simon Hopkinson & The Roux Brothers, he truly burst onto the scene when he opened the iconic restaurant 'The Square' which went onto garner 2 Michelin Stars. Since then he’s opened two more restaurants in Elystan Street & Kitchen W8 which have also gained a Michelin star each. His story is as incredible as his food, overcoming multiple personal hurdles, addiction and much more to place himself as one of the countries true greats in every sense! Today he shares with us his thoughts on everything from; what he truly thinks of Marco Pierre-White, whether tasting menu's are now outdated, why classic french flavours will always reign supreme, what the secret is to writing a Michelin starred menu and much much more.....
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Order award winning meats direct to your door from Swaledale Butchers - https://swaledale.co.uk/

Head to www.delli.market and discover the thousands of creative products dropping daily and use the code GOTODELLI for 25% off everything from us. 

Check out Square's an all-in-one restaurant tech solution here - www.square.com 

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter here - https://open.substack.com/pub/thegoto...

Today we're joined by the owner of 2 Soho institutions in 40 Dean Street & 64 Old Compton Street Nima Safaei to celebrate the square mile playground he calls home. Nimah is a wonderful character, hence his nickname 'The Duchess of Soho' and relays some incredibly entertaining stories throughout from; the weirdest sights he's witnessed and tasted at The Box, being banned from Soho House, why the government are ruining hospitality, the death of the long lunch, sleepwalking after a heavy night into breakfast at Dean Street Townhouse and much much more....
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Download The Appetite app now and track your fav spots or places that you're dying to check out and book them easily all through the app - download it now. https://shorturl.at/yFXyK

Today we're joined by the legend that is Big Has aka Hasan Semay; Ex Head Chef, Sunday Times Best Selling Author, Junior Masterchef Host, Youtube Star & the funniest guy you'll ever listen too. Trust me when I say that this is a must listen to episode, the amount of incredible stories from; his father escaping as a prisoner of war in the Cypriot civil war to micro-dosing on Saturday Morning Kitchen to Jamie Oliver's 'Fifteen' programme changing his life (having been fired as a security guard and plumber) to being bullied in Theo Randall's kitchen to nearly being burnt alive by his head chef to nearly stabbing someone after service it's all in here and is quite possibly the most entertaining hour you'll ever listen too in your life so - plug in, sit back and enjoy!
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Please subscribe, give us a 5 star rating and leave us a comment and of course if you've enjoyed it share it with all of your friends!

Watch our studio interviews in full on our Youtube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@gotofoodpod

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter here - https://open.substack.com/pub/thegotofoodpodcast?r=9kfyt&utm_medium=ios

Today it's a joy to bring you the wonderful Aaron Potter who having spent years in the kitchen working under some of the greatest Michelin starred chefs in the country, notably Phil Howard and Adam Byatt, has now gone it alone and launched London's hottest new restaurant 'Wildflowers'. Fresh off a 5 Star review from the wonderful Grace Dent, Wildflowers owes much of its inspiration to a few key places; inspiration has, of course, been drawn from Trinity and Phil Howard’s Elystan Street, but the Mediterranean-inspired menu owes a lot to Bar Cañete in Barcelona and the extraordinary Asador-based menu at Porteño in Sydney. We get to sample some delicious food, uncover some wonderful stories and recommendations, so sit back, relax and book yourself a table on the appetite app!
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Download The Appetite app now and track your fav spots or places that you're dying to check out and book them easily all through the app - download it now. https://shorturl.at/yFXyK

Today we're joined by one of the most important chefs to ever grace this earth in Ashley Palmer-Watts, who alongside Heston Blumenthal, completely reinvented the world of food during his 20 year tenure as Head Chef at the 3 Michelin Starred 'Fat Duck' & 2 Michelin Starred 'Dinner By Heston'. Today for the first time ever, Ashely opens up and reveals all the secrets, accidents and development work that went into changing the way we as humans think about, taste and appreciate food. He also reveals the genius mind of Heston Blumenthal and how he was the first man to break the barriers on fine dining  and hence why he will go down in the history book alongside the likes of Escoffier & co. 
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Please subscribe, give us a 5 star rating and leave us a comment and of course if you've enjoyed it share it with all of your friends!

Watch our studio interviews in full on our Youtube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@gotofoodpod

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter here - https://open.substack.com/pub/thegotofoodpodcast?r=9kfyt&utm_medium=ios

Today we're joined by one of London's most in demand chefs in Anna Søgaard, recently Head Chef and creator of Bistro Freddie, to discuss her incredible culinary journey that's taken her from working at the best restaurants in Copenhagen, before ending up in London via the critically acclaimed Erst in Manchester. We discuss; how she managed to create one of London's most sought after restaurants, the joys of recreating fish and chips, the challenges of dealing with drunken customers, and why she left so suddenly, the joys of old Danish food, why we're experiencing the death of new nordic cuisine, the culinary secrets to implement during Thanksgiving, where the hottest places in Copenhagen are to visit, how her female led 'Suppher Club' is giving a voice back to females in hospitality, the dangers of giving power to customers to complain and much much more......
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Download The Appetite app now and track your fav spots or places that you're dying to check out and book them easily all through the app - download it now. https://shorturl.at/yFXyK

Follow Anna here - https://www.instagram.com/annasogaard/?hl=en

Today we're joined by everybody's favourite chef and food creator and now cookbook author, the wonderfully charming & ridiculously talented Seema Pankania. We discuss her incredible journey from studying neuroscience at University to becoming a chef working for Gordon Ramsay to becoming one of the most followed and loved food creators online! We're also given a preview of her incredible new cookbook 'Craveable' which has the perfect edible anecdotes for any mood/situation you may find yourself in. We also debate a whole of host of ridiculous topics from; pack up lunches, to airplane food, to near death experiences, the risk of getting murdered at Midsommar and much much more.....
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Pre-Order Seema's wonderful cookbook here  now - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Craveable-want-flavours-every-mood/dp/1405957433

Today we're honoured to be joined by the owner and exec-chef of the Michelin starred 'The Ninth' restaurant in Fitzrovia to discuss a career that is almost unrivalled in terms of experience and success. Chef Jun has worked at eight Michelin star restaurants throughout his career (including his own) and has learnt from 3 of the 4 founding fathers of British Gastronomy in; Albert Roux, Nico Ladenis and of course Marco Pierre-White. He's also worked under the guidance of Michelin starred icons Phil Howard and Eric Chavot and in this episode he takes us through all the craziness he has witnessed throughout his years, the highs, lows, tears and sometimes regrets of working at the greatest restaurants this country has ever created. We were lucky enough to also sample a couple of dishes from his genius mediterranean inspired menu at 'The Ninth' and find out in terrifying detail about a fire a couple of years ago that very nearly put his business and career into extinction; plus much much more....
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Download The Appetite app now and track your fav spots or places that you're dying to check out and book them easily all through the app - download it now. https://shorturl.at/yFXyK

Today we're joined by the wonderful Owen Barratt who was once co-owner & Exec Chef of London's famous foodie hangout 'Monty's' and is now running the incredibly successful 'Owens Sausages & Hams' down in Somerset. Monty's at its height was one of London's most sought after venues but after rapid expansion and the unforeseen arrival of Covid, it was forced to close its doors forevermore. Today we talk about the shocking emotional and physical impact the closure of Monty's had on Owen and how he's managed to fight back with his latest culinary offering. We also discuss how he went from being a signed musician to deciding to quit the industry to pursue his dream of being a restaurateur and how he managed to turn a market stool selling his food into 4 physical sites in London's most enticing post codes. Plus we hear stories about everything from Aziz Anazaris crazy house party in New York to Andy Samberg's favourite Deli and all the craziness you ca imagine in-between.....
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DELLI is a food platform, from the team behind Depop, that sells the best independent food and drink products that other shops don’t really know about.
Head to www.delli.market and discover the thousands of creative products dropping daily and use the code GOTODELLI for 25% off everything from us. 

Sameer Taneja has one of the most incredible stories we've ever come across; he was born into a working class family who were struggling to survive in Delhi in the 70s and had no connection nor interest in food, bar ensuring they could get enough on their plates to survive. However, Sameer fell in love with food and after finding a magazine with the legendary Pierre Koffmann on the cover, he vowed that'd he escape the country and move to London to become a classic french chef and eventually work for the great man. Well he was true to his word and after working for Chef Pascal Proyart at One-O-One he then moved to the iconic Waterside Inn by Alain Roux before eventually going to work for his hero Pierre Koffmann. However, not long after starting to work for Koffmann, the Chef approached Sameer and suggested that he stopped cooking French food and instead cooked the food of his Motherland, it made Sameer cry as all he wanted to do was impress Pierre; but this advise ended up changing his life and the London food scene forevermore.....
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Download The Appetite app now and track your fav spots or places that you're dying to check out and book them easily all through the app - download it now. https://shorturl.at/yFXyK