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PODCAST

The Go To Food Podcast

Go To Podcast Company

The Go-To Food Podcast is where the world’s most influential chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and critics share the stories behind their craft. Hosted by award-winning presenter Freddy Clode and chef and food writer Ben Benton, this weekly show dives deep into the experiences, inspirations, and “Go-To” favourites that define a life in food. From hidden gems to the restaurants they return to time and again, each episode serves up intrigue, insight, and the untold moments that shaped their journey

arts food

All Episodes

57:38

Andrew Clarke - A Rock 'N' Roll Story - Overcoming...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/03/09

This week, we’re joined by Andrew Clarke of Acme Fire Cult for an episode that goes everywhere — from fire cooking and restaurant building to addiction, recovery, music, and the moments that change a life. This is a conversation with a true original: chef, restaurateur, former Maverick of the Year, co-founder of Pilot Light, plant medicine facilitator, and owner of what may well be the best facial hair in London.We recorded this one at Acme Fire Cult in Hackney, and Andrew paints the full picture of

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1:01:15

Michael Caines - From Being Written Off After Losing...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/03/05

Michael Caines joins Go To Food for one of the most raw and revealing conversations we’ve ever had. Fresh from winning a Michelin star at The Stafford just months after opening — and still chasing that elusive second star at Lympstone Manor — he breaks down the realities of modern fine dining. From why tasting menus might be getting too long, to why à la carte is far from dead, to the financial tightrope of running a destination restaurant in rural Devon, this is Michael in full flow: honest, sharp

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48:37

Fadi Kattan - From Bethlehem to Notting Hill: The...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/03/02

This week, we sit down with a man who is reshaping how the world sees Middle Eastern cuisine: the one and only Fadi Kattan. Born in Bethlehem, classically trained in Paris, and now leading acclaimed restaurants in London and Toronto, Fadi is more than a chef — he’s a storyteller, a cultural historian, and one of the most important voices in food today. From his grandmother’s kitchen to Michelin recognition, from Venetian influences to Palestinian terroir, this is a conversation about identity,

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51:47

Mary-Ellen McTague - From The Fat Duck to The...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/02/26

Mary-Ellen McTague is one of the driving forces behind Manchester’s modern food scene: a chef, restaurateur and community builder whose cooking is rooted in place, craft and proper hospitality. In this episode, she joins the go-to food podcast to talk about the city she helped shape, the dishes she can’t stop thinking about, and the hard-won lessons behind building restaurants that people genuinely love.Her story runs from cooking for touring bands at Manchester’s Roadhouse as a student, to breaking

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50:43

José Pizarro – How He Became The Godfather Of Spanish...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/02/23

This week on the Go To Food Podcast, we sit down with the godfather of Spanish food in London, José Pizarro. From carving jamón door to door in the 90s with a bottle of Rioja under his arm, to building a Bermondsey Street empire that changed how Britain eats, José’s story is one of graft, instinct and relentless belief in the flavours of home.We dive straight into Andalucía and his unforgettable Cádiz food trips during bluefin tuna season, unpacking the 3,000-year-old almadraba tradition, divers

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59:16

Karan Gokani - The Real Secret Behind Hoppers’...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/02/19

Karan Gokani is one of London hospitality’s great shape-shifters: a former corporate lawyer who walked away from the safe path, then built something with genuine soul. We meet him inside Hoppers’ newest opening, a total reimagining of the old Lyle’s space, and talk about what it feels like to inherit “hallowed walls” without being haunted by them. The result is not a tribute act. It’s a new chapter, with a fresh personality, a different rhythm, and Karan’s fingerprints all over it.This conversation

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1:00:17

Ed Mcilroy - From Scaffolder To Creating The Plimsoll...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/02/16

The Go-To Food Podcast, brought to you by Blinq, the UK company revolutionising the POS game, and today we are joined by a man who has lived about five careers in one life. From scaffolder to delivery driver, chef to publican, and now the force behind two of London’s most-loved neighbourhood landmarks: The Plimsoll and Tollington’s Fish Bar. Ed McIlroy is funny, blunt, properly self-aware, and, crucially, he is building places that feel like they belong to the city, not the trend cycle.This episode

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49:57

Joe Otway – The Chef Rewriting Manchester’s Food Scene

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/02/12

Joe Otway has built one of the most exciting restaurant groups in the country, and in this episode he tells the full story, properly. From Brighton to Manchester by way of Cape Town, New York, San Francisco and Copenhagen, Joe charts the long, obsessive road that led to Higher Ground, Bar Shrimp and Flawd. We meet him fresh off national recognition and immediately get into what really matters: not lists, not PR, but full dining rooms and food that actually moves people.At the heart of the

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53:10

Tom Barnes - Winning 3 Stars With Simon Rogan At...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/02/09

From washing pots in Cumbria to cooking at The Square, Hof van Cleve and Geranium, and winning the Roux Scholarship along the way, Tom Barnes has taken the long road to the top. In this episode, he reflects on patience, loyalty and why not rushing your career can still lead you to the very highest level. It’s a rare, honest look at what two decades in elite kitchens actually teaches you, long before you ever open your own restaurant.That journey now culminates at SKOF, one of only two

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50:09

David Carter - Working For Gordon Ramsay To Building...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/02/05

David Carter does not do the neat, pre-packaged rise. In this episode, he takes us from a childhood shaped by Barbados heat and roadside grills, through Toronto and LA, into London kitchens where the stakes were real and the pressure unforgiving. He talks candidly about cutting his teeth at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's, realising hotel life was never going to satisfy him, and why layers of process can kill creativity stone dead. It is a sharp, funny look at how those early years formed his instincts,

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1:02:54

Michael O'Hare - From Michelin Star To Bankruptcy &...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/02/02

From ballet dancer and Billy Elliot hopeful to Michelin-starred chef, Michael O’Hare’s journey is anything but conventional. In this episode of The Go-To Food Podcast, Michael traces his path from Middlesbrough to the top of British fine dining via aerospace engineering, Jamie Oliver cookbooks, formative kitchen years and time spent at Noma, before blowing the doors off the scene with The Man Behind the Curtain. It’s a story shaped as much by instinct and curiosity as by rebellion against

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49:58

Carl Clarke - The Craziest CV In Cooking ; Getting...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/01/29

Carl Clarke is the sort of guest who makes you pause mid-intro and think: how is one person allowed to have this much life on a CV? DJ, chef, author, filmmaker, raver, and yes, a full-blown chicken deity, Carl has lived about six parallel careers, usually at the same time, often on zero sleep, and always with a story that somehow gets even more unhinged as it goes on. Carl takes us from a 15-year-old runaway with £200 and a half-baked plan for France that accidentally ends in Jersey, to the brutal,

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44:26

Abby Lee - Having My Customers Held at Knifepoint,...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/01/26

Today we’re at the Michelin-accredited Mambow, home of the brilliant Abby Lee, a chef with more grit, talent and sheer force of will than most people manage in a lifetime. We start at the beginning: Abby arriving in Lewisham at 14, completely alone, trying to find her feet, her voice, and a sense of belonging in a new country. Then comes the proper immersion: Singapore, then Italy, where the romantic fantasy of the trattoria quickly gets replaced by the brutal reality of kitchen life. When Abby

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38:20

Harneet Baweja - How I Built Five Restaurant Brands...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/01/22

This week we’re joined by Harneet Baweja: restaurateur, operator, and the man behind some of London’s most-loved restaurants. Over the last decade he’s built an absurdly good line-up: Gunpowder, Empire Empire, Moi et Toi, Fortune Fried Chicken, and the recently opened Master Jackie back in his hometown of Kolkata. It’s a 10-year anniversary conversation with proper bite. Harneet talks about celebrating Gunpowder’s first decade by doing something borderline outrageous: rolling back the menu to 2015

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41:20

Ben Benton - Burns, Bankrupty & His Incredible New...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/01/19

Ben Benton is usually the man behind the mic, but this week the Go-To Food Podcast flips the script. In a special episode, Ben steps into the hot seat as the guest to celebrate something properly massive: his debut book, All You Can Eat: The Search for a New British Menu. PRE ORDER IT NOW - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805221523?psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDpBefore food took over his life, Ben had already lived a few careers. He started out in the City during the financial

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1:00:14

Neil Rankin - Why I Called Out Marco P-W - The...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/01/15

This week on The Go-To Food Podcast, we are joined by Neil Rankin, the chef behind some of London’s most talked-about restaurants: Pitt Cue, John Salt, Smokehouse, Bad Egg and, of course, Temper. We trace the slightly unconventional route that took him from a sandwich business and a proper career wobble into Michelin kitchens, then on to finding his true groove via BBQ, fire-cooking and big, bold flavours.Neil Rankin speaks candidly about the darker realities of the industry. Bullying versus

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56:50

Alex Dilling - Brutal New York Kitchens, Running...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/01/12

This week we’re joined by one of the most compelling chefs working in Britain right now: Alex Dilling. With a pedigree that runs through Alain Ducasse and Hélène Darroze, and two Michelin stars at his incredible restaurant Café Royal, Alex’s story is one of intense kitchens, huge pressure, and an almost obsessive pursuit of precision.We talk through his journey in depth, from brutal early days in New York and the shock of stepping into major leadership roles in his twenties, to the highs and lows of

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1:00:06

Eating With Tod - Controversy, Criticism & How He...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/01/08

This episode is a deep dive into the wild reality of being Toby Inskip aka Eating With Tod, where eating a burger can spark headlines and a Christmas market can become a national talking point. He unpacks the moments that blew up online, the backlash that followed, and why being relentlessly positive in public somehow makes people angrier than outright criticism.We get into the controversies properly. Working with brands like McDonald’s and the reaction that always follows. Why fast food is treated

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53:12

Nathan Davies - From Head Chef At 'Ynyshir' To...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2026/01/05

This week on The Go-To Food Podcast, we travel to Guernsey to sit down with Nathan Davies at his restaurant Vraic. After walking away from the world’s most intense kitchens, Nathan chose the island to build something entirely his own. What he has created is confident, generous and already one of the most talked about new dining rooms in Britain.A huge part of Nathan’s story is his formative years working alongside Gareth Ward at Ynyshir. He speaks candidly about the brutality and brilliance of that

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35:26

Adam Spicer - Have We Uncovered The Modern Day Fergus...

The Go To Food Podcast ·

2025/12/29

Set deep in the Suffolk countryside, the Greyhound Inn is the kind of place that immediately feels special. Over 400 years old and restored with quiet confidence, it balances the warmth of a proper English pub with the ambition of a serious food destination. The welcome is generous, the bar stacked with thoughtful bottles, and the room hums with the sense that hospitality comes first. This is not a place chasing trends, but one grounded in time, community and craft.At the heart of it all is chef

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256 results

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