The Go To Food Podcast

Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs of all time. From revolutionising New York's restaurant scene to building an empire of around 60 restaurants across the world, his career has been nothing short of extraordinary.

But behind the Michelin stars and iconic restaurants are some truly unbelievable stories.

This week, Jean-Georges joins us to reveal what it was really like cooking Donald Trump's wedding, why Barack Obama publicly objected to his infamous pea guacamole, and the extraordinary night he witnessed Marco Pierre White chasing a young chef down the street with a frying pan.

He also tells us how a kitchen mistake led to the creation of his legendary molten chocolate cake, how a producer behind Michael Jackson's music videos handed him $250,000 to open his first restaurant, and why losing his third Michelin star was one of the worst moments of his career.

We trace his remarkable journey from growing up in Alsace and training in France's greatest kitchens to discovering the flavours of Thailand and transforming the way Americans thought about French food.

From JoJo and Vong to the legendary Jean-Georges restaurant and the $350 million Tin Building project, this is a fascinating conversation about ambition, creativity, extraordinary success and the realities of building a global restaurant empire.

An unforgettable hour with one of the true legends of the culinary world.

Subscribe to The Go-To Food Podcast for more conversations with the world's greatest chefs, restaurateurs and food personalities.

Brought to you by Blinq.
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How do you turn a humble jacket potato into one of Britain's biggest viral food sensations?

This week we're joined by the one and only Spudman, the man behind Britain's most famous jacket potatoes, to uncover the extraordinary story of how he built his potato empire.

From queues stretching for hours and millions of followers around the world to earning £40,000 a month through TikTok and turning down a staggering £1 million offer, Spudman reveals what it really takes to turn a simple food business into a global phenomenon.

But behind the viral success is an equally remarkable personal story. We discuss his ongoing battle with kidney disease, spending 25 hours a week on dialysis, the challenges of running a business in the public eye and how his life changed almost overnight.

We also get into the secrets behind the perfect jacket potato, the realities of social media fame, meeting Queen Camilla and what comes next for the Spudman empire.

An extraordinary story of resilience, entrepreneurship and the power of a really good potato.

Subscribe to Go To Food for more incredible stories from the world of food and hospitality.

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Dylan Jones has spent more than four decades at the heart of British culture, from i-D and The Face to GQ, the Evening Standard and some of London’s most legendary dining rooms.
In this episode, Dylan joins us to talk about the wild years of 80s, 90s and noughties London, from The Groucho Club, The Ivy and Le Caprice to David Bowie, Robbie Williams, Boris Johnson and the extraordinary overlap between restaurants, fashion, music, media and drugs.
We also get into the characters who made London dining what it was, the rise of the power restaurant, Jeremy King and Richard Caring, the changing face of Soho and Mayfair, and whether that era could ever exist again.
A brilliant, outrageous and incredibly entertaining journey through a very different London.
Buy his book here -https://www.amazon.co.uk/Table-Hopping-Restaurants-Brasserie-Wolseley/dp/0349000727

Recorded Live At Decimo London - The Standard
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Today we're joined by one of the most important figures in modern Italian cooking in Britain, Jacob Kenedy, chef and co-founder of the legendary Bocca di Lupo and Gelupo. Jacob's journey is anything but conventional. Before becoming a chef he studied science, was a glassblower and a DJ, before a stint at Moro changed the course of his life and eventually led him to create the restaurant he simply wanted to exist in London.

Jacob takes us inside the extraordinary story of Bocca di Lupo, from opening in the middle of the financial crisis to becoming one of London's most celebrated restaurants. He reveals the brutal workload behind its early success, including the moment he became so exhausted he knelt down beside a customer's table and physically couldn't stand back up. We also get into the economics of restaurants today and why Jacob believes there is something about the industry that can actually “favour the worst”.

Plus, we talk pasta. Jacob reveals the biggest mistakes British home cooks make, why you should take pasta out of the water while it's still almost raw, the secret to seasoning properly, and the thinking behind his new book Pasta Tricolore. Over mezcal, tacos and a few strong opinions at Decimo at The Standard Hotel London, this is a brilliant conversation about food, creativity, restaurants and nearly two decades at the top of London's dining scene.

Recorded Live At Decimo London - The Standard
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Between Robert Reid and Jean-Christophe “JC” Slowik, you have nearly 80 years of extraordinary restaurant history. From Roger Vergé and Raymond Blanc to Marco Pierre White, Harvey’s, The Oak Room and some of the defining restaurants of their generation, the pair have witnessed first-hand the madness, brilliance and brutality of elite restaurants. They join us to share incredible stories from those years, including life inside Marco’s legendary kitchens, the intensity of three-Michelin-star cooking and how London’s restaurant world has transformed since the 1980s.

Then, in their mid-50s, they decided to start again. During Covid, a phone call between two old friends became Les 2 Garçons, the tiny French bistro they built largely themselves, initially cooking with IKEA induction hobs, a £150 Argos oven and no dishwasher. What followed was extraordinary: huge demand, national acclaim and the creation of one of Britain’s most celebrated neighbourhood restaurants, built around simple French cooking, great wine and the belief that a restaurant should above all be somewhere people actually want to spend their time.

This is also a brilliantly funny and candid conversation about everything they have learned along the way. Robert and JC discuss why fine dining became too complicated, why chefs are returning to simplicity, whether Michelin stars still matter, what restaurants get wrong about wine, the importance of value for money and why getting older completely changes the way you think about cooking. After decades spent chasing perfection at the highest level, their conclusion is refreshingly simple: forget most of what you learned, keep the best bits, cook things people want to eat and enjoy the good summers you have left.
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