The Chef JKP Podcast
Episodes
173 episodes
How CUPBOP Took Korean Street Food Global | Dok Kwon & Junghun Song (E165)
What does it take to build a Korean street food brand from a used food truck into a global restaurant business?Chef JKP sits down with Dok Kwon, President & COO of CUPBOP, and Junghun Song, Co-Founder & CEO of CUPBOP.The...
This Woman Fought 22 Years for Water | Angie Pajak (E164)
What happens when the conversation about water goes far beyond what we drink?Chef JKP sits down with Angie Pająk, CEO of Greentech by Aquacell, for a different kind of episode.From childhood food memories in Poland to studying a...
He Became A Chef At 15 To Buy Football Shoes | Shehab Medhat (E163)
What does it take to turn pressure into purpose before the age of 26?Chef JKP sits down with Shehab Medhat, Chef of Savryn Restaurant in Dubai, whose journey began at 15 with a kitchen job he took just to buy football shoes.From...
The Hospitality Fixer Who Knows Why Guests Don’t Come Back | Samuel Graham (E162)
What happens when someone who once worked underground in engineering tunnels ends up shaping some of hospitality’s most iconic guest experiences?Chef JKP sits down with Samuel Graham, founder and CEO of The LightUp Group, hospitality co...
The Rise of Indian Food with Himanshu Saini and Liam Collens (E161)
What changes when a three Michelin star restaurant becomes a book?In this episode, Chef JKP sits down with Himanshu Saini and Liam Collens for the launch of The Rise of Indian Food: Recipes Reimagined by Trèsind Studio.This epis...
Why Do Some People Never Stop Chasing Food Stories? | Tiffany Eslick (E160)
What starts with olives on a kitchen counter becomes a life built around food, travel, stories, and bringing people to the table.Chef JKP sits down with Tiffany Eslick, content and creative director at Spinneys, food writer, podcaster, ...
What a Life in Storytelling Really Looks Like | Keith Dallison (E159)
This episode of the Chef JKP Podcast steps outside the kitchen and into the world of storytelling, with actor, voiceover artist, and video editor Keith Dallison, for a conversation about craft, creativity, and what it really takes to bring stor...
He Started Cooking In His 40s And Reached The Top Of Fine Dining (E158)
This episode of the Chef JKP Podcast features Chef Alvin Leung, better known around the world as The Demon Chef, for a conversation about reinvention, ambition, creativity, and the unconventional road that took him from engineering into the hig...
The Chef Who Said No To Engineering And Built An Empire Instead (E157)
This episode of the Chef JKP Podcast features Saradhi Dakara, chef and co-founder of Stellar Society, for a conversation about food, identity, entrepreneurship, and what it truly takes to build something of your own from the ground up.C...
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The Woman Behind Dubai’s Most Viral Food Series | Laura Lai Coughlin (E156)
This episode of the Chef JKP Podcast features Laura Lai Coughlin, one of Dubai’s most recognizable voices in food media, for a conversation about food, storytelling, journalism, and the path that took her from family kitchens to the centre of t...
Can Friendship Survive Building a Restaurant Together? | Neha Mishra and Panchali Mahendra (E155)
This episode of the Chef JKP Podcast brings together two standout names from Dubai’s dining scene for a conversation about friendship, entrepreneurship, hospitality, and building something meaningful in a competitive market.Chef James K...
What’s Coming This Season and Why It Matters....Season 12 Begins...(E154)
Season 12 of The Chef JKP Podcast kicks off with a solo episode, bringing you closer to the stories, people, and conversations you’ll hear across the season.With 14 episodes ahead, this season features chefs, operators, and industry voi...
What People Don’t Understand About Celebrity Chefs | Tasneem Rawat and Jenny Morris (E153)
This special collaborative episode of the Chef JKP Podcast brings together three voices from different corners of the culinary world for a conversation about identity, storytelling, and the power of food to connect cultures.Chef James K...
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What MENA 50 Best 2026 really feels like inside Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi (E152)
Front row at Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026, from a night at Mandarin Oriental Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.There’s a certain kind of tension in the air before the list is revealed. The chefs arrive, the teams g...
What Great Kitchens Get Right About Leadership (E151)
Welcome to the third episode of the SNACKS series.SNACKS are short, bite-size episodes from the Chef JKP Podcast, built to spotlight the strongest ideas from our most impactful conversations.In SNACKS Episode 3, Chef JKP brings to...
The Pressure That Comes After Michelin Recognition (E150)
Welcome to the second episode of the SNACKS series.SNACKS are short, bite-size episodes from the Chef JKP Podcast, built to spotlight the strongest ideas from our most impactful conversations.In SNACKS Episode 2, Chef JKP brings t...
How Great Chefs Built Standards Before Visibility Mattered (E149)
Welcome to the first episode of the SNACKS series.SNACKS are short, bite-size episodes from the Chef JKP Podcast, built to spotlight the strongest ideas from our most impactful conversations.In Snack Episode 1, Chef JKP brings t...
Why Discipline and Curiosity Matter More Than Talent in the Kitchen | Carmen Rueda Hernandez (E148)
Season 11 closes with a conversation that defines what true creative commitment looks like at the highest level of gastronomy.In this season finale of the Chef JKP Podcast, Chef JKP is joined by Carmen Rueda Hernandez, Executive Pastry ...
Christmas Special on Food, Hospitality, and What Really Mattered This Year (E147)
Season 11 closes with the annual festive conversation that has become a tradition on the Chef JKP Podcast.In this Christmas special, Chef JKP welcomes back two of MENA region's most respected food writers, Courtney Brandt and Liam Colli...
What It Takes to Launch a Restaurant in Today’s Hospitality World | Georgie Woollam Edwards (E145)
Season 11 continues with conversations that explore the forces shaping hospitality beyond the kitchen.In this episode, Chef JKP sits down with Georgie Woollam Edwards, Founder of Katch International, a London and Dubai based PR and expe...
How Early Food Memories Shaped Path to the Michelin World | Alex Dilling (144)
Season 11 continues with a story built on discipline, precision and a chef who believes great food comes from craft, culture and the people you grow with.Alex Dilling grew up between London and California, splitting his childhood betwee...
The Woman Behind the Food Brands Taking Over the Middle East | Victoria Hassani (E143)
Season 11 continues with a story shaped by culture, trade, and a woman who believes food can create understanding in ways politics never can.Victoria Hassani grew up inside her family’s restaurant on the Jersey shore. Breakfast crowds, ...
How A Blog, A Camera, and A Leap of Faith Led Leen Al Zaben to 50 Best | Leen Al Zaben (E142)
Season 11 continues with a story shaped by culture, curiosity, and a woman who sees food as memory, craft, and connection.Leen Al Zaben grew up between Jordanian Bedouin hospitality and the fresh, seasonal cooking of her grandmother’s k...
How Two Engineers Built Dubai’s Favourite Meat Brand | Dan & Fix (E141)
Season 11 continues with a story built on pressure, persistence, and two people who refused to settle for the careers they were “meant” to have.Dan and Fix spent years in engineering and construction before Carnistore ever existed. Long...
What No One Tells You About Building a Restaurant in Dubai | Akmal Anuar (E140)
Season 11 continues with a story that’s as honest as it is inspiring.From a small hawker stall in Singapore to standing on the Michelin stage in Dubai, Chef Akmal Anuar has lived a journey built on discipline, sacrifice, and starting fr...
