Season 11 - Episode 13 - How Early Food Memories Shaped Path to the Michelin World | Alex Dilling

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 between home-cooked food, travel, music and skateboarding. Cooking was not the plan until it became the only thing that made sense.

From culinary school in London to the demanding Michelin kitchens of New York, Alex built his career inside some of the most intense brigades in the world. He trained under Alain Ducasse teams, worked alongside Helene Darroze, developed his own creative identity at Caviar Russe, and later took the helm at The Greenhouse in London before opening his namesake restaurant at Hotel Cafe Royal.

Today, Alex Dilling at Hotel Cafe Royal holds two Michelin stars awarded just six months after opening and has become one of London’s most precise, technique-driven and emotionally honest dining rooms.

This conversation opens up the world behind fine dining, leadership, creativity, the realities of pressure, and the craft behind dishes that take years to understand and seconds to enjoy.

What You Will Hear in This Episode

• Growing up between the UK and California
• Early food memories with his mother and grandfather
• Punk bands, skateboarding and choosing cooking late
• Culinary school, externships and finding French classics
• Moving to New York with no job and entering Michelin culture
• Training under Ducasse and running sections at 21
• Creative freedom and earning a Michelin star at Caviar Russe
• Becoming head chef for Helene Darroze at The Connaught at 28
• Leadership, pressure and the realities of managing big teams
• Rebuilding The Greenhouse and shaping his identity
• Opening Alex Dilling at Cafe Royal
• Achieving two Michelin stars in six months
• Menu development, technique and perfectionism
• Why collaboration fuels growth
• His Bangkok project and global work
• Advice for young chefs entering fine dining

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and welcome to the episode
04:00 Childhood across London and California
08:00 Music, skateboarding and teenage years
12:00 Family cooks and early food memories
18:00 Culinary school and discovering French technique
23:00 Moving to New York with no job lined up
26:00 Entering Ducasse kitchens and learning intensity
33:00 Creative freedom and a Michelin star at Caviar Russe
40:00 Becoming head chef for Helene Darroze
48:00 Leadership, pressure and managing a brigade
55:00 The Greenhouse and redefining French cuisine
67:00 Opening Alex Dilling at Cafe Royal
78:00 Earning two Michelin stars in six months
87:00 Collaborating with Albert Adria
102:00 Bangkok project and a new chapter
112:00 Advice for young chefs and closing reflections

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