The Chef JKP Podcast
James Knight-Paccheco celebrates the inspirational stories of people within hospitality, their ups, their downs and everything in between. What does it take to keep up in one of the most competitive, mentally and physically stressful industries in the world? Giving incredible insights and advice to the listeners. For more information go to http://www.chefjkp.com
Episodes
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 gather, the community tightens up, and for a few hours, the region’s hospitality story sits in one room.
In this special event episode, Chef JKP speaks to chefs, restaura...
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 together insights from Björn Frantzén and Regan Hillyer, exploring leadership, mental resilience, and how emotional state influences performance inside high-pressure kitchens.
Björn reflects on ...
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 together insights from Himanshu Saini and Peggy Pui Ki Li, exploring pressure, recognition, and what really changes after success arrives.
Himanshu speaks candidly about what Michelin recogniti...
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 together insights from the legendary chef Pierre Koffmann and Reim El Houni, offering two perspectives on leadership, craft, and visibility in hospitality.
Pierre re...
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 Chef of Bricks Dessert and one of the most quietly influential pastry chefs working today.
From a small village in the mountains of Spain to the kitchens of El Bulli ...
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 Collins, for an unfiltered year-end conversation on everything that shaped hospitality, dining, and food culture in 2025.
From Michelin milestones and major restauran...
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 experiential agency that has helped shape some of the region’s most influential restaurant and hotel launches.
Georgie’s journey moves from early years in theatre and med...
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 de...
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, seafood dinners, a deli, an ice cream shop and a childhood built around menus, ingredients, cost control and hospitality. Her earliest memories were not hobbies or weekend act...
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 kitchen. Big salads, olive oil, Friday breakfasts, and long family tables. Those early moments became the foundation of her palate and the way she understands flavor.
...
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 days on site, managing hundreds of workers, solving problems nonstop, and dealing with deadlines that could cost millions. But the one thing that stayed with both of them was...
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 from zero more than once.
He didn’t grow up loving food. He grew up watching his parents hustle to feed their community. Cooking came later, through tough kitchens, rej...
Season 11 continues with a story that blends tradition, determination, and the pursuit of flavour.
From the heart of Mexico to Dubai’s shores, Chef Sergio Hernández Ruiz has built his career one kitchen and one lesson at a time.
Now the Chef de Cuisine at Tamoka, Sergio brings Latin warmth, coastal soul, and bold creativity to every plate.
In this episode, he opens up about growing up in a small ...
Season 11 continues with a story built on precision, passion, and perseverance.
From the south of France to the heart of Doha, Chef Fabrice Rosso has crafted his journey one plate and one lesson at a time.
Now the Executive Chef at IDAM by Alain Ducasse, Fabrice’s path takes us through the world of Michelin kitchens, from Nice and Monaco to Paris, where he trained under some of the world’s finest chefs, b...
Season 11 continues with a story that brings together food, family, and fearless creativity.
When her mom once suggested turning her newsletters into a book, Joan Tuaño Rumsey brushed it off. Years later, that tiny spark became Steak Simplified, a thoughtful and beautifully written guide that makes people fall in love with meat, education, and culture all over again.
From growing up in the Philippine...
Season 11 continues with an inspiring story that blends precision, passion, and pastry in the most beautiful way.
From cycling through snow at 3:30 in the morning to his first job in a small pastry shop in France, Chef Christophe Devoille has come a long way. Today, he leads one of the world’s most iconic pastry programs as the Executive Pastry Chef at Atlantis The Royal in Dubai.
Over the years, Chr...
Season 11 continues with another remarkable story of resilience, flavor, and fire featuring Chef Thinus Van Der, Culinary Director 99 Sushi Bar.
From growing up in South Africa surrounded by braais and family kitchens to becoming a Michelin-star chef in the UAE, Thinus’s story is a masterclass in grit, gratitude, and growth. After surviving stage three brain cancer, he returned to the kitchen stronger than ev...
Season 11 continues with another powerful voice in food: Solemann Haddad, Head Chef and Owner of Moonrise in Dubai.
At just 26, Solemann became the youngest chef in the region to earn a Michelin star, but his story is about more than accolades. From dropping out of university three weeks before graduating to building one of Dubai’s most talked about restaurants, Solemann has forged his path with ambition, hon...
Season 11 continues with a very special guest: RJ Harvey, Culinary Director at Potatoes USA.
RJ is a walking encyclopedia of potato knowledge, but more than that, he is a chef who has lived the grind, from his first hotel kitchen job in Denver to competing on Food Network’s Alex vs. America to now leading innovation at the Spud Lab in Denver.
In this conversation, RJ shares how childhood food memorie...
Chef JKP AKA James Knight-Paccheco gives a warm welcome to Season 11. For the first time the season is extended to 16 episodes, and in this solo opener James shares what he has been up to, talks about the big Michelin moments in Dubai, thanks the hospitality community, introduces Potatoes USA as the season sponsor and launches a listener Q&A.
This episode is an honest, personal update and a short celebrat...
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