The Go To Food Podcast

Step inside one of the wildest careers in modern British cooking as we sit down with Tommy Banks, once the youngest British Michelin starred chef, Great British Menu champion, author, farmer, preservation obsessive, cricket prodigy in a past life, and the man behind both The Black Swan at Oldstead and Roots in York. From hand milking cows on a tiny family farm to being crowned TripAdvisor’s number one restaurant in the world, Tommy...

We're back for a new week with a riot of energy as we sit down with the endlessly charismatic Robin Gill, the chef who helped reshape modern London dining. Fresh from opening his vibrant new Bar Brasso in Nine Elms and on the eve of his forty sixth birthday, Robin talks candidly about the craft, chaos and creativity that have defined his twelve years at the top.

In a breathless tour through his career, Robin revisits the brutal ...

Rick Stein arrives on the Go To Food Podcast in full storytelling flow, and from about five minutes in it just does not let up. He takes us from backpacking through Mexico in his teens, blown away by the balance of proper tacos piled with slow-cooked meat, fresh coriander, raw onion and searing chilli, to the smoky mangals of Istanbul and the small-plate culture of Turkey and Greece. Along the way we get leftover turkey tinga tacos...

Welcome back to The Go-To Food Podcast, where we're joined by Alison Roman — chef, writer, and creator of some of the most talked-about recipes of the last decade. Alison takes us back to her first kitchen job at Sona in Los Angeles, working under David Myers for $7.25 an hour, crying daily but learning fast. It was a tiny, nine-person kitchen that ran like The Bear, long before The Bear existed. From there she went to Milk Bar in ...

Get ready for a live podcast recorded at the Opentable Hospitality Summit at a sold-out Barbican, where we're joined by a heavyweight trio from the heart of UK dining. Please welcome Hawksmoor co-founder and CEO Will Beckett, Dom Hamdy of Ham restaurants, and Florence May Maglanoc, founder and chief executive of Donya and Panadera.

Our panel lifts the lid on what really matters right now. Will reveals the story behind Hawksmoor...

Today we're delighted to be joined by Michelin starred chef and restaurateur the wonderful Chris Galvin, who has been one of the important chefs in London over the last 40 years, from winning Sir Terence Conran his only ever Michelin star to launching one of the most famous restaurants in history in 'The Wolsely' with Jeremy King and Chris Corbin.

Stories tumble out. Michel Roux Sr. once told a 19-year-old Chris never to take a ...

The Go To Food Podcast returns with a legend. Margot Henderson OBE joins us for a gloriously frank, funny, and deeply human conversation about the craft of hospitality. From the early days at The Eagle and The French House to the white heat of opening St. John with Fergus Henderson, Margot traces the rise of modern British cooking, the joy of whole-animal kitchens, and the art of building atmosphere without gimmicks. Expect big sto...

In this episode of The Go-To Food Podcast, we sit down with one of Britain’s most brilliant young chefs, Merlin Labron-Johnson—the visionary behind OSIP, the tiny Somerset restaurant recently crowned Restaurant of the Year by the Good Food Guide. Merlin opens up about his move from the intensity of London’s dining scene to the calm of the countryside, explaining why creativity needs “mental and physical space” and how the stars ove...

It’s a Go-To Food Podcast first — we’re coming to you from the hottest new opening of the year, Dockley Road in Bermondsey, where the doors officially open this week. We sit down with Emily Chia (Ex Head Chef at St John) & Alex Keys (Ex Head Chef at Rochelle Canteen) the creative minds behind this much-anticipated spot, to hear about them coming together to open this wonderful new restaurant. The result? A lively, behind-the-pa...

Ravneet Gill joins The Go-To Food Podcast with an episode full of chaos, charm, and honesty. She tells the hilarious story of how she met her now-husband Matty while developing menus at Llewellyn’s—he didn’t like her at first, unfollowed her on Instagram, and fell for her only after a passive-aggressive argument about blue roll on the hob. She relives his rainy proposal at Frieze Art Fair, the parking ticket that came with it, and ...

This week on The Go-To Food Podcast, Freddy and Ben sit down with the extraordinary Diana Henry, whose food writing has shaped how we cook and think for over two decades. With warmth, humour, and striking honesty, Diana shares stories from a life steeped in flavour — from her mother’s soda bread and Sunday puddings in Northern Ireland to her teenage awakening in France, where vinaigrette and apple tarts revealed food as art, cultur...

Anna Tobias joins us at Café Deco with a rollicking origin story: letters to Jeremy Lee straight out of Oxford, a crash-course at Blueprint Café (including emergency ice-cream runs mid-service), and the Garden Museum saga that sparked an industry-wide outpouring of support. From Hong Kong lettuce-wrap memories to Lower Saxony kale festivals, Anna’s food map is as eclectic as her menu—anchored by that now-iconic egg mayonnaise (halv...

Step into Soho’s most storied dining room with executive chef Neil Borthwick — Scottish straight-talker, lover of demi-pints, and guardian of The French House’s old-school rules: no phones, no music, proper conversation only. He walks us through the thrill of a handwritten, daily-changing menu and the cult dishes that vanish by Friday — calves’ brains with beurre noisette and capers, that famously crispy pork jowl, a parsleyed ham ...

Step into the world of London’s most iconic cheese emporium with Patricia Michelson, founder of La Fromagerie, as she joins The Go-To Food Podcast. From a single wheel of Beaufort cheese smuggled home from a disastrous ski trip to running three of London’s most beloved food destinations, Patricia shares how a moment of serendipity sparked a movement that transformed how the city eats. Hear how she turned her garden shed into a “che...

In this episode, Maison François founder Francois O’Neill shares what it really takes to keep restaurants thriving amid rising costs, changing diners, and constant uncertainty. From the realities of staffing and margins to the return of brasserie theatre — foie gras “burgers,” dessert trolleys, and caviar-topped chicken nuggets included — Francois reveals how optimism, generosity, and beautiful chaos keep his world turning.

Beyo...

From punk rocker to pasta sauce pioneer, Loyd Grossman has lived many lives—and he tells the stories with all the colour and humour you’d expect. In this episode, Loyd looks back at his unlikely journey from fronting a chart-climbing band to backing Van Morrison on stage, before swapping guitar strings for restaurant reviews and TV stardom. His take on the difference between the US and UK punk scenes alone is worth the listen.

F...

Richard Corrigan has lived through—and helped shape—the restaurant revolutions that made London one of the world’s great food cities. From his early days with the eccentric genius Stephen Bull at Blanford Street, through his game-changing decade at Lindsay House, to opening Corrigan’s Mayfair on the very day he closed Lindsay House with a party, Corrigan’s career is a story of grit, brilliance, and survival. He remembers the 90s bu...

Richard Corrigan is a chef who has lived many lives, each one bound by resilience, tradition, and an uncompromising love of food. In this conversation, he shares the stories that have shaped him, offering a rare glimpse into the philosophy behind one of the most distinctive voices in British and Irish hospitality.

From oysters and stout to the centuries-old legacy of Bentley’s, Corrigan speaks with passion and precision. He rail...

Tomos Parry—chef of London landmarks Brat and Mountain—joins us on location at fforest in Pembrokeshire for a special Brat × Mountain residency episode. We dive into his fire-led cooking and the thrill (and chaos) of bringing 30 team members to West Wales to cook with the producers who shape his food: think lobster caldereta cooked a stone’s throw from the boats, raw-milk fresh cheese that only exists for a week, and vegetables lif...