Podcast · Arts & Books

The Chef JKP Podcast

by The Chef JKP Podcast · English · Arts & Books

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

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr 43 min
Latest: 8 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 31 min

What Does It Take To Build Something That’s Never Been Done Before? | Chad McGehee

Send us Fan Mail 🏆 THE CHEF JKP PODCAST IS A SIGNAL AWARDS FINALIST! The Chef JKP Podcast has been nominated for the Signal Listener’s Choice Award in Food & Drink. If you’ve enjoyed the conversations we’ve shared, we’d really appreciate your vote. Vote for the Chef JKP Podcast before 15 October: https://bit.ly/3U1i020 From investigating fraud at IBM to building the Middle East’s first licensed craft brewery, Chad McGehee’s career has taken a few unexpected turns. Chad McGehee, founde...

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S13 · E13 · 1 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 43 min
Why Great Food Alone Won’t Save A Restaurant | Renata Messarra & Alexander Suski
Send us Fan Mail 🏆 THE CHEF JKP PODCAST IS A SIGNAL AWARDS FINALIST! We’ve been nominated for the Signal Listener’s Choice Award in Food & Drink, and we need your vote. Vote for the Chef JKP Podcast before 15 October. Vote here - https://bit.ly/3U1i020 What happens when two completely different career paths lead to the same industry? Renata Messarra Abergel and Alexander Suski join Chef JKP to share the journeys that shaped their lives in hospitality. Renata talks about growing up be...
S13 · E12 · 24 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 51 min
Why Food Bloggers Need To Stop Calling Everything “The Best” | David Marino
Send us Fan Mail How does an Italian American raised on Sunday spaghetti become a Farsi-speaking food blogger in Dubai? David Marino, known online as David Shekamoo, talks about his father’s Sunday lunches, volunteering with refugees in Greece, meeting his wife and learning Farsi. He also shares what working at Chick-fil-A and experiencing Persian hospitality taught him about welcoming people. David and Chef JKP discuss the spaghetti video that helped him go viral, exploring Persian food be...
S13 · E11 · 17 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 43 min
Why Getting Rejected By A Restaurant Changed Everything | Lidija Abu Ghazaleh
Send us Fan Mail How does one birthday cake turn into a career bringing food, fashion and Dubai’s chefs together? Lidija Abu Ghazaleh shares how her Serbian upbringing in Montreal shaped her love for cooking, why she chose a different path after modelling, and how hosting dinners in Dubai eventually led to a catering business. She takes Chef JKP through the early days of Lydia’s Kitchen, including a rejected request to film at COYA that eventually opened the door to chef collaborations. The...
S13 · E10 · 10 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 56 min
Why So Many Restaurant Openings Quietly Fail - And How You Can Avoid It | Colin Hutton
Send us Fan Mail What does it take to understand hospitality from every side of the business? Chef JKP sits down with Colin Hutton, CEO and Founder of Umami Comms and Magna Carta, to trace a career that began behind the bar and eventually led to building one of the region’s first hospitality-focused communications agencies. Colin shares how dropping out of university took him through bars, hotels and restaurants across Europe before bringing him to Dubai in 2009. He talks about learning hos...
S13 · E9 · 3 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 38 min
Why This Executive Pastry Chef Thinks Young Chefs Are Moving Too Fast | Trisha Henault Singh(178)
Send us Fan Mail What does it take to build a career when you keep choosing the harder path? Chef JKP sits down with Trisha Henault Singh, Executive Pastry Chef at FIVE LUXE JBR, to talk about her journey from aspiring fashion designer to leading pastry kitchens in Dubai. Trisha shares how she entered hospitality at 18 without ever having worked in a professional kitchen, trained through demanding 12-hour shifts, and eventually moved to Dubai, where her career took her from large-scale hote...
S13 · E8 · 31 Aug 2026 · 56 min
Inside Chef’s Table Festival: Nancy Silverton, Live Fire & 70 of the World’s Best Chefs(177)
Send us Fan Mail From Dubai to Park City, Chef JKP takes the podcast on the road for a special episode from the inaugural Chef’s Table Festival in Utah, bringing together 70 chefs across roughly 100 events. James goes behind the scenes of the festival, from live-fire cooking and pizza parties to the Chef’s Table family meal, alongside some of the world’s most influential chefs. The episode also features a special conversation with Nancy Silverton, who reflects on her journey into food, the ...
S13 · E7 · 27 Aug 2026 · 3 hr 1 min
What Michelin Kitchens and Restaurant Ownership Teach You About Success | Rick & Florian(176)
Send us Fan Mail Chef JKP sits down with Rick Gonzalez, Executive Chef at The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert, and Florian van Dillen, Head Chef at Farmhouse by Syrco, for two conversations about the experiences, kitchens, risks, and people that shape a chef’s career. Rick shares how growing up around his father’s Spanish restaurant in New York shaped his relationship with food and hospitality. From discovering professional kitchens and training in Switzerland to working in Michel...
S13 · E6 · 20 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 55 min
What Happened After Netflix Put Her Dubai Food Business on the Map | Arva Ahmed(175)
Send us Fan Mail Chef JKP sits down with Arva Ahmed, Co-Founder of Frying Pan Adventures, for a conversation about food, storytelling, entrepreneurship, and the cultures that have shaped Dubai’s food scene. Arva shares how her relationship with food evolved from childhood memories in the UAE to running a late-night food business from her university dorm in the US. After returning to Dubai, she began exploring the smaller restaurants and communities that were largely missing from the city’s f...
S13 · E5 · 13 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 47 min
He Moved to Dubai at 19 With No Job. Here’s What Happened Next | Greg Wright(174)
Send us Fan Mail Chef JKP sits down with Greg Wright, Co-Founder of Food People and Project People, for a conversation about recruitment, entrepreneurship, the food industry, and building a business in the Middle East. Greg shares how he left the UK at 19 and arrived in Dubai with no job, went from struggling to afford a meal to selling millions in real estate, and eventually found his way into executive recruitment. He also reveals how one unexpected meeting led to the creation of Food Peop...
S13 · E4 · 6 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 11 min
Why the Best Talent Managers Never Want to Be Famous | Karin Drane(173)
Send us Fan Mail Chef JKP sits down with Karin Drane, founder of Curveball Events & Talents, one of the region's leading event and talent management companies. Karin shares how she went from studying law in Sweden to building a business in Dubai, why she dropped out of university twice, and how networking, resilience, and taking calculated risks helped shape her career. They talk about entrepreneurship, events, talent management, leadership, building high-performing teams, and what it re...
S13 · E3 · 30 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 58 min
Why the Best Food Writers Never Make Themselves the Story | Paul Clifford(172)
Send us Fan Mail Chef JKP sits down with Paul Clifford, a journalist and editor who has spent more than a decade covering the Middle East's hospitality industry. Paul shares how he left banking to become a reporter, moved from crime journalism into food and hospitality, and built his career in Dubai. They talk about restaurant reviews, food influencers, responsible criticism, career change, and why journalists should never make themselves the story. WHAT YOU'LL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE • Growi...
S13 · E2 · 23 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 16 min
Why Most Young Chefs Ruin Their Careers by Moving Too Fast | Nicolas Lambert(171)
Send us Fan Mail Chef JKP sits down with Nicolas Lambert, Senior Executive Pastry Chef at Four Seasons Dubai and one of the most respected names in modern pastry. From growing up in his parents’ bakery in France to leading teams across Hong Kong, Russia, and Dubai, Nicolas shares the risks, mentors, and decisions that shaped his career. They discuss apprenticeship, leadership, competitions, learning English from scratch, and why mastering the fundamentals still matters more than chasing rec...
S13 · E1 · 17 Jul 2026 · 55 min
What Really Makes Someone Influential? | Season 13 Begins(170)
Send us Fan Mail Season 13 of The Chef JKP Podcast is built around one idea: influence. Across 15 episodes, chefs, founders, journalists, operators, and industry leaders share how they have shaped food, hospitality, business, and culture. In this opening solo episode, Chef JKP introduces the season, reflects on the current state of hospitality, shares updates from behind the scenes, and answers listener questions on leadership, career risks, branding, resilience, creativity, and the future ...
S12 · E16 · 2 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 37 min
What Happens When The Service Ends And Real Life Begins?(169)
Send us Fan Mail This episode is different. Joining him is the person who knows him better than anyone else, his wife, Maria Knight-Paccheco. What begins as a fun conversation quickly becomes one of the most personal episodes of the podcast. They talk about marriage, life behind professional kitchens, the sacrifices hospitality demands, why chefs think differently, the reality of building something together, and the moments that shaped both of them. Maria turns the tables and asks James t...
S12 · E15 · 25 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 39 min
How A Phone Call Led Ariana Bundy Back To Dubai | Arian Bundy (E168)
Send us Fan Mail Chef JKP sits down with Ariana Bundy, chef, author, television presenter, and founder of Ariana's Persian Kitchen at Atlantis The Royal Dubai. Ariana shares her journey through Iran, Switzerland, New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles, and Dubai. From childhood food memories with her grandmother, to studying at Le Cordon Bleu, running pastry kitchens in Hollywood, writing cookbooks, filming across Iran, and opening a restaurant rooted in Persian heritage. They talk about food...
S12 · E14 · 18 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 52 min
What The Kitchen Taught him About Leadership | Glen Ballis (E167)
Send us Fan Mail Chef JKP sits down with Glen Ballis, chef, restaurateur, and one of the most influential figures in modern hospitality. Glen shares his journey from a Greek family in Melbourne to leading kitchens across Thailand, Indonesia, China, Russia, and Dubai. He reflects on the chefs who shaped him, the lessons that came from failure, and how different cultures transformed the way he cooks and leads. They talk about opening restaurants, surviving financial crises, building teams, th...
S12 · E13 · 11 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 53 min
Why He Left Oil & Gas for Champagne | Ben Kouider (E166)
Send us Fan Mail Chef JKP sits down with Ben Kouider, Founder of Champavin. Ben shares how he went from engineering and oil and gas to building a business around champagne in the UAE. They talk about Normandy, family food memories, global travel, leaving corporate life, grower champagne, and the biggest mistakes people make when drinking champagne. This is a story about food, reinvention, and understanding champagne beyond the label. WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE • Growing up in Norm...
S12 · E12 · 4 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 39 min
How CUPBOP Took Korean Street Food Global | Dok Kwon & Junghun Song (E165)
Send us Fan Mail 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. They talk about the early food truck days, Junghun’s journey from dance to hospitality, Dok’s move from Citadel to restaurants, their Shark Tank pitch, why they walked away from the Mark Cuban deal, and how CUPBOP is scaling across the US, Indonesia, ...
S12 · E11 · 28 May 2026 · 1 hr 31 min
This Woman Fought 22 Years for Water | Angie Pajak (E164)
Send us Fan Mail 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 across four universities, Angie’s story moves through hospitality, sustainability, wellness, water technology, plastics, and the challenge of turning big environmental ideas into real action. This is a conversation about water, yes. But also about...
S12 · E10 · 21 May 2026 · 1 hr 6 min
He Became A Chef At 15 To Buy Football Shoes | Shehab Medhat (E163)
Send us Fan Mail 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 steward to self-taught chef, 35 restaurants in Egypt, Bocuse d’Or Africa, San Pellegrino Young Chef, and winning Top Chef Middle East, his story is built on sacrifice, speed, competition, and relentless work. Now in Dubai, Shehab is building Savr...
S12 · E9 · 14 May 2026 · 2 hr 15 min
The Hospitality Fixer Who Knows Why Guests Don’t Come Back | Samuel Graham (E162)
Send us Fan Mail 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 consultant, nightlife operator, and host of the Tasty Humans podcast. From bartending in London’s booming theme restaurant era to managing legendary nightlife venues like Pacha, Samuel shares a career shaped by chaos, people, reinvention, and ...
S12 · E8 · 6 May 2026 · 1 hr 51 min
The Rise of Indian Food with Himanshu Saini and Liam Collens (E161)
Send us Fan Mail 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 episode goes inside the making of the book. How a three Michelin star restaurant was translated onto the page. How recipes were selected, tested, written, edited, photographed, and made clear for readers outside the kitchen. And how Himanshu’s story, ...
S12 · E7 · 30 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 43 min
Why Do Some People Never Stop Chasing Food Stories? | Tiffany Eslick (E160)
Send us Fan Mail 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, and founder of Tiff’s Table. From climbing onto kitchen counters for olives as a child to leading content across one of the region’s most respected food brands, Tiffany shares a path shaped by risk-taking, reinvention, and an enduring obsess...
S12 · E6 · 23 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 48 min
What a Life in Storytelling Really Looks Like | Keith Dallison (E159)
Send us Fan Mail 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 stories to life. Chef James Knight-Paccheco sits down with Keith to explore his journey through film, television, and media, from early struggles in education to building a career across acting, editing, and voice. From childhood memories ...
S12 · E5 · 16 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 10 min
He Started Cooking In His 40s And Reached The Top Of Fine Dining (E158)
Send us Fan Mail 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 highest levels of global gastronomy. Chef James Knight-Paccheco sits down with Alvin, founder of Demon Duck, three Michelin-starred restaurateur, chef and MasterChef Canada judge, to unpack his remarkable journey from growing up in Canada...
S12 · E4 · 9 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 59 min
The Chef Who Said No To Engineering And Built An Empire Instead (E157)
Send us Fan Mail 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. Chef James Knight-Paccheco sits down with Saradhi to trace a journey that began in a small town in Andhra Pradesh, wound through some of Dubai's most high-profile hotel kitchens, and ultimately led to the founding of Oria and a bold new chapte...
S12 · E3 · 2 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 58 min
The Woman Behind Dubai’s Most Viral Food Series | Laura Lai Coughlin (E156)
Send us Fan Mail 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 the city’s dining scene. Chef James Knight-Paccheco sits down with Laura, food writer, presenter, content creator, and host of Best of Dubai, to unpack her journey from growing up with two parents who cooked professionally, to studying ...
S12 · E2 · 26 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 32 min
Can Friendship Survive Building a Restaurant Together? | Neha Mishra and Panchali Mahendra (E155)
Send us Fan Mail 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 Knight-Paccheco is joined by Chef Neha Mishra, founder of Kinoya, and Panchali Mahendra, CEO of Atelier House Hospitality, for a special dual-guest episode centered around their newest venture together, Tezekuri. Neha shares how a dinner at h...
S12 · E1 · 19 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 11 min
What’s Coming This Season and Why It Matters....Season 12 Begins...(E154)
Send us Fan Mail 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 voices sharing their journeys, decisions, and defining moments inside hospitality. In this opening episode, Chef JKP reflects on what’s been happening behind the scenes, shares updates from the industry, and answers questions from listeners aro...

About The Chef JKP Podcast

The Chef JKP Podcast is a English arts & books podcast from The Chef JKP Podcast. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: The Chef JKP Podcast
Language: English
Category: Arts & Books
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr 43 min
Latest episode: 8 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1516184750

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