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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 leadership from lived experience at the highest level of gastronomy. He speaks about accountability, hiring and training responsibility, and why a leader must first look inward when performance drops. Drawing from his time building world-class restaurants, he explains that what truly separates elite kitchens is not technique alone, but culture, pride, and a team that believes deeply in how and why the work is done.
Regan brings a complementary perspective grounded in wellbeing and performance psychology. She breaks down how stress shows up in the body before people are even aware of it, why most leaders miss those signals, and how breath, awareness, and presence directly affect decision-making. She connects leadership to service, explaining why calm is not passive, ego blocks performance, and true leadership is felt more than announced.
Together, this SNACK examines why great kitchens rise or fall on the emotional state of the people inside them. From how stress transfers through leadership to how energy carries into food itself, this conversation reframes performance as something shaped long before service begins.
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE
• Leadership accountability and owning team performance
• Why culture matters more than control
• What elite Michelin-level kitchens have in common
• Personality, pride, and belief inside great teams
• Recognising stress responses in real time
• Breath, presence, and decision-making under pressure
• Leadership without ego
• Why calm is a leadership skill
• How energy transfers from kitchen to plate
• Creating environments where teams perform with clarity
CHAPTERS
01:00 Leadership responsibility and accountability
03:00 Hiring, training, and owning outcomes
05:00 What defines top-level kitchens beyond technique
07:00 Culture, pride, and chef personality
09:00 Recognising stress in the moment
11:00 Breath, presence, and performance
13:00 Leadership as service, not ego
15:00 Energy, food, and emotional transfer
17:00 Final reflections on calm and excellence
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Björn Frantzén
Personal
https://www.instagram.com/bjornfrantzen

Restaurants
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantfzn

https://www.instagram.com/restaurantzen.sgp

https://www.instagram.com/restaurantfrantzen
Regan Hillyer
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/reganhillyer
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LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-knight-paccheco-447b1b17
TikTok
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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 recognition actually feels like. From the uncertainty of awards season to the pressure that follows, he reflects on how visibility reshapes a restaurant, its guests, and the expectations placed on the chef. He shares the emotional weight of recognition, the responsibility that comes with it, and why peace and patience matter more than chasing the next milestone.
Peggy brings a complementary perspective shaped by years of operating at the highest level of hospitality. She breaks down the difference between commercial and fine dining, how attention to detail defines premium experiences, and why leadership, clarity, and mental resilience are essential when operating under constant scrutiny.
Together, this SNACK episode explores what happens after recognition. The pressure it brings, the responsibility it creates, and how chefs navigate visibility, expectations, and their own wellbeing without losing focus on the craft.
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE
• What Michelin recognition actually feels like in real time
• The pressure that follows awards and global attention
• How visibility changes guests, expectations, and business
• Mental health challenges after success arrives
• Managing distractions outside the kitchen
• Leadership through uncertainty and responsibility
• Commercial dining versus fine dining operations
• Attention to detail at the highest level of hospitality
• Developing talent and kitchen culture
• Staying grounded while navigating recognition
CHAPTERS
01:00 The reality of Michelin announcements
03:00 Pressure, nerves, and expectations
05:00 Visibility and changing audiences
07:00 Managing attention beyond the kitchen
09:00 Mental health and balance
11:00 Leadership under pressure
13:00 Commercial versus fine dining
15:00 Talent, culture, and long-term thinking
17:00 Final reflections on recognition
FOLLOW THE GUESTS
Himanshu Saini
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/chefhimanshusaini
Restaurant
https://www.instagram.com/tresindstudio
Peggy Pui Ki Li
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/peggy_p_li
FOLLOW CHEF JKP
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LinkedIn
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TikTok
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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 reflects on building excellence in an era before trends, PR, and performance culture. He shares what it took to shape The Waterside Inn on its rise to three Michelin stars, why a kitchen needs one clear voice, and how originality and restraint defined his approach.

Reim brings a modern lens to the conversation with a clear message. If you are not visible, you are invisible. She explains why visibility is now part of the job, how chefs and creatives can turn presence into opportunity, and why preparation, testing ideas, and owning your platform matter more than ever.

Together, this SNACK contrasts two generations of excellence. One built quietly through discipline and craft. The other shaped by communication, visibility, and evolving expectations.

WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE

• Building a Michelin kitchen in a very different era
• Life inside The Waterside Inn during its rise to three stars
• Leadership, authority, and why one clear voice matters
• Cooking without trends, tweezers, or theatrics
• Ingredient quality versus presentation culture
• Knowing when to back your own taste
• Why originality creates attention
• Visibility as a modern responsibility
• Turning content into real opportunity
• What longevity in gastronomy really requires

CHAPTERS 

01:00 Michelin kitchens before trends and performance
03:00 Leadership at the pass and owning responsibility
05:00 Cooking with instinct, seasonality, and restraint
07:00 Opening your own restaurant and backing your taste
09:00 Originality, risk, and confidence
11:00 Visibility and modern expectations
13:00 Testing ideas before building them
15:00 Creating your own platform
17:00 Final reflections on longevity

FOLLOW THE GUESTS

Pierre Koffmann
Instagram: 
https://www.instagram.com/pierre.koffmann/
https://www.instagram.com/thefoodheroesfamily

Reim El Houni
Instagram: 
https://www.instagram.com/reimelhouni/
https://www.instagram.com/ti22films

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LinkedIn
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TikTok
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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 and The Fat Duck, Carmen’s journey is not driven by titles or shortcuts, but by curiosity, discipline, and an uncompromising respect for craft.

This conversation traces her evolution from a young cook obsessed with meat and fish to a pastry chef who found her voice through chocolate, research, and storytelling. Carmen speaks candidly about unpaid stages, 14-hour days, creative pressure at the world’s most demanding kitchens, and the mental resilience required to grow without losing yourself along the way.

She reflects on working during El Bulli’s final season, rebuilding The Fat Duck’s menu from scratch, leading experimental research kitchens, and why pastry is not about sweetness but about balance, texture, memory, and emotion.

The episode also dives deep into her work in Dubai, where she built Bricks as the Middle East’s first dessert-only fine dining restaurant. Carmen explains how storytelling shapes every menu, why education is still the biggest challenge, and how trust, repetition, and patience are essential when introducing new ideas to diners.

At its core, this is a conversation about mastery. About staying curious. About knowing when to push, when to listen, and why greatness is built slowly, choice by choice.

A fitting end to a season focused on growth in all its forms.

WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE

• Growing up in rural Spain and developing curiosity through observation
• Choosing culinary school over economics on instinct
• Discovering pastry through chocolate and laboratory kitchens
• The reality of unpaid stages and long working hours
• Working at El Bulli during its final season
• Discipline, structure, and calm at the world’s top kitchens
• Rebuilding creativity at The Fat Duck through research and psychology
• Leading experimental kitchens under extreme pressure
• Competing at the World Chocolate Masters
• Why dessert is about balance, not sweetness
• Building Bricks as a dessert-only fine dining concept
• Advice for young chefs on repetition, patience, and mastery

CHAPTERS

00:00 Season finale introduction
04:10 Childhood food memories and curiosity
09:30 Choosing culinary over economics
15:20 Early kitchen realities and work ethic
22:10 Discovering pastry through chocolate
30:40 Moving to France and classical training
42:00 Joining El Bulli
55:20 Lessons from the world’s top kitchen
68:10 The Fat Duck and experimental research
86:40 Competition mindset and pressure
104:30 Creating Bricks in Dubai
136:20 Final reflections and advice

PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY POTATOES USA

Potatoes USA represents America’s potato growers and champions chefs, home cooks, and food lovers across the world. From nutrition to creativity, they continue to show why the potato remains one of the most versatile and essential ingredients in every kitchen.

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/potatogoodnessgcc/

Website
https://www.potatogoodnessgcc.com/

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Carmen Rueda Hernandez
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/chefcarmenrueda6

GUEST BUSINESSES

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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 restaurant openings to media responsibility, service standards, awards fatigue, and the reality behind hype, this episode captures the mood of the industry at a moment of reflection. It is personal, honest, occasionally controversial, and deeply rooted in lived experience.

Courtney shares a landmark year that included working with the world’s first three Michelin starred Indian restaurant, stepping into beverage culture, and witnessing how global recognition reshapes local pride. Liam reflects on his second year as a father, writing with more intention, and how Dubai continues to evolve from an importer of talent into an exporter of culinary identity.

Together, they unpack what truly matters right now. Community over noise. Consistency over spectacle. Thoughtful growth over rushed expansion. And why hospitality still begins and ends with people.

This festive special moves effortlessly between industry insight and personal storytelling, touching on Michelin, 50 Best, Tatler, food halls, service culture, PR ethics, neighbourhood dining, underrepresented cuisines, and what 2026 might bring.

A conversation that feels like being invited back to the table with family.

WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE

• The biggest hospitality moments of 2025
• Michelin stars, losses, and what they still mean today
• Media responsibility and the misuse of “Michelin” language
• Why community-led dining is winning over hype
• The rise of neighbourhood restaurants and food hubs
• Service culture and what truly defines great hospitality
• Underrepresented cuisines and where the real innovation lies
• PR, influencers, and credibility in modern food media
• Festive food memories, traditions, and industry realities
• Predictions and hopes for hospitality in 2026

CHAPTERS

00:00 Festive welcome and setting the tone
02:10 A year in review for Courtney and Liam
05:30 Family, food memories, and life beyond work
12:40 Michelin moments and historic milestones
21:30 Awards, recognition, and industry maturity
32:20 Openings, closures, and where the market is shifting
45:10 PR, media ethics, and inflated expectations
58:30 Service culture and what guests truly remember
72:40 Community dining, food halls, and neighbourhood growth
88:00 Underrepresented cuisines and future opportunities
102:10 Predictions for 2026
114:30 Festive reflections and gratitude for hospitality teams
120:00 Closing thoughts and Christmas wishes

PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY POTATOES USA

Potatoes USA represents America’s potato growers and champions chefs, home cooks, and food lovers across the world. From nutrition to creativity, they continue to show why the potato remains one of the most versatile and essential ingredients in every kitchen.

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/potatogoodnessgcc/

Website
https://www.potatogoodnessgcc.com/

FOLLOW THE GUESTS

Courtney Brandt
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/_courtneybrandt_/

Liam Collins
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/itsliamcollens/

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