The Go To Food Podcast

Eleanor “Ells” Henson joins Mise en Place for a brilliant, wide-ranging conversation from the stunning dining room at Spring in Somerset House — the restaurant created by the late, great Skye Gyngell and now guided by one of her closest protégées. In this episode, Ells reflects on what it means to lead one of London’s most influential kitchens, the weight and privilege of carrying Skye’s legacy forward, and the mentorship, clarity and sense of purpose that still define the restaurant today.
At the heart of the conversation is Spring’s deeply thoughtful approach to food. Ells shares the story behind the restaurant’s much-loved Scratch Menu — a daily-changing, four-course menu built from offcuts, surplus produce and pure kitchen imagination — and gives a rare, honest look at what it really takes to run a restaurant rooted in genuine seasonality. From muddy vegetables arriving fresh from Wales to the challenge of absorbing entire harvests from partner farms, this is a fascinating portrait of produce-led cooking without compromise.
The episode also explores the figures and philosophies that shaped Ells as a chef, including the profound influence of Darina Allen and Ballymaloe. Ells speaks beautifully about Darina’s role in opening up a whole way of thinking about food, farming and education — not just for chefs, but for ordinary people at home — and about how Ballymaloe helped form her understanding of seasonality, accessibility and the wider food system. Alongside Skye Gyngell’s example, Darina’s impact comes through as a major thread in Ells’s cooking life and leadership.
And because it wouldn’t be Mise en Place without some glorious detours, there’s plenty of that too: anti-soup hot takes, biodynamic baked potato ambitions, private chef horror stories, dogs ordering steak, dolls being served at table, and a dream West Country weekend taking in The Three Horseshoes and Osip. It’s thoughtful, funny and full of strong opinions, sharp insight and proper hospitality heart — a must-listen for anyone who cares about restaurants, ingredients and the people who make them matter.
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David Moore joins the Go To Food podcast for a barnstorming conversation that spans 35 years of restaurant history, from opening Pied à Terre in just two weeks to turning it into London’s longest-running Michelin-starred restaurant. In this episode, he tells the real story of life at the sharp end of hospitality: the punishing economics of today’s trade, the rates bill that made him cry, the disappearing profit margin, and why simply surviving in this market now feels like an achievement. It is brutally honest, brilliantly dry, and full of the kind of perspective only someone who has genuinely seen it all can give.
But this is not just an industry analysis, it is packed with outrageous stories. David remembers growing up around his mother’s hotel in Ireland, hanging sirloins, slicing steaks, and dreaming of becoming a chef before realising the front of house was where he belonged. He talks about his formative years at Le Manoir, living with Bruno Loubet, staging at Alain Ducasse’s Louis XV, learning luxury service on carpets so thick they hurt your legs, and discovering what real fine dining looked like. He also shares the origin story of Pied à Terre itself, from late-night chess games and leftover wine with Richard Neat to quietly sounding out would-be investors from the dining room floor, including some very famous names.
The episode is full of proper restaurant folklore. There are stories about chefs vanishing on “Tesco runs” and never coming back, the chaos of rewriting menus daily before in-house printing existed, diners walking into Pied à Terre expecting an Indian restaurant because they kept the old phone number and awning, and the extraordinary intensity of the kitchens David helped build. He reflects on working alongside and around huge figures including Raymond Blanc, Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay, Tom Aikens and Shane Osborne, and opens up about pivotal moments that shaped the restaurant’s history, from the jump to two Michelin stars to the fallout from kitchen scandal, devastating fire, and a wine fraud scam involving fake wealthy clients and disappearing bottles of Cristal.
And because this is Go To Food, the whole thing is laced with food, wit and obsession. David arrives with a beautiful scallop and beetroot ceviche-style dish, talks through the first ceviche he ever put on a menu in London, gives his view on Michelin stars and why there should be decimal points, names the restaurants he most admires, and shares his dream food weekend on Île de Ré with oysters and Muscadet. He even reveals his ultimate final meal, from smoked eel cheung fun to roast turbot and plum tarte tatin. If you want war stories, hospitality wisdom, Michelin gossip, and one of the great restaurateurs speaking with total candour, this is an episode you need to hear.
Pre Order Ben's Incredible Book - All You Can Eat - By Clicking Here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-You-Can-Eat-British/dp/1805221523

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Order The Greatest Meat In The Country From HG Walter Here & Have Restaurant Quality Meals From Home - www.hgwalter.com

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Conor Gadd has just opened Burro in Covent Garden, and this episode captures him right at the start of that journey—equal parts excitement, pressure and controlled chaos. Only weeks into service, he reflects on what it feels like to step out from behind the scenes and suddenly be the person everyone wants a piece of. It’s a rare, honest snapshot of a chef adjusting not just to a new restaurant, but to a completely new role within it.
The conversation leans into the reality of opening: the moments that don’t make the press release. Conor recounts a second night so disastrous he genuinely considered shutting the whole thing down, complete with broken lifts, missing tickets and a dining room running blind. He describes the process like sailing across the Atlantic—periods of calm, sudden storms, and the constant temptation to fix everything at once, even when you know that’s the one thing you shouldn’t do.
From there, it opens up into a series of unforgettable stories from his career. There’s the Trullo service interrupted by a full Home Office raid, the entire KP team legging it barefoot into the night, and the surreal calm of carrying on service as if nothing had happened. Elsewhere, he reflects on early kitchen days filled with relentless banter, flying onions and hard-earned respect, and the formative experiences that shaped both his cooking and his outlook on the industry.
What emerges is a portrait of a chef grounded in instinct, humour and long-term thinking. Conor speaks candidly about what actually sustains a restaurant over decades, why consistency matters more than trends, and how much of the job is simply about people—staff, guests, and the culture you build around them. It’s funny, chaotic, occasionally brutal and full of perspective: a conversation driven by stories, not soundbites, with one of the most compelling voices in hospitality.

Pre Order Ben's Incredible Book - All You Can Eat - By Clicking Here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-You-Can-Eat-British/dp/1805221523

Get 2 Months of Blinq For Free - With Code - GOTOBLINQ - https://blinqme.com/

Order The Greatest Meat In The Country From HG Walter Here & Have Restaurant Quality Meals From Home - www.hgwalter.com

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From royal roots in Calcutta to building one of London’s most inspiring restaurant stories, Asma Khan is a force of nature. Fresh off a flight from India and fasting during Ramadan, she joined the GoToFoodPod to reflect on a life shaped by fierce family values, extraordinary food, and an unshakable sense of purpose. She spoke movingly about growing up between Rajput warrior heritage and Bengali royal lineage, while being raised not as a princess, but as a fighter — encouraged by her parents to play cricket, ignore cruel expectations, and understand that true leadership means protecting your people.
Some of the most unforgettable stories came from her childhood in 1970s Calcutta, where her mother’s catering business filled the house with everything from traditional Muslim wedding feasts to turkey dinners for expats and High Commission parties. Khan painted a vivid picture of a city unlike any other: prawn cocktail, chicken à la Kiev, Armenian dolma, Afghan breads, Indo-Chinese dishes from Tangra, and the legendary tutti frutti ice cream that she still dreams about. Her memories captured Calcutta as a culinary crossroads shaped by British, Portuguese, Persian, Chinese, Afghan, Armenian and Jewish influences — a place where food told the story of migration, generosity and cultural exchange.
The emotional heart of the conversation came when Khan described arriving in Cambridge at 22 for an arranged marriage, isolated, homesick, and unable to cook. In a cold, unfamiliar world, she found comfort not in status or education — despite later earning a PhD in British constitutional law from King’s College London — but in learning to recreate the aromas of home. That journey eventually led to her supper club, then her first restaurant, and a now-iconic all-female kitchen team she refused to abandon when others told her to replace them with “professionals.” Her story of opening a restaurant at 48, backed by women who had stood by her from the beginning, became a rallying cry for anyone who has ever been overlooked.
But this episode was not just nostalgia and triumph — it was also a call to action. Khan spoke powerfully about racism, misogyny, gatekeeping and abuse in hospitality, challenging the industry’s silence and hypocrisy with extraordinary honesty. At the same time, she shared exciting news about her move to Rupert Street, where she plans not only a bigger restaurant, but a basement kitchen designed to train and employ women who are shut out of the workforce. Alongside stories of serving King Charles and Queen Camilla, feeding refugee families, charming Paul Rudd and nearly getting Danny DeVito as an investor, Khan proved exactly why she remains one of the most compelling voices in food today: fearless, funny, deeply humane, and determined to change the system from the inside.
Pre Order Ben's Incredible Book - All You Can Eat - By Clicking Here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-You-Can-Eat-British/dp/1805221523

Get 2 Months of Blinq For Free - With Code - GOTOBLINQ - https://blinqme.com/

Order The Greatest Meat In The Country From HG Walter Here & Have Restaurant Quality Meals From Home - www.hgwalter.com

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Today we’re joined by Patrick Withington, founder and head chef of Manchester’s cult favourite Erst. Fresh off welcoming a new baby and about to turn 40, Patrick sits down with us in the restaurant everyone told us we had to visit during our 36 hours in the city. Tucked into the heart of Ancoats, Erst has become something of a pilgrimage for natural wine lovers and food obsessives alike — the place locals insist you visit if you’re anywhere near Manchester.
Patrick’s route into cooking is far from conventional. A former plumber who didn’t start in professional kitchens until his late twenties, he built his way in through supper clubs, travel-inspired cooking and a belief he could create the kind of restaurant he wanted to eat in himself. That idea became Erst in 2019. After a quiet start, a turning point came when Patrick had to call diners to cancel bookings ahead of lockdown — including restaurant critic Jay Rayner, who promised he’d return. When he did, his glowing review helped ignite the buzz around Erst and cement its place as one of the most exciting restaurants in the city.
In this episode we talk about the journey from Sirocco Supper Club to Trove to Erst, the dishes that have become cult favourites (including the famous beef-fat flatbread), and why natural wine became such a big part of the restaurant. Patrick also shares his favourite Manchester spots, the realities of opening a restaurant, service horror stories, and what his ultimate three-course meal would be. It’s a conversation about instinct, hospitality, and building a restaurant that stays true to what you actually want to eat and drink.
Pre Order Ben's Incredible Book - All You Can Eat - By Clicking Here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-You-Can-Eat-British/dp/1805221523

Get 2 Months of Blinq For Free - With Code - GOTOBLINQ - https://blinqme.com/

Order The Greatest Meat In The Country From HG Walter Here & Have Restaurant Quality Meals From Home - www.hgwalter.com

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