Ivan Orkin joins Mise en Place for a brilliant, wide-ranging conversation on ramen, restaurants, and the realities of hospitality. Recorded in London over bowls of tonkotsu, fried chicken and aubergine, this episode finds the New York-born chef reflecting on the journey that took him from Manhattan to Tokyo, where he became one of the most unlikely success stories in modern food: an American cook opening a ramen shop in Japan and earning the respect of one of the world’s most exacting food cultures.

Across the episode, Ivan talks about his first life-changing bowl of ramen in Shibuya, the obsessive craft behind a great broth, and why ramen is one of the most misunderstood dishes in the business. He explains why a proper bowl has to be eaten fast, why the details matter so much, and how he built a style that was rooted in tradition without ever being trapped by rules. From oven-roasted tomatoes and deep umami to the pressures of pricing, labour and running restaurants across Tokyo, New York and London, it is a masterclass from a chef who has truly lived every side of the industry.

It is also a deeply personal conversation. Ivan opens up about loss, reinvention, moving back to Japan, and the path that led him to build Ivan Ramen into a global name. He speaks candidly about the challenge of opening in Tokyo as an outsider, the moment the queues started forming, and how Chef’s Table changed everything. What comes through most is his honesty: about the hardships of the trade, the economics of hospitality, and the responsibility restaurant owners feel towards the people who make service possible.

Along the way there are plenty of gems: his love for London, his thoughts on Tokyo neighbourhoods, his dream 48-hour food trip, his views on “bad customers,” and the pizza place he says might serve some of the best in the world. Funny, sharp, and full of wisdom, this is an episode for chefs, restaurateurs and anyone who cares about what makes a meal memorable. Ivan Orkin at his very best: generous, opinionated, and completely devoted to the craft.

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

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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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