The Chef JKP Podcast
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 the listeners. For more information go to http://www.chefjkp.com
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Why Do Some People Never Stop Chasing Food Stories? | Tiffany Eslick
<p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>What starts with olives on a kitchen counter becomes a life built around food, travel, stories, and bringing people to the table.<br/><br/>Chef JKP sits down with Tiffany Eslick, content and creative director at Spinneys, food writer, podcaster, and founder of Tiff’s Table.<br/><br/>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 obsession with ingredients, stories, and people.<br/><br/>At its heart, this...
What a Life in Storytelling Really Looks Like | Keith Dallison
<p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>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.<br/><br/>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 in the English countryside to working on sets and behind the scenes, this conversation uncovers the...
He Started Cooking In His 40s And Reached The Top Of Fine Dining
<p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>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.<br/><br/>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, to working for years as an engineer, to teaching himself how to cook and eventually building one of the...
The Chef Who Said No To Engineering And Built An Empire Instead
<p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>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.<br/><br/>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 chapter in his career.<br/><br/>At its core, this is a...
The Woman Behind Dubai’s Most Viral Food Series | Laura Lai Coughlin
<p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>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.<br/><br/>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 marketing, moving to Shanghai, and eventually building her editorial career in Dubai acro...
Can Friendship Survive Building a Restaurant Together? | Neha Mishra and Panchali Mahendra
<p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>Neha shares how a dinner at home, built around hand rolls and conversation, sparked the idea behind the restaurant, while Panchali reflects on why the co...
What’s Coming This Season and Why It Matters....Season 12 Begins...
<p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>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.<br/><br/>With 14 episodes ahead, this season features chefs, operators, and industry voices sharing their journeys, decisions, and defining moments inside hospitality.<br/><br/>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 around the world, from kitchen culture and leadership to building concepts, handling pressure, and navigating the realities of t...
What People Don’t Understand About Celebrity Chefs | Tasneem Rawat and Jenny Morris
<p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>This special collaborative episode of the Chef JKP Podcast brings together three voices from different corners of the culinary world for a conversation about identity, storytelling, and the power of food to connect cultures.<br/><br/>Chef James Knight-Paccheco is joined by Tasneem Rawat, host of The Café, and legendary South African celebrity chef Jenny Morris, who joins the conversation remotely.<br/><br/>Known across South Africa as “The Giggling Gourmet,” Jenny Morris has spent decades shaping how people experience food through television, books, and culinary storytelling. Her journey reflects a deep commitment to ce...
What MENA 50 Best 2026 really feels like inside Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi
<p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>Front row at Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026, from a night at Mandarin Oriental Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.<br/><br/>There’s a certain kind of tension in the air before the list is revealed. The chefs arrive, the teams gather, the community tightens up, and for a few hours, the region’s hospitality story sits in one room.<br/><br/>In this special event episode, Chef JKP speaks to chefs, restaurateurs, writers, and key voices from across the MENA dining scene, capturing the moments that happen between the flashbulbs. What it mea...
What MENA 50 Best 2026 really feels like inside Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi
<p>Send us a text</p><p>Front row at Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026, from a night at Mandarin Oriental Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.<br/><br/>There’s a certain kind of tension in the air before the list is revealed. The chefs arrive, the teams gather, the community tightens up, and for a few hours, the region’s hospitality story sits in one room.<br/><br/>In this special event episode, Chef JKP speaks to chefs, restaurateurs, writers, and key voices from across the MENA dining scene, capturing the moments that happen between the flashbulbs. What it mea...
