The Recipe with Theo Randall

In this episode, Theo is joined by the brilliant Jacob Kenedy, the visionary chef, author, and restaurateur who revolutionised how London experiences regional Italian cuisine and transformed Archer Street into one of Soho's most legendary dining destinations. From growing up with a grandmother who was a Hollywood starlet and lived through La Dolce Vita, to training at Moro and falling in love with cooking, spending his DJ years in San Francisco playing at underground clubs like the Enduck, and opening Bocca di Lupo in 2008 with an open kitchen, a bar that broke up the space, and a menu that celebrated the regional diversity of Italy's twenty distinct cuisines; Jacob's journey is a testament to the transformative power of resilience, creativity, and cooking with purpose. Jacob prepares his beloved Spaghetti al Pomodoro, a dish that speaks of mother, home, and heart, and one he could eat every day. Throughout the episode, Jacob shares his remarkable journey from spending a week at Moro during his gap year and falling in love with their kitchen, spending a year travelling around Italy with his then partner and discovering there is no such thing as Italian cuisine.

In this episode, Theo is joined by the brilliant Poppy O'Toole, the Potato Queen herself, a Michelin trained chef who transformed a pandemic redundancy into a multi million follower empire and has spent the last few years demystifying fine dining techniques and teaching the internet how to make comfort food truly extraordinary. From growing up eating handfuls of roasted mince in her nan's kitchen and making mini roast dinners at five years old to becoming the potato maker at a fine dining restaurant inside a London bank, losing her job during lockdown, and gaining a million TikTok followers overnight with a video simply saying live, laugh, love potato, Poppy's journey is a testament to the transformative power of resilience, creativity, and cooking with instinct. With over 4 million followers across social media, six bestselling cookbooks including her latest Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Batch Cookbook, and appearances on Saturday Kitchen and Junior MasterChef as a presenter judge, Poppy represents a generation of cooks who celebrate bold flavours, accessible home cooking, and the belief that anyone can cook if they trust their instinct and go for it. Poppy prepares her beloved Supreme of Chicken with Potato Fondants, Smoky Hot Pan Sauce and Maple Glazed Corn, a dish inspired by her nan's experimental Chicken Maryland that she remembers eating as a child with banana, corn and chicken, wondering what on earth it was.

In this episode, Theo is joined by the brilliant Tom Kerridge, the only chef in the world to hold two Michelin stars at a pub and a giant of British gastronomy who has redefined what pub food can be. From his early days as a child actor in Gloucester to washing dishes at 18 and falling in love with the energy of professional kitchens, Tom's journey is a testament to the transformative power of resilience, creativity, and cooking with purpose. With 21 years at the helm of the Hand and Flowers in Marlow, a second Michelin star that made history, and his tireless VAT's The Problem campaign fighting for the survival of British hospitality, Tom represents a generation of chefs who celebrate bold flavours, accessible cooking, and the belief that great food should never be intimidating. Tom prepares his beloved Steak and Chips, a dish that has been on the menu at the Hand and Flowers since day one and beautifully encapsulates his cooking philosophy of taking something everyone knows and loves and elevating it to two Michelin star level. Throughout the episode, Tom shares his remarkable journey from growing up on an estate in Gloucester with a single parent to joining a youth theatre in Cheltenham, being scouted by an agent and playing Thug One in London's Burning at 17, and why he quite liked being himself as opposed to acting where you're spending a lot of time pretending to be somebody else. He discusses walking into a kitchen at 18 to wash up and falling in love with the energy, the space, the noise, the movement, the connection between front of house and back of house, training under the legendary Gary Rhodes who taught him that one or two or three things on a plate is all you need, and why opening the Hand and Flowers at 31 was terrifying because the only way you're ever going to make money is by making your business work. Tom also opens up about the difference between one star and two star cooking being personality and the true character of the chef coming through, why three star restaurants are the ultimate in professionals where every single aspect from website to phone call to booking system makes you feel special, switching from gas to electric planches because gas in a professional kitchen can be quite dirty and not that efficient, and why his VAT's The Problem campaign is fighting for a reduction to 10% to give hospitality the level playing field it needs to compete with Europe where 21 businesses are shutting every single week.

In this episode, Theo is joined by the brilliant Clodagh McKenna, the celebrated Irish chef, food writer, and television personality who has transformed a neglected 100 acre estate into a thriving organic farm and believes that happy cooking is one of the most impactful tools for mental health. From growing up in a small Irish house where her mother secretly took out a loan to send her to Ballymaloe Cookery School, Clodagh's journey is a testament to the transformative power of resilience, creativity, and cooking with purpose.

In this episode, Theo is joined by the brilliant Chetna Makan, the Flavour Queen herself, a former fashion designer turned culinary star who captured the nation's hearts as a semi-finalist on the Great British Bake Off and has since spent a decade on a mission to simplify Indian home cooking. From being scouted as a fashion designer in Mumbai to moving to Broadstairs in Kent where she discovered the transformative power of food as an icebreaker and community builder, Chetna's journey is a testament to the power of resilience, creativity, and cooking with purpose. With 10 bestselling cookbooks including her latest Five Ingredient Indian, millions of followers across social media through Food with Chetna, and a philosophy that celebrates accessible, flavour packed dishes that prove Indian cooking doesn't have to be complicated, Chetna represents a new generation of cooks who embrace bold flavours, seasonal ingredients, and the emotional connection we have with the dishes that define us. Chetna prepares her beloved Methi Chicken, a vibrant five ingredient dish that beautifully encapsulates her cooking philosophy of maximum flavour with minimum fuss. Throughout the episode, Chetna shares her remarkable journey from growing up in Mumbai watching her mother cook fresh meals twice a day for the family and learning that food was always at the heart of gatherings with aunties cooking together in the kitchen to studying fashion design and launching her own label before her then boyfriend decided to study medicine in the UK, the culture shock of moving to Broadstairs where shops closed at five o'clock and there were no Asian supermarkets so they would drive to Southall every four months to fill the boot of the car with rice, lentils, and atta, and why she started cooking more from scratch and using food as an icebreaker to make friends in her new community.

In this episode, Theo is joined by the brilliant Becky Excell, the Queen of Gluten Free, an ambassador for Coeliac UK, and an eight time Sunday Times bestselling author who has spent over a decade proving that eating gluten free should never mean missing out on a great meal. From being diagnosed at 18 whilst at university and feeling isolated and frustrated to building a devoted community of millions who turn to her for accessible, delicious gluten free recipes, Becky's journey is a testament to the transformative power of resilience, creativity, and cooking with purpose. With her latest cookbook Feel Good Gluten Free, Becky is championing simple, flavour packed dishes that celebrate what you can eat rather than fixating on what you can't, proving that gluten free food can be indulgent, comforting, and deeply satisfying. Becky prepares her beloved Chunky Chicken Masala with Rice and Roasted Green Beans, a vibrant, hearty dish that beautifully encapsulates her cooking philosophy of maximum flavour with minimum fuss. Throughout the episode, Becky shares her remarkable journey from being told to give up gluten at 18 on a whim by her doctor whilst struggling with gut issues and fatigue at university to realising she couldn't get an accurate coeliac test without reintroducing gluten for six weeks, which would have derailed her degree, so she chose to live as a coeliac without the rubber stamp on her medical record.