The Go To Food Podcast

In this episode, recorded live at the Ballymaloe Food Festival, we sit down with award-winning food writer, columnist, cookbook author, and now novelist, Felicity Cloake. Best known for her legendary How to Make the Perfect series and her food-focused cycling adventures across France, Britain, and the United States, Felicity reflects on the journeys that shaped her career. She shares stories from the road, including memorable encounters across America, the challenges of solo travel by bike, and why her coast-to-coast culinary exploration of the US remains one of the most rewarding projects she has ever undertaken.
We also dive into Felicity’s debut novel, The Underdog, a light-hearted foodie love story set between London’s restaurant scene and the west coast of Scotland. She explains how the idea emerged during lockdown, discusses the freedom of writing fiction after years of journalism, and reveals the joy of inventing restaurant menus, eccentric chefs, and culinary drama. Along the way, we talk about social media, restaurant criticism, the realities of food writing, and the changing landscape of publishing and content creation.
Finally, Felicity takes us behind the scenes of her 17-year run writing How to Make the Perfect, sharing how a simple debate about whether to prick sausages evolved into one of Britain’s most beloved food columns. We discuss recipe testing, cookbook legends, food controversies, dream meals, favourite restaurants, and her hopes for future cycling adventures—possibly even Japan. Packed with wit, honesty, and plenty of food opinions, this is a conversation full of insight for cooks, writers, travellers, and anyone who loves a great food story.
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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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On this week’s episode of Go To Food Podcast, we sit down with the legendary Darina Allen — founder of the iconic Ballymaloe Cookery School, pioneer of modern Irish cuisine, and one of the most influential food voices of the last half century. Recorded live at the Ballymaloe Festival of Food, Darina takes us through the extraordinary journey that helped shape Ireland’s food culture as we know it today.
From the rise of Irish cooking on the global stage to the importance of seasonal ingredients, Darina speaks passionately about food education, farming, sustainability, and the forgotten skills that modern life has left behind. We dive deep into the philosophy behind Ballymaloe, why local food systems matter more than ever, and the growing movement of people leaving cities in search of a slower, more connected way of life.
Darina also reflects on the early struggles that led to the creation of Ballymaloe Cookery School, the chefs and food personalities who have passed through its doors, and the accidental path that turned her into Ireland’s first celebrity chef. Along the way, she shares hilarious stories, hard-earned wisdom, and an infectious enthusiasm for everything from raw milk and sourdough to oysters and homemade butter.
Warm, funny, fiercely intelligent, and endlessly inspiring, this is a conversation about much more than food — it’s about community, purpose, craft, and living well. Whether you’re a professional chef, a home cook, or simply someone who loves hearing from true pioneers, this episode with Darina Allen is one you won’t want to miss.
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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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From tiny Parisian dinner parties to becoming one of the most recognisable food voices on television, this week we sit down with the incredible Rachel Khoo for a deeply honest, funny and nostalgic conversation about food, identity and building a creative life from scratch. Rachel takes us back to the beginning — leaving London with barely any money, studying pastry at Le Cordon Bleu, hustling her way through Paris and eventually creating the now legendary Little Paris Kitchen. We talk about the highs and heartbreaks of television, cookbook publishing, and why she decided to self-publish her powerful new memoir.
This episode is packed with unbelievable stories: Austrian mountain summers fuelled by butter and strudel, Malaysian family feasts in 1980s Bromley, breakdancing crews in Paris, and the reality of building a career in food before Instagram existed. Rachel opens up about the challenges of working in TV, navigating rejection, motherhood whilst filming Bake Off Australia, and why meaningful hospitality matters more than fancy food. There’s also plenty of talk about pastries, Swedish comfort food, Paris markets, cookbook politics and the restaurants she keeps returning to after all these years.
Alongside one of the most fascinating food journeys we’ve ever heard, Rachel also gives us her ultimate go-to meals, favourite bakeries in Paris, dream dim sum orders and the philosophy behind hosting unforgettable dinner parties. It’s warm, hilarious, emotional and full of wisdom for anyone chasing a creative dream. Rachel Khoo is every bit as brilliant as you hope she’ll be — and this might be one of our favourite conversations we’ve ever recorded.

The Smallest Restaurant in Paris - A memoir by Rachel Khoo £18.99 available at all good bookshops - https://geni.us/order_TRSP
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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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Jackson Boxer and Eduardo “Lalo” Yishima joined us at TAQ to talk about relaunching one of London’s original Mexican restaurants into something far more ambitious, produce-led and reflective of modern Mexican cuisine. Jackson explained how the former Taqueria had become trapped trying to compete on cheapness rather than quality, despite having an incredible location and loyal following. The pair discussed how London’s understanding of Mexican food has transformed over the last 20 years, with diners now far more educated and excited by authentic flavours, proper tortillas and regional cooking. Bringing Lalo back from Mexico to lead the kitchen allowed them to completely rethink the menu, from nixtamalized heritage corn tortillas to carnitas, tuna tostadas and deeply flavourful salsas that feel genuinely rooted in Mexico while using exceptional British produce.
A huge part of the conversation centred around ingredients and the realities of running restaurants in modern London. Jackson spoke passionately about using rare breed pork, Yorkshire grass-fed beef and whole Cornish tuna across the restaurant group, while Lalo described the emotional significance of properly nixtamalized tortillas and imported Mexican chilis. The pair explained how London diners are now sophisticated enough to appreciate bold, complex Mexican flavours and why TAQ’s relaunch focused on quality and value rather than racing to the bottom on pricing. Jackson also opened up about the pressures restaurateurs face today — from social media expectations to shrinking margins — while teasing his upcoming Exmouth Market opening, Vespa, where dishes like coal-grilled squid stuffed with pork and prawn boudin will headline the menu.
To close, the conversation drifted into travel, comfort food and personal inspirations. Jackson recommended an Italian train journey through Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples as the ultimate food weekend, while Lalo made a passionate case for Buenos Aires and Argentina’s bakery, pizza and wine culture. Their “Go To Hall of Fame” dishes perfectly reflected the emotional core of the episode: Lalo chose his mother’s pozole, a deeply nostalgic Mexican soup tied to his childhood, while Jackson described his mother’s fruit tarts made with hand-grated frozen butter pastry as one of the greatest things he’s ever eaten. Across the episode, what stood out most was the pair’s shared belief that food is ultimately about generosity, memory and craft — whether that’s a taco, a trompo, a tart or a late-night tortilla folded around cheese and hot sauce.

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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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Charlie Mellor joins Go To Food for a brilliant, booze-soaked, risotto-fuelled conversation from inside his acclaimed new Soho restaurant, Osteria Vibrato. Once hailed as the king of London’s wine scene — and still very much hailed by us — Charlie’s journey has taken him from Australian-born, classically trained opera singer to sommelier, restaurateur and one of the most charismatic hospitality minds in the capital.
In this episode, Charlie talks about the rise and closure of The Laughing Heart, why neighbourhood restaurants have become such a brutal game, and why Soho felt like the right place to return with something romantic, generous and unmistakably Italian. He explains the thinking behind Vibrato’s £3 coperto, its olive oil obsession, late-night ambitions, boozy lunches, and a wine list built to make serious bottles genuinely drinkable.
We also get into the realities of opening a restaurant in 2026: linen bills, no-shows, soft-launch chaos, risotto sections, assembling a front-of-house Avengers squad, and the importance of making every guest feel like everything is going to be okay. Along the way, Charlie shares stories from opera, Melbourne dining, late-night London, and his family’s legendary Cornish pasties.
Expect strong views, big hospitality energy, Palermo tips, plenty of wine chat, and one of the best explanations you’ll hear of what makes a restaurant truly generous. Charlie is thoughtful, theatrical, sweary, deeply hospitable — and Osteria Vibrato sounds like exactly the kind of place London needs right now.
Watch and Subscribe To Our Youtube Videos Here - https://www.youtube.com/@gotofood

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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