José Avillez is the Portuguese Chef of Belcanto in Lisbon and seven other restaurants in Portugal, one in Dubai and one in Macao. Cooking has always been a passion for José Avillez, but it was only in his senior year of studying Business Communication that he decided to become a chef. He worked and trained with many famous chefs, like Antoine Westermann in Portugal, Alain Ducasse and Eric Frechon in Paris, and finally got a traineeship at El Bulli with Ferran Adrià, that changed his career....

Daniel Calvert is the chef at Sézanne in Tokyo. He grew up in southeast England and worked his way through the star restaurants Pied a Terre in London, Epicure in Paris, Per Se in New York and Belon in Hong Kong before moving to Tokyo. We’ll hear about Daniel Calvert’s life and work across the world’s culinary capitals and why Tokyo is every top chef’s dream city. The recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands more are available for free in the World of Mouth app:...

Cocktail bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana, a k a Mr Lyan, is the owner of the cocktail bars Super Lyan, Dandelyan, Cub, Lyaness, Silver Lyan and Seed Library. He grew up in a family where food and drink were the heart of the household. To develop his passion for food, he began his career training as a chef, but missed the personal interaction with customers. We will hear Ryan Chetiyarwardana tell about opening his first bar, White Lyan, in London in 2013 as the first cocktail bar in the world to...

Palisa Anderson is a farmer at Boon Luck Farm and a second generation restaurateur at the Chat Thai restaurants in Sydney, Australia. Her mother started Chat Thai in 1989, and Palisa Anderson and her family have expanded the business to multiple venues and an organic farm near Byron Bay. We’ll hear Palisa Anderson tell about her childhood in her mother’s restaurants and how she, after working abroad for years, decided to return to Sydney to join the family business. The recommendations...

Vicky Cheng is the chef and owner of restaurants Wing and Vea in Hong Kong. He was born in Hong Kong and raised in Toronto, Canada. His passion for cooking started at an early age, and as a young chef, he was classically trained under some of the best French chefs, including Daniel Boulud in New York. We’ll hear about Vicky Cheng returning to his birth place Hong Kong and creating his own style of Chinese cooking mixed with French gastronomic techniques at his two restaurants. The...

Ben Shewry is the chef and owner of Attica in Melbourne. He grew up on a remote sheep and cattle farm in Taranaki, a mountainous coastal region on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. Shewry arrived in Melbourne in 2002 and worked with chefs like Andrew McConnell. He’s been the head chef at Attica since 2005 and made the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2010. Ben Shewry also featured in the first season of Netflix Chef’s Table series. All the recommendations mentioned in this...

Lennox Hastie is the chef and owner of Firedoor Sydney, Australia’s only fully wood fueled restaurant. He spent his early career working at Michelin Star restaurants across the UK, France, and Spain. While working in the Basque country, he realised he had lost focus on the most important in cooking: quality ingredients. He got a job at the legendary open fire restaurant Asador Etxebarri and worked there with chef Victor Arguinzoniz for five years, pushing the limits of what could be cooked...

Dan Barber is the chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, and the author of the book “The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food.” His opinions on food and agricultural policy have appeared in the New York Times, along with many other publications. Dan Barber is also an agronomist, an environmentalist, an activist, and a powerful agent of change. We will hear about how he promotes better farming practices for a more sustainable agricultural system and...

Cristina Bowerman is a chef with an innovative take on regional Italian fare at her Michelin starred restaurant Glass Hostaria in Rome. Born in Puglia, in southern Italy, Bowerman originally studied foreign languages and law and worked as a graphic designer, before deciding to pursue a degree in Culinary Arts in Austin, Texas. We’ll hear about Bowerman’s return to Italy, where she first worked at Convivio Troiani and later joined Glass Hostaria in the heart of Trastevere. All of the...

Mitsuharu Tsumura, or Micha, as everybody calls him, is the chef at Maido in Lima, Peru. Of Japanese-Peruvian background, as a young student he moved to the United States where he graduated in Culinary Arts from University. Before returning to Peru, Mitsuharu Tsumura lived in Osaka to specialize in Japanese cuisine. In the podcast, we will hear how his passion for Japanese and Peruvian cuisine led him to create Maido, a Japanese restaurant with a Peruvian heart. At Maido he works with his...

Rosio Sanchez is the chef and founder of Sanchez and Hija de Sanchez in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was born and raised in the South Side of Chicago, and grew up eating Mexican food. She began cooking at 19 and worked with some of America’s most famous chefs, like Wylie Dufresne at wd-50, before moving to Copenhagen to work under René Redzepi at Noma. We’ll hear about Rosio Sanchez big decision to leave Noma and opening her own restaurants, Hija de Sanchez followed by restaurant Sanchez in 2017....

Chef JP McMahon is a chef, restaurateur and author in Galway, Ireland. He is the owner of restaurants Aniar and Cava Bodega and globally known as the founder and director of the Food on the Edge chefs Symposium in Galway. We’ll hear about JP McMahon’s chef career that started in Dublin at the age of 15, about his love for Irish oysters and seaweed and how he has created a symposium that unites people in the restaurant world. All of the recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands...

Karime López is the chef at Gucci Osteria in Florence, Italy. She was born and raised in Querétaro north of Mexico City and learned the love for good food from her mother and grandmother. As a chef, she’s worked in some of the most prestigious kitchens around the world, from Mugaritz in Spain to Ryugin in Japan, before finally landing in Italy, working for Massimo Bottura. We’ll hear about Karime López’s work in most parts of the world and then becoming head chef at Gucci Osteria in 2018,...

Vaughan Mabee is the chef at Amisfield restaurant in Queenstown, New Zealand since 2012. He uses local wild seafood, game and foraged produce found in the Central Otago area, and presents them in his creative dishes, accompanied by wines from the Amisfield winery. We’ll hear about Vaughan Mabee’s career that took him from Auckland around the world and back to New Zealand and how he express the unique local flavours in his dishes. All of the recommendations mentioned in this podcast and...

Chef Will Goldfarb lives on the island of Bali, where he runs Room 4 Dessert, a dessert bar focusing on local culture and produce. As one of the world’s most renowned pastry chefs, he’s worked in many legendary restaurants, including El Bulli in Spain and Tetsuya’s in Sydney. He’s also known from the Chef’s Table series on Netflix. We’ll hear about Will Goldfarb’s success, his failures, and his career that took him from New York around the world to Bali. At the end of the podcast he will...

Chef Petter Nilson is the chef at restaurant Petri in Stockholm, Sweden. He’s had a career spanning over more than 35 years in Sweden and France. Some 15 years ago, he was part of a small group of the world’s most creative chefs, among them Massimo Bottura, René Redzepi and Inaki Aizpitarte. We will hear about Petter Nilsson’s time among the very best and hear his personal view about being a chef. At the end of the podcast he will reveal his favourite restaurant recommendations in Stockholm,...

Chef Himanshu Saini is one of Dubai's most acclaimed chefs. His mission is to change the perception of Indian cuisine and elevate how we experience Indian food today. His restaurant, Trèsind Studio, is his ode to the culinary legacy of his roots and his perspective on Indian cuisine. We will hear about Himanshu Saini’s childhood in an agricultural family in India, with plenty of fresh produce, herbs, and flowers used in the kitchen. At the end of the podcast he will reveal his favourite...

Darren Teoh is the chef at restaurant Dewakan in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His restaurant has twice been recognised as one of Asia's Best Restaurants, and earned its first Michelin star in 2023. With his food, Darren Teoh wants to express the connection to the indigenous people of Malaysia and their produce. We’ll hear Darren Teoh’s story, how he discovers local produce for his cooking and how his Indian-Chinese heritage influenced him as a child. At the end of the podcast he will reveal his...

Pía León is the chef at restaurant Kjolle in Lima, Peru. She has been voted Latin America´s Best Female Chef and in 2021 the World´s Best Female Chef. Her career started more than 15 years ago, when she led the kitchen at restaurant Central. While co-directing the kitchen of Central and MIL, together with her husband Virgilio Martínez, Pia is chef-owner of restaurant Kjolle. We’ll hear Pia Leon’s story and how she, through the Mater Iniciativa research center, has found a way to go beyond...

Maksut Aşkar is the chef and owner of restaurant Neolokal located in the Salt Galata Museum in Istanbul. His cuisine has been described as a modern take on the Anatolian Cuisine inspired by his childhood, the local heritage and traditional cooking. His last 10 years he has worked with Neolokal, that opened in 2014. We’ll hear Maksut Aşkar’s story, how he became one of the top names on Turkey’s culinary scene. At the end of the podcast he will reveal his favourite restaurant recommendations in...

Bruno Verjus is the self-taught chef and restaurateur of Table in Paris. Verjus entered the restaurant world at the age of 54, and ten years later is one of the brightest stars on the global restaurants scene. As a chef he’s obsessed with the best produce, and presents them to his customers only with a light touch of cooking. We’ll hear Bruno Verjus’ story, how he became one of the top names in the world’s toughest culinary scene of Paris. At the end of the podcast he will reveal his...

Alberto Landgraf is one of the leading chefs in Brazil. His restaurant, Oteque in Rio de Janeiro, has been voted among the 50 Best in Latin America. Alberto Landgraf started his career working with Tom Aikens and Gordon Ramsay in London, and returned to Brazil to open Epice in Sao Paulo. In 2018 he relocated to Rio de Janeiro and opened Oteque, focusing on his Japanese heritage through simplicity and precise technique. We’ll hear Alberto Landgraf’s story about his journey from a farm in...

Andrew Wong is the award-winning chef of restaurant A.Wong in London. British born of Chinese heritage, he left his academic studies and opened A.Wong in 2012 with his wife Nathalie. Coming from a family of three generations of Chinese restaurateurs, Andrew Wong’s restaurant became the first Chinese restaurant outside Asia to be awarded two Michelin stars. We will hear Andrew Wong’s story about growing up in a family of restaurateurs, and at the end he will reveal his favourite restaurant...

Florencia Abella is the chef at restaurant Ekstedt in Stockholm, Sweden. She grew up in Argentina and has worked in kitchens all over the world. At Ekstedt, she has developed the unique concept of cooking only with Swedish wood on open fire. We will hear about the importance for her of the Argentinian Asado grilling tradition and how she uses the embers, fire and smoke to flavour her cuisine. She will also reveal her favourite restaurant recommendations in Sweden, Argentina and Spain. All of...

Billy Wagner is the sommelier and restaurateur of restaurant Nobelhart & Schmutzig in Berlin. He grew up in East Germany and later moved to Berlin, to become one of the most famous German restaurant profiles in the world. We will hear him tell about his passion for all kinds of great beverages, about being a good host and supporting the best local producers. He will also reveal his favourite restaurant recommendations in Berlin and the rest of the world. All of the recommendations...