From Fashion Designer to Bake Off Star: Chetna Makan on Simplifying Indian Cooking

From Fashion Designer to Bake Off Star: Chetna Makan on Simplifying Indian Cooking

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. You can find Chetna's full Methi Chicken recipe on the Filippo Berio website at www.filippoberio.co.uk/theo, and be sure to check out her latest cookbook Five Ingredient Indian for more accessible, flavour packed recipes organised by ingredient with five essential masalas, menu suggestions, and dishes that celebrate the simplicity and soul of Indian home cooking. The Recipe podcast is hosted by Theo Randall, Chef Patron at the Theo Randall Cucina Italiana. In each episode we meet a special guest who loves food, and they'll tell us all about their favourite recipe as we celebrate the stories behind the dishes that define us. Please do subscribe, follow, and share the podcast wherever you listen so you never miss an episode; and for more delicious stories and inspiring dishes. Follow The Recipe with Theo Randall: /therecipe.podcast (https://www.instagram.com/therecipe.podcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/therecipe.podcast/]) Follow Filippo Berio: /filippoberio_uk (https://www.instagram.com/filippoberio_uk/ [https://www.instagram.com/filippoberio_uk/]) Follow Theo Randall: /theo.randall (https://www.instagram.com/theo.randall/ [https://www.instagram.com/theo.randall/]) The Recipe with Theo Randall is a Listen To This Production for Filippo Berio.

I Went Gluten-Free and it Changed My Life: Becky Excell on Becoming the Queen of Gluten-Free

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. You can find Becky's full Chunky Chicken Masala recipe on the Filippo Berio website at www.filippoberio.co.uk/theo, and be sure to check out her latest cookbook Feel Good Gluten Free for more accessible, flavour packed recipes that celebrate simple ingredients and joyful eating. The Recipe podcast is hosted by Theo Randall, Chef Patron at the Theo Randall Cucina Italiana. In each episode we meet a special guest who loves food, and they'll tell us all about their favourite recipe as we celebrate the stories behind the dishes that define us. Please do subscribe, follow, and share the podcast wherever you listen so you never miss an episode; and for more delicious stories and inspiring dishes. Follow The Recipe with Theo Randall: /therecipe.podcast (https://www.instagram.com/therecipe.podcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/therecipe.podcast/]) Follow Filippo Berio: /filippoberio_uk (https://www.instagram.com/filippoberio_uk/ [https://www.instagram.com/filippoberio_uk/]) Follow Theo Randall: /theo.randall (https://www.instagram.com/theo.randall/ [https://www.instagram.com/theo.randall/]) The Recipe with Theo Randall is a Listen To This Production for Filippo Berio.

From 700,000 Followers in a Month to Global Hotel Menus: Alfie Steiner on AlfieCooks & Going Vegan

In this episode, Theo is joined by the brilliant Alfie Steiner, better known to millions as Alfie Cooks, the self-taught home cook who has turned plant-based cooking into a global phenomenon. From his early days as a university student in Edinburgh taking photos of leftover meals and yellow sticker finds to gaining 700,000 followers in a single month and reshaping how the world thinks about vegan food, Alfie's journey is a testament to the power of passion, creativity, and making delicious accessible cooking that celebrates bold flavours without compromise. With five million followers across social media, collaborations with Wagamama and Novotel, and a mission to make people fall in love with tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables cooked with joy and purpose, Alfie represents a new generation of cooks who prove that plant-based food can be indulgent, exciting, and deeply satisfying. Alfie prepares his beloved Turkish Style Pasta with Crispy Tofu, a vibrant dish inspired by his local Turkish supermarket on Holloway Road and a favourite meal he shares with his fiancée Angelica. Throughout the episode, Alfie shares his remarkable journey from growing up in a foodie household with a father who cooked incredibly well to studying Spanish and Portuguese at Edinburgh University, taking a year out to focus on his mental health, and working as a waiter at Cote where he famously spilled expensive sparkling wine on a date and got torn into by an angry customer. He discusses why stopping eating meat five years ago helped him become a better cook by forcing him to appreciate ingredients that require more thought and nuance, the surreal moment his social media following exploded from a few hundred to 700,000 in a month and he realized this wasn't just a hobby anymore, and why his Turkish supermarket with twice daily baked bread, industrial vats of red pepper paste, and bunches of fresh herbs for a pound has become his greatest source of inspiration. You can find Alfie's full Turkish Style Pasta with Crispy Tofu recipe on the Filippo Berio website at www.filippoberio.co.uk/theo, and be sure to check out his substack Veg Table for more inspiring plant-based recipes, travel food guides, and stories from his kitchen. The Recipe podcast is hosted by Theo Randall, Chef Patron at the Theo Randall Cucina Italiana. In each episode we meet a special guest who loves food, and they'll tell us all about their favourite recipe as we celebrate the stories behind the dishes that define us. Please do subscribe, follow, and share the podcast wherever you listen so you never miss an episode; and for more delicious stories and inspiring dishes. Follow The Recipe with Theo Randall: /therecipe.podcast (https://www.instagram.com/therecipe.podcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/therecipe.podcast/]) Follow Filippo Berio: /filippoberio_uk (https://www.instagram.com/filippoberio_uk/ [https://www.instagram.com/filippoberio_uk/]) Follow Theo Randall: /theo.randall (https://www.instagram.com/theo.randall/ [https://www.instagram.com/theo.randall/]) The Recipe with Theo Randall is a Listen To This Production for Filippo Berio.

How I Went From Pub Kitchens to TV Fame: Jamie Oliver on The River Café, BBQ & The Naked Chef

In this episode, Theo is joined by the brilliant Jamie Oliver, the global phenomenon, tireless campaigner, and one of the most influential voices in food who has spent his career making cooking accessible, joyful, and transformative for millions of people around the world. From his early days growing up in his parents' pub The Cricketers in Essex where he started cooking at just 11 years old, to training with the legendary Gennaro Contaldo at Neal Street Restaurant, working alongside Theo at The River Cafe, and becoming a household name with The Naked Chef at just 23, Jamie's journey is a testament to the power of passion, resilience, and cooking with heart. With over 25 bestselling cookbooks, groundbreaking campaigns including the sugar tax and school food revolution, his charity Fifteen that transformed the lives of young people from challenging backgrounds, and his latest book BBQ: Easy Grilling Big Flavour, Jamie represents a generation of chefs who celebrate bold flavours, accessible home cooking, and the belief that food can change lives. Throughout the episode, Jamie shares his remarkable journey from spending hours prepping vegetables in the wash up at The Cricketers surrounded by punk rockers and mods with flat tops and tall boxes instead of chef bags, to being paid one pound twenty an hour as an 11 year old working double shifts on Sundays whilst his mates played football, the moment his college friend Marco wrote down Gennaro Contaldo's name on a piece of paper and told him there were only two people in London to learn proper pasta from, and why getting the head pastry chef job at Neal Street Restaurant after swotting up on Italian cookbooks from Saffron Walden library changed his life. He discusses the culture shock of moving from quarterly menus to writing menus twice a day at the River Cafe and why Theo taught him how to truly eat by tearing bread and dipping it into sauces with complete abandon. Be sure to order a copy of his new book BBQ: Easy Grilling, Big Flavour for more incredible outdoor recipes that celebrate bold flavours and accessible cooking. The Recipe podcast is hosted by Theo Randall, Chef Patron at the Theo Randall Cucina Italiana. In each episode we meet a special guest who loves food, and they'll tell us all about their favourite recipe as we celebrate the stories behind the dishes that define us. Please do subscribe, follow, and share the podcast wherever you listen so you never miss an episode; and for more delicious stories and inspiring dishes. Follow The Recipe with Theo Randall: /therecipe.podcast (https://www.instagram.com/therecipe.podcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/therecipe.podcast/]) Follow Filippo Berio: /filippoberio_uk (https://www.instagram.com/filippoberio_uk/ [https://www.instagram.com/filippoberio_uk/]) Follow Theo Randall: /theo.randall (https://www.instagram.com/theo.randall/ [https://www.instagram.com/theo.randall/]) The Recipe with Theo Randall is a Listen To This Production for Filippo Berio.

From Marco Pierre White to Saturday Kitchen: Matt Tebbutt on His Unexpected Journey to Live TV

In this episode, Theo is joined by the brilliant Matt Tebbutt, the award winning chef and beloved presenter of BBC's Saturday Kitchen Live who has spent his career making high end cooking techniques accessible to everyone. From his early days training in the intense kitchens of Marco Pierre White and working alongside legends like Jun Tanaka and William Curley to running his own acclaimed gastropub in Wales and becoming one of the most trusted faces on British food television, Matt's journey is a testament to the power of resilience, adaptability, and cooking with honesty and heart. With stints on Market Kitchen alongside Rachel Allen and Amanda Lamb, a decade presenting Saturday Kitchen, and his new podcast Check Out Confessions exploring the stories behind our shopping baskets, Matt represents a generation of chefs who celebrate bold flavours, accessible home cooking, and the joy of feeding people without pretension. Matt prepares his beloved Seafood Boride, a deeply nostalgic dish inspired by childhood caravan holidays in Northern France where he fell in love with the magic of dimly lit bistros, checked tablecloths, candles in old wine bottles, and the most incredible fish soup with rouille, croutons, and Gruyere served as dinner in a kit form. Using a rich aromatic fish stock infused with saffron, orange, and tarragon, tender chunks of sea bass and prawns gently poached until just cooked, and a punchy spicy mayonnaise rouille thickened with breadcrumbs and finished with a squeeze of lemon, this recipe beautifully encapsulates Matt's cooking philosophy of maximum flavour with minimum fuss, celebrating the transformative power of simple ingredients cooked with care and the emotional connection we have with the dishes that define us. You can find Matt's full Seafood Boride recipe on the Filippo Berio website at www.filippoberio.co.uk/theo, and be sure to check out his podcast Check Out Confessions for more entertaining conversations about the stories behind our shopping baskets. The Recipe podcast is hosted by Theo Randall, Chef Patron at the Theo Randall Cucina Italiana. In each episode we meet a special guest who loves food, and they'll tell us all about their favourite recipe as we celebrate the stories behind the dishes that define us. Please do subscribe, follow, and share the podcast wherever you listen so you never miss an episode; and for more delicious stories and inspiring dishes. Follow The Recipe with Theo Randall: /therecipe.podcast (https://www.instagram.com/therecipe.podcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/therecipe.podcast/]) Follow Filippo Berio: /filippoberio_uk (https://www.instagram.com/filippoberio_uk/ [https://www.instagram.com/filippoberio_uk/]) Follow Theo Randall: /theo.randall (https://www.instagram.com/theo.randall/ [https://www.instagram.com/theo.randall/]) The Recipe with Theo Randall is a Listen To This Production for Filippo Berio.