logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2023
28m 5s

Feeding the VIPs

Bbc World Service
About this episode

How do you make Michelin Star-level food, for hundreds of people, in a kitchen you just built in someone’s garden, and with no access to cooking gas? That’s just a typical scenario facing chefs in the world of high end mass catering.

In this episode, we hear from John Downey, the Catering Manager at the Web Summit tech conference, on the pressures of feeding high profile figures, and VIPs who've spent $26,000 on a ticket.

We also hear from Matt and Ted Lee, authors of the book Hot Box: Inside catering, the food world's riskiest business. They tell us about the stresses and often extraordinary challenges of providing high end food, at scale, at some of the USA’s most fancy weddings and galas.

Presenter: Marie Keyworth Producer: Sarah Treanor

(Picture: A chef's hand, putting the final touches to some dishes. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Up next
Jul 9
Protein v fibre
Protein is a health and fitness buzzword – plastered on packaging, prioritised in diets and praised by fitness influencers. But is our preoccupation with protein overshadowing another nutritional essential – fibre? Ruth Alexander explores the science, and marketing, behind protei ... Show More
26m 29s
Jul 2
Video game food
It can be the difference between life and death for your character, signal you’re on a hostile planet or in a sumptuous world, or can even give you the whole basis for a game. In this week’s Food Chain we hear where the ideas for some of the most disgusting and delicious foods in ... Show More
26m 29s
Jun 25
The story of your plate
What can we tell about a society from the plates, bowls and cups it uses? In this programme Ruth Alexander learns about the history of pottery, from early earthenware to the porcelain discovered by ancient China, known as ‘white gold’. Professor of archaeology, Joanita Vroom from ... Show More
26m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2023
S4 Ep5: Season 4 - Episode 5 - Jason Atherton - The Chef of Chef's !
Send us a text This episode of the Chef JKP Podcast features an interview with none other than the award winning Jason Atherton, a renowned chef and restaurateur. Host James Knight-Paccheco explores Atherton's early food memories, including his mom's prawn cocktail night at their ... Show More
51m 55s
Nov 2023
S4 Ep12: Season 4 - Episode 12 - Himanshu Saini - The World's Most Humble Chef!
Send us a text In the final episode of the Chef JKP Podcast season 4, James Knight-Paccheco interviews the extremely humble and talented, Himanshu Saini, the corporate chef for the Passion F&B Group, the chef and driving force behind the world famous double Michelin starred Trèsi ... Show More
1h 5m
Oct 2022
928: Katie Dixon Head Chef/Owner Birdhouse Cafe
Chef Katie Dixon is the Head Chef and owner at Birdhouse Cafe in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. When she was a kid, Katie was served "love on a plate" by her grandmother at large family gatherings where food was always the center of the proceedings. When she got older, she studied mar ... Show More
1h 38m
Aug 2019
Jamie Oliver: A Life Through Food Part II
On the anniversary of TV series 'The Naked Chef', Jamie Oliver talks to Sheila Dillon about two controversial decades dominating food on our TV screens and online, our home cooking, and dining out.In a two-part programme, Jamie describes being propelled into the limelight as 'The ... Show More
28m 50s
Mar 2022
Good Food, Good Life | Legendary Chefs Take the Mic
Ever hear the phrase, “food is life?” Well, it rings true in so many ways. It’s not just about nutrition, it’s about love, it’s about your relationship with each other, with family, friends, the environment and beyond. It’s above service, joy, connection, sacrifice, salvation, an ... Show More
1h 23m
Jul 2023
761: On the Road - Seattle
We took the show on the road and recorded a live event with KUOW about Seattle’s legendary culinary scene. We met up with some of the people who make the city a vibrant place to eat and cook. We spoke to KUOW’s reporter Ruby DeLuna and bestselling cookbook author Kenji Lopez Alt ... Show More
50m 16s
Oct 2023
S4 Ep6: Season 4 - Episode 6 of The Chef JKP Podcast - Liam Collens the Founder of Eat, Go, See.
Send us a text In this episode of the Chef JKP Podcast, James Knight Pacheco and his guest Liam Collens, discuss the importance of giving and receiving feedback in the restaurant industry.  He questions whether people truly want feedback or if they are seeking validation instead. ... Show More
1h 5m
Jul 2020
Le Top Chef (The Top Chef)
Gratien Leroy is a small-town accountant with big culinary dreams. But when France’s most popular cooking show announces an open call for the country’s best amateur cooks, does Gratien have what it takes to join the ranks of his country’s top chefs? A transcript of this episode i ... Show More
23m 44s