The Chef JKP Podcast

• Season 11 - Episode 12 - The Woman Behind the Food Brands Taking Over the Middle East | Victoria Hassani

  Send us a textSeason 11 continues with a story shaped by culture, trade, and a woman who believes food can create understanding in ways politics never can.Victoria Hassani grew up inside her family’s restaurant on the Jersey shore. Breakfast crowds, seafood dinners, a deli, an ice cream shop and a childhood built around menus, ingredients, cost control and hospitality. Her earliest memories were not hobbies or weekend activities. They were food memories.She later studied music, moved to France, learned language and culture, and discovered how food reflects a place long before she learned it professionally. What she did not expect was that this curiosity would eventually lead her across borders, governments and global industries.Victoria built her career in international trade and marketing, working between the US and Canada before moving to Dubai in 2007. What started as a temporary opportunity became the foundation of a company that now supports agriculture boards, global brands and regional retailers across the Middle East.Today she runs GMA Marketing Management between New Jersey and Dubai. Her work connects farmers to markets, governments to businesses, chefs to ingredients and consumers to better understanding what they are buying. She has helped shape how products like US potatoes are positioned in the region, why education matters and how food can be used as a bridge between cultures.Her story is honest, ambitious and full of the lessons that come from building something from scratch in a region that changes every year.This conversation opens up the world behind trade, marketing, agriculture and the people who make global food systems function.What You Will Hear in This Episode• Growing up in a family restaurant across breakfast, lunch and dinner• How Russian heritage and French influence shaped her palate• Moving to France at 18 and discovering food through culture• Entering trade, marketing and cross-border business development• How Canada and the US built strong food trade relationships• Why she moved to Dubai and started her own company• How GMA helps global brands enter the GCC market• The education gap around potatoes and why it matters• Understanding fresh, frozen and dehydrated potatoes• How US agriculture boards work behind the scenes• Why food and trade are powerful tools for peace• How she works with governments, retailers and chefs• Her mission to connect cultures through food• Advice for young marketers and women entering the industryChapters00:00 Introduction and welcome to the episode04:00 Childhood inside a family restaurant08:00 Lessons from chaos, hospitality and family business12:00 Russian heritage and early food memories18:00 Studying in France and discovering culture23:00 Returning to the US and shifting into international relations26:00 Entering global trade and marketing33:00 Moving to Dubai and starting a new professional chapter40:00 How the Potatoes USA partnership began48:00 Educating chefs and the region about potatoes55:00 Fresh, frozen and dehydrated potato insights67:00 Trade shows, government meetings and culinary training78:00 Why food diplomacy matters87:00 Trade, peace and building cultural understanding102:00 The future of GMA and Victoria’s advice to young talentProudly Brought to You by Potatoes USAPotatoes USA represents America’s potato growers and inspires chefs, home cooks and food lovers everywhere. From nutrition to creativity, tSupport the showFollow The Chef JKP Podcast on Instagram HERE

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• Season 11 - Episode 11 - How A Blog, A Camera, and A Leap of Faith Led Leen Al Zaben to 50 Best | Leen Al Zaben

  Send us a textSeason 11 continues with a story shaped by culture, curiosity, and a woman who sees food as memory, craft, and connection.Leen Al Zaben grew up between Jordanian Bedouin hospitality and the fresh, seasonal cooking of her grandmother’s kitchen. Big salads, olive oil, Friday breakfasts, and long family tables. Those early moments became the foundation of her palate and the way she understands flavor.Her path was never straight. She studied business, tried multiple careers, moved cities, felt lost, and often doubted herself. But writing, photography, and a quiet pull toward food kept finding their way back to her. From Amman to Montreal to Paris to San Francisco, each chapter pushed her closer to the work she was meant to do.A blog she started one summer opened doors. Teaching herself photography opened more. A chance introduction in San Francisco led her into a food tech startup where she built content, tested recipes, and literally taught an oven how to cook.Then came Japan. Quiet streets during COVID. Markets, donabe cooking, miso, rice, tea houses. A new universe of discipline and craft.Today Leen is the Academy Chair for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and MENA’s 50 Best. She champions homegrown talent, documents culture, and brings a thoughtful, grounded voice to the region’s culinary story.This episode is honest, generous, reflective, and full of the moments that shape a career.What You Will Hear in This Episode• Growing up between Bedouin hospitality, family cooking, and early food memories• The salads, textures, and seasons that shaped her palate• Feeling lost in her early twenties and the long search for direction• Why writing and creative expression changed everything• The blog that quietly kickstarted her food career• How photography and content work became her entry point into the industry• Moving to San Francisco and working at a food tech startup• Discovering Japan, cooking traditions, and learning through stillness• How she became Academy Chair for 50 Best and what the role really involves• The future of Middle Eastern cuisine and her message to young chefs and writersChapters00:00 Introduction04:00 Bedouin hospitality, grandma’s salads, and childhood food stories12:00 How seasons shaped her palate and love for fresh ingredients18:00 Career confusion, studying business, and feeling completely lost26:00 The mentor who changed everything and the move toward writing30:00 Oxford, the blog, and teaching herself photography38:00 San Francisco and joining a food tech startup55:00 Life in Japan during COVID and learning Japanese cooking67:00 Becoming Academy Chair and the truth about how voting works87:00 The rise of homegrown restaurants across the region104:00 The future of Middle Eastern cuisine and advice for young talentProudly Brought to You by Potatoes USAPotatoes USA represents America’s potato growers and inspires chefs, home cooks, and food lovers everywhere.From nutrition to creativity, they show why the humble potato remains one of the most powerful ingredients in every kitchen.Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/potatogoodnessgcc/Websitehttps://www.potatogoodnessgcc.comFollow Leen Al ZabenInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/leenalzaben/LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/leenalzabenWebsitehttps://www.leenalzaben.com/Follow Chef JKPInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/chefjkpSupport the showFollow The Chef JKP Podcast on Instagram HERE

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• Season 11 - Episode 10 - How Two Engineers Built Dubai’s Favourite Meat Brand | Dan & Fix

  Send us a textSeason 11 continues with a story built on pressure, persistence, and two people who refused to settle for the careers they were “meant” to have.Dan and Fix spent years in engineering and construction before Carnistore ever existed. Long days on site, managing hundreds of workers, solving problems nonstop, and dealing with deadlines that could cost millions. But the one thing that stayed with both of them was food. Memories from Egypt, home cooking, street food, and the feeling of people gathering around a meal.A chance meeting at a kid’s birthday party brought two strangers together who were secretly working on the same idea. From that moment they decided to build something they wished existed. A place focused on good meat, good sourcing, good service, and honest hospitality.Carnistore started with no funding and no experience in F and B. Just belief, curiosity, and a lot of trial and error. Their turning point came in 2020 when the entire city went online and their orders went from 15 a day to hundreds overnight. What could have broken them became the moment that changed their future.Today they run one of Dubai’s strongest homegrown brands. A space in Alserkal Avenue. A community of chefs, families, and food lovers. And a content style that has taken over the internet.This episode is real, funny, raw, and full of the moments that build entrepreneurs.What You Will Hear in This Episode• Growing up in Egypt and how food shaped their childhood• Why engineering was the expected path and why it never felt right• The pressure of construction life and the moment they wanted out• How they met and realised they were working on the same idea• The early Carnistore days and the decision to go fully online• How COVID changed everything overnight• The story behind their Alserkal Avenue space• Why community is central to their brandProudly Brought to You by Potatoes USAPotatoes USA represents America’s potato growers and inspires chefs, home cooks, and food lovers everywhere.From nutrition to creativity, they show why potatoes remain one of the most powerful ingredients in any kitchen.Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/potatogoodnessgcc/Websitehttps://www.potatogoodnessgcc.comFollow Dan and FixInstagramDan - https://www.instagram.com/danthecarnivore/Fix - https://www.instagram.com/fixthecarnivore/Business - https://www.instagram.com/carnistore/Websitehttps://www.carnistore.comFollow Chef JKPInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/chefjkppodcastLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/james-knight-paccheco-447b1b17TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@jamesknightpacchecoChapters00:00 Introduction04:00 Childhood food memories and growing up in Egypt17:00 Engineering life and the pressure that pushed them away27:00 The moment they met and discovered they shared the same idea35:00 Building Carnistore from scratch and choosing to go online45:00 COVID hits and their business explodes overnight54:00 Moving into Alserkal Avenue and designing the space59:00 How community, chefs, and creatives shaped the brandSupport the showFollow The Chef JKP Podcast on Instagram HERE

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• Season 11 - Episode 9 - What No One Tells You About Building a Restaurant in Dubai | Akmal Anuar

  Send us a textSeason 11 continues with a story that’s as honest as it is inspiring.From a small hawker stall in Singapore to standing on the Michelin stage in Dubai, Chef Akmal Anuar has lived a journey built on discipline, sacrifice, and starting from zero more than once.He didn’t grow up loving food. He grew up watching his parents hustle to feed their community. Cooking came later, through tough kitchens, rejection, and a moment that changed his life at Les Amis.In this episode, Akmal opens up about the reality of chasing your dream in kitchens that demand everything from you, what it means to rebuild after losing it all, and how it felt to share the Michelin stage with his parents, the same people who once made him hate cooking.It’s an episode about humility, family, and finding peace after years of fighting to prove yourself.🎧 What You Will Hear In This Episode• Growing up in a hawker family and learning what hard work really means• The moment that made him want to be a chef• Lessons from Les Amis and the brutal discipline of early kitchen life• Building Three Fils from scratch and surviving when no one showed up• The turning point when Iron Chef Morimoto walked in for dinner• How failure and partnership taught him to protect himself and start again• The Michelin star moment he shared with his parents• What success means to him now and why he cooks for purpose, not egoProudly Brought to You By Potatoes USAPotatoes USA represents America’s potato growers and inspires chefs, home cooks, and food lovers around the world.From nutrition to creativity, they remind us why the humble potato is one of the most powerful ingredients in every kitchen.Follow them:Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/potatogoodnessgcc/Website – https://www.potatogoodnessgcc.com👨‍🍳 Follow Chef Akmal AnuarInstagram – https://www.instagram.com/akmalanuarofficialLinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/akmal-anuar-747b881a3/Website – https://eatwhiterice.com/👨‍🍳 Follow Chef JKPInstagram – https://www.instagram.com/chefjkppodcast/LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-knight-paccheco-447b1b17/TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@jamesknightpaccheco🎙️ Chapters00:00 Introduction04:00 Growing up around hawker stalls and learning tough love10:00 The moment that changed everything at Les Amis18:00 Lessons from the kitchen and the discipline that shaped him26:00 Working at Iggy’s and finding confidence as a young chef36:00 Moving to Dubai and the early days at Zengo47:00 Starting over with Three Fils and learning through failure55:00 When Iron Chef Morimoto walked in and everything changed1:08:00 The Michelin moment with his parents and what it really meant1:18:00 Why he cooks for purpose now and what he wants the next generation to knowSupport the showFollow The Chef JKP Podcast on Instagram HERE

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• Season 11 - Episode 8 - Can passion take you from Mexico’s street food to Dubai’s fine dining ? Sergio Hernandez Ruiz

  Send us a textSeason 11 continues with a story that blends tradition, determination, and the pursuit of flavour.From the heart of Mexico to Dubai’s shores, Chef Sergio Hernández Ruiz has built his career one kitchen and one lesson at a time.Now the Chef de Cuisine at Tamoka, Sergio brings Latin warmth, coastal soul, and bold creativity to every plate.In this episode, he opens up about growing up in a small town, discovering his calling through Iron Chef America, and pushing himself from humble beginnings to leading one of Dubai’s most loved beachfront restaurants.It’s a story about finding purpose through perseverance and staying true to your roots while inspiring a team to dream bigger.🎧 What You Will Hear In This Episode• Childhood memories and Sunday lunches in Mexico• Street food culture and flavors that shaped his cooking• Leaving home at 17 to study culinary arts• First professional experiences at St. Regis Mexico• Overcoming self-doubt and building confidence in the kitchen• Moving to Dubai and joining W The Palm• Finding his place at Tamoka and leading the pre-opening• The evolution of Latin-American cuisine in the UAE• Leadership, mentorship, and building a motivated team• His dream collaborations and advice for young chefsProudly Brought to You By Potatoes USAPotatoes USA represents America’s potato growers and inspires chefs, home cooks, and food lovers around the world.From nutrition to creativity, they remind us why the humble potato is one of the most powerful ingredients in every kitchen.Follow them:Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/potatogoodnessgcc/Website – https://www.potatogoodnessgcc.com👨‍🍳 Follow Sergio Hernández RuizInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zesergio_hrdxbLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ze-sergio-hernandez-ruiz-b79488125/📲 Follow Chef JKPInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefjkppodcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-knight-paccheco-447b1b17/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jamesknightpaccheco🎙️ Chapters00:00 Introduction03:00 Growing up in Mexico and Sunday lunch memories07:00 Discovering a love for food and culinary school days12:00 First jobs and lessons from St. Regis Mexico18:00 Overcoming criticism and finding motivation21:00 Moving to Dubai and joining W The Palm30:00 Joining Tamoka and the pre-opening journey39:00 Ceviche bar, grill concept, and creative process46:00 Building the menu and working with local produce53:00 Leading a team and creating a positive kitchen culture1:00:00 Dreams, mentorship, and what’s next for Tamoka1:09:00 Quick fire and final reflectionsSupport the showFollow The Chef JKP Podcast on Instagram HERE

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