Chef Isaac McHale - Clove Club - Drunken Midnight Pasta With Massimo Bottura - A Nightmare Weekend Cooking In Russia & Why Food Critics Don't Understand The Costs Of Running A Restaurant!

This week we’re joined by Isaac McHale — the legendary Scottish chef behind the two-Michelin-starred Clove Club and neighbourhood favourite Bar Valette.

From his start as a fishmonger in Glasgow to one of London’s most quietly influential chefs, Isaac shares the raw, funny and fiercely honest story of how he got to the top. We talk scallops and truffle (and why he “f***ed it” but it still works), sardine sashimi that takes hours to prep, and the very real economics of running a fine dining restaurant in 2025. Along the way, we detour through midnight pasta with Massimo Bottura, Rene Redzepi slinging tacos in his kitchen, white truffle risotto in Napa, cod sperm in Japan, and his fried chicken that refuses to die.

Isaac reflects on why British produce is some of the best in the world, the lessons he learned from working with Mark Best, Brett Graham, and the early team at Noma, and the problem with tasting menus that move too fast — or guests who just want to talk.

This is a deep cut — rich with storytelling, hard-won wisdom, and just the right amount of chaos. A proper mise en place of a life spent in kitchens.

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