Meet the Chefs and Oxford Eats — A year in podcasts
It’s been an extraordinary year for me and it has been an absolute pleasure to bring you so much content over the last 12 months. Spotify tells me that listens have increased by more than 400% and that over the course of exactly 50 ‘Oxford Eats’, ‘Oli Bites’, and ‘Meet the Chefs’ episodes we have racked up more than 1.5 million total listens, a mildly terrifying stat. As I take a Christmas break then, there is no better time to look back on some of this year’s highlights and trends across all of my interviews that vary from London street-food favourites to some of the top rated restaurants in the world.
All the coffee
In February, I spoke with Maya’s coffee in Westgate and it marked the first of my conversations with countless coffee shop owners in 2023. Right from the off there though, it was clear that the growth of high-end and sustainably focussed coffee was expanding around the world.
The same was true at Jericho Coffee Traders, one of Oxford’s most beloved coffee shops and traders, and as far beyond as Trabocca in Amsterdam. There, I sat down with founder Menno Simmons to discuss how he was at the forefront of the sustainable coffee revolution years ago. Roasting Plant, which I visited in London, San Francisco, and New York, demonstrated their new roasting in store technology for an interview and article in March.
Lasting legacies
The show started out as a chance to highlight new, exciting chefs and independent restaurants but it has been just as exciting to speak to so many historic restaurants and eateries. The differing techniques that they have for maintaining what has made them so successful whilst also embracing new technologies and trends is fascinating.
Mark Dommen of One Market Restaurant in San Francisco was our first episode recorded away from the UK and he spoke passionately about the journey both he and the restaurant he had been on since 1993. New York’s Ukrainian mainstay Veselka has been going since 1954 and third generation owner Jason gave an insight into how they have morphed and changed over the years.
Ferdinand Querfeld, a member of the famous family at the centre of Vienna’s coffee house culture, gave us a brilliant look at the joys and challenges of running Café Landtmann. To this day, it remains one of Europe’s most famous and historic restaurant/cafés and is still at the heart of Austrian goings on.
Things go even further back though for a pair of our Spanish ‘Oli Bites’ episodes. Xurerria Trebol and Granja Viader are both still going strong having set up shop in 1950 and 1870 respectively. Cuina Sant Pau, in Sant Pol de Mar, had another kind of legacy to battle with when it reopened last year. Reckoning with the Michelin Star and celebrity status of its previous owner, her son has turned it into a refined and extremely successful bistro in no time at all. Murilo Rodrigues Alves explained how the team has brought fresh energy to the historic restaurant.
Stars — Good or bad?
It has been a highlight to dine and chat with so many Michelin starred chefs this year but the contrasting views on them has been just as interesting to hear about.
Some, such as Mark Dommen, were able to talk about the brutal challenges of losing a star whilst I spoke to both Liam Nichols and and Eduard Xatruch just days after their awards ceremonies. The first had just won his first star and the second his third but both spoke about the joy, relief, and celebration of those evenings.
Above all, the most successful shared the belief that there was no sense changing their restaurants for inspectors or rewards. Matt Worswick of Barbados’ The Cliff perhaps summed this simplicity up best when I visited in July: “At the end of the day, the chefs are just a middle man between the grower, the ingredient, and the guests. Our job is not to fuck it up in the middle “
Other starred chefs on the show this year included Chet Sharma ( BiBi) and I expect Björn Kussner ( Bar Noë), Giovann Attard (Norma), Steve McClarty (Sharkbait and Swim) and Eran Tibi (Bala Baya) might join the list in the future.
Challenging times
The final trend that I want to touch on is one that has been echoed by pretty much everyone that I have spoken to this year: that this is the toughest period they have ever seen in hospitality.
COVID-enforced lockdowns forced remarkable reinvention and a reversion to local communities. Oxford’s went as far as to set up a local deli whilst El Rincón opened as outdoor only just down the road. counted on its recently started delivery offering and others such as (London), Vytopna Railway Restaurant (Vienna), and Henry’s Bar (Barcelona), focussed on creating novel and exciting spaces to tempt customers back once restrictions were lifted.
In the UK, Brexit has continued to hit hard in all sectors but perhaps most substantially in hospitality, with import problems impacting everyone from streetfood sensation Louis Kidd, French bakery , and Oxford restaurant magnate Will Pouget. Workforce problems are universal.
A pause
So, that is that for 2023. I’ll be taking a break until the New Year but, fear not, there are already dates and interviews in the diary for then at locations as far flung as Oxford, Spain, and back over in the US. Until then, do look back through the last 12 month’s catalogue, the variety is fantastic and all of the conversations interesting in their own unique ways.
Originally published at http://olieatsitall.wordpress.com on December 21, 2023.
