Pot Luck Food Talks: Kitchen Stories From Behind the Pass cover art

Pot Luck Food Talks: Kitchen Stories From Behind the Pass

Pot Luck Food Talks: Kitchen Stories From Behind the Pass

Written by: Chef Phil & Eric | Experienced Cooks & Restaurant Insiders
Listen for free

About this listen

Two decades on the line leave scars, stories, and a way of seeing the world that doesn’t wash off with the apron.

Pot Luck Food Talks is where the chef lifestyle gets laid bare—raw chef talk, the kind you don’t hear in PR interviews.

Phil & Eric aren’t here to romanticize. They’re here to trade food stories that smell of sweat, butter, and burned fingers. Stories about the beauty and brutality of restaurant culture, the quiet rules, and the loud disasters.

It’s the truth about Michelin Star kitchens, the whispered restaurant secrets, the victories no one tastes but the cooks, and the mistakes that teach more than any school.

If you want sanitized food media, go elsewhere. If you want chef conversations about life, gastronomy, and why flavor is the only compass worth following—pull up a chair.

Erich Eichstetter, Philipp Walther & Xander Bartole Art Careers Cooking Economics Food & Wine Personal Success
Episodes
  • Noma Under Fire: When Kitchen Culture Crosses the Line

    Noma Under Fire: When Kitchen Culture Crosses the Line
    Feb 22 2026

    🎙️ EP174 — We talk about the abuse allegations surrounding Noma, what we’ve heard from chefs who worked there, why this story is more complicated than headlines suggest and why the industry needs real mechanisms, not just viral outrage.

    🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode:

    🍽️ Noma Allegations — What Happened?

    🗣️ First-Hand Staff Accounts

    👊 Physical Aggression in Kitchens

    ⚖️ Legal Consequences

    🧠 What Counts as Abuse?

    🌱 Sustainability vs. Reality

    🏆 Power & Silence in Fine Dining

    📣 The Whistleblower Dilemma

    🧩 Motives vs. Accountability

    👑 Should Leadership Step Down?

    🧨 Fame, Fear & Reputation

    🛠️ Fixing Kitchen Culture

    📩 Follow & Support Us:

    🍽️ Everything in one place: https://linkin.bio/potluckfoodtalks/

    📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/potluckfoodtalks

    ▶️ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@potluckfoodtalks

    🗞️ Newsletter: https://www.potluckfoodtalks.com/start/

    📢 Want to advertise with us? http://potluckfoodtalks.com/advertise-on-the-podcast

    🔥 Enjoy!
    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
  • Impostor Syndrome in the Kitchen: Feeling Like a Fraud Behind the Pass

    Impostor Syndrome in the Kitchen: Feeling Like a Fraud Behind the Pass
    Feb 15 2026

    📌 Before we start, we address the recent Noma abuse stories surfacing online

    🎙️ EP173 — Impostor syndrome in the kitchen: the quiet fear that you’re one service away from being exposed.

    🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode:

    📌 The Noma Allegations

    ⚖️ Abuse, Power & Social Media

    🧠 Impostor Syndrome: Feeling Like You Don’t Belong

    🍳 Becoming Head Chef Too Early

    📋 Doing the Job Without the Title

    🧑‍🏫 Why Chefs Suck at Managing

    🎯 Overconfidence vs. Real Skill

    🪞 Leaving Your Ego at the Door

    📩 Follow & Support Us:

    🍽️ Everything in one place: https://linkin.bio/potluckfoodtalks/

    📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/potluckfoodtalks

    ▶️ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@potluckfoodtalks

    🗞️ Newsletter: https://www.potluckfoodtalks.com/start/

    📢 Want to advertise with us? http://potluckfoodtalks.com/advertise-on-the-podcast

    🔥 Enjoy!
    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
  • Fusion vs. Confusion: Cooking in a World of Too Much Influence

    Fusion vs. Confusion: Cooking in a World of Too Much Influence
    Feb 8 2026

    🎙️ EP172 — You cook fusion whether you like it or not. With ideas coming from everywhere, coherence is what makes it make sense.

    🍳 Fusion Is Inevitable

    🔥 Cooks hate that F word

    📱 There's Too Much Influence

    🌍 When Fusion Has Roots

    ⚖️ Fusion vs. Confusion

    📖 Storytelling vs. Bullshit

    🍝 No Cuisine Is Pure

    🏷️ The Label Problem

    📋 Menus That Don’t Add Up

    ⭐ When Fusion Actually Works

    🧠 Inspiration vs. Originality

    🏙️ Cities Shape Flavor

    🌮 Borders Move, Food Follows

    📩 Follow & Support Us:

    🍽️ Everything in one place: https://linkin.bio/potluckfoodtalks/

    📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/potluckfoodtalks

    ▶️ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@potluckfoodtalks

    🗞️ Newsletter: https://www.potluckfoodtalks.com/start/

    📢 Want to advertise with us? http://potluckfoodtalks.com/advertise-on-the-podcast

    🔥 Enjoy!
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
No reviews yet