Fugitive Chefs

How a Mechanical Engineer Built a Food Career Without Working the Line | Rich Shih

He never worked a line, but his book sits on chefs' shelves. Rich Shih started as a mechanical engineer at a space telescope company, taught himself to cook by hanging a

From 80,000 Meals a Day to a Kitchen Full of Founders | Samer & Sami Simreen, KiCo

Their family built a catering company that served around 80,000 meals a day. After they sold it, Samer and his brother Sami asked what would happen if they filled a kitch

What Happens When You Stop Waiting Your Turn?

Recorded the week I turned 30, this is a solo check-in — on what's changed since I left consulting work to become a Senior Innovation Chef at Kraft Heinz, and on an idea

Should You Go to Culinary School? Four Honest Answers

Should you go to culinary school? The president of the Culinary Institute of America says it depends. A head of school says you might not need the next degree. And I neve

Food Industry Internships: What R&D Actually Looks Like

Most food industry job requirements don't make sense until someone who's actually applying explains why. In this episode I cook pasta with Vincenzo, a Kraft Heinz intern

De Nieuwe Winkel: What a Restaurant Can Sell Besides Dinner | Jan Majoor & George Erotokritou

De Nieuwe Winkel has two Michelin stars, a green star, and a dining room it wants to depend on less. About a year ago, the restaurant started DNW Lab: an R&D arm set up

What Is Restaurant R&D? Inside a Test Kitchen

🎙️ Most people think a restaurant R&D kitchen is where new dishes get invented. What I saw looked closer to a library than a laboratory. In this solo episode I break dow

From Kitchen to Corporate Innovation, Coaching, and AI | Tiffany Poe

Most chefs measure a career in kitchens. Tiffany Poe has measured hers in classrooms, boardrooms, and now, AI chats at 2am. In this episode of Fugitive Chefs, Furqan sit

How Missing Culinary School Actually Put Me Ahead

I had an admission letter to culinary school in my hand. I never used it. Some of you told me this podcast is starting to feel like an advertisement for culinary school.

The Forager Chef: Alan Bergo on Restaurant Burnout, Reinvention & the Power of Following Curiosity

Every restaurant Alan Bergo ever worked at closed. In this episode of Fugitive Chefs, Alan — known online as the Forager Chef — shares how walking away from restaurant k

Why the CIA President Says "It Depends" on Culinary School | Michiel Bakker

Should you go to culinary school? The most honest answer we got all year: "It depends." In this episode of Fugitive Chefs, I sit down with Michiel Bakker, the sixth pres

Are We Training Chefs for the Wrong Careers? | Adrian Woodhouse

Culinary school taught you bechamel. It didn't teach you how to prove you're capable of anything else. In this episode of Fugitive Chefs, I sit down with Adrian Woodhouse

Why the Fugitive Chefs Podcast Is Changing

Fugitive Chefs started with a simple question: what can chefs become beyond restaurants? A year later, that question feels too small. In this solo episode, Furqan share

The Future of Kitchens Isn’t AI. It’s Better Systems | Yago Ferretti Gonzalez

Restaurants don’t have a chef problem. They have a systems problem. In this episode of Fugitive Chefs, I sit down with entrepreneur and former chef Yago Ferretti Gonzale

The Chef Who Reinvented Himself Again and Again | Stephen Losee

Most chefs spend years trying to leave the kitchen. Stefan Loose did. After building a career that took him from a dishwasher in a small Greek restaurant to leadership

The Chef Who Turned Food Tours Into a Global Business | Karl Wilder

Most chefs spend years trying to move up. A better restaurant. A bigger title. A more prestigious kitchen. But what if the biggest opportunities aren’t above you? What

From Michelin Kitchens to Billionaires: The World of Private Chefs | Chris Demaillet

What if one of the most attractive chef careers isn’t in restaurants at all? In this episode of Fugitive Chefs, I speak with Chris Demaillet, founder of Montclair Chef A

Why So Many Chefs Start Doubting Themselves After Leaving Restaurants

Many chefs think the hardest part of leaving restaurants is getting into the food industry. I increasingly think the harder challenge begins after they arrive. In this

The Startup Turning Bread Waste Into Pasta | Eat Wasted

Most chefs are trained to think in dishes. But what happens when culinary thinking becomes a product, a company, and eventually an entire system? In this episode of Fug

From Fine Dining to Food Systems — How Chefs Can Influence the World | Matthew Beaudin

Most chefs think their impact stops at the plate. But what happens when a chef starts influencing systems, supply chains, and how thousands of people are fed every day?