World of Mouth podcast

Albert Franch Sunyer is the chef and co-owner of Restaurant Nolla in Helsinki, Finland. Born in a small mining town in Catalonia in Spain, as a young student he left his biology studies behind, to explore his passion for cooking at Michelin-starred restaurants in Barcelona. As a pastry and dessert chef, he worked in Thailand and then moved to work at Helsinki’s top restaurants. He and his two colleagues then opened Nolla, a pioneering restaurant in sustainable gastronomy, and the first zero-waste restaurant in the Nordics. In the podcast, we will hear about Albert Franch Sunyer’s desire to serve great food without compromising zero-waste values and about his vision of the progressive changes that are needed in the restaurant industry. At the end of the podcast he will reveal his favourite restaurants in Helsinki, Barcelona and the rest of the world. The recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands more are available in the World of Mouth app: https://www.worldofmouth.app/  

Lynn Hazim is the owner and restaurateur of Middle Child in Dubai. She grew up in Beirut in Lebanon as the middle child of her food-obsessed family. Hazim made a career in the corporate world and moved to Dubai ten years ago working as a Google executive with a food blog. During covid, she gradually made the shift to becoming a cook, host and just some months ago, a restaurateur. This year, she was awarded the One To Watch Award by the 50 Best Restaurants. Her restaurant, Middle Child, is part restaurant serving an all-day menu with Hazim’s favourite dishes, part cookbook shop and pantry. In this podcast Lynn Hazim will tell how she made the switch to restaurateur and also how she operates in a country at war. At the end of the podcast she will reveal her favourite restaurants in Dubai and the rest of the world. The recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands more are available in the World of Mouth app: https://www.worldofmouth.app/  

Luke Selby is the chef at Palé Hall Hotel in North Wales. Selby started cooking when he was 14, and he began his career at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, where he progressed from commis chef to sous chef under Raymond Blanc, before moving on to Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Hide. He then ran the kitchen at Soho restaurant Evelyn’s Table with his brothers, where they received a Michelin star. A Roux Scholar and National Chef of the Year winner, Selby is recognised for his progressive cooking shaped by international experience, strong seasonal sourcing and clarity of flavour. After returning to Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in 2025, in 2026 he moved to Snowdonia, as Chef Partner at Palé Hall Hotel. At the end of the podcast Luke Selby will reveal his favourite restaurants in the UK and the rest of the world. The recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands more are available in the World of Mouth app: https://www.worldofmouth.app/  

Ivan Ralston Bielawski is the chef and owner of Tuju in São Paulo. He was born in São Paulo in 1985, and comes from a family with strong ties to gastronomy; his parents are the founders of the Brasilian Ráscal restaurant chain. He initially studied music at the Berklee College of Music in the United States, but in his twenties decided to follow his true passion: cooking. He then trained abroad and worked at some of the world’s most famous restaurants, including El Celler de Can Roca and Mugaritz in Spain, and RyuGin in Japan. In 2014, Ivan Ralston opened Tuju in São Paulo. Just one year later, the restaurant earned its first Michelin star, and in 2016, it joined the list of the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants. In this podcast, we will hear about Ivan Ralston’s Brazilian identity with multiple ethnic backgrounds. At the end of the podcast he will reveal his favourite restaurants in Brazil and the rest of the world. The recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands more are available in the World of Mouth app: https://www.worldofmouth.app/  

Jacob Kear is the chef and owner of Lurra in Kyoto, Japan. Born to a Japanese mother in California, he grew up both in Japan and the US. After completing culinary school in Pasadena, and working in hotel kitchens, he won a national competition on the Food Network that caught the attention of a restaurant in Korea where he became the executive chef at the age of twenty-four. He then trained in kitchens across Europe, Asia, and North America, among them Noma in Copenhagen. In 2019 he returned to Japan and founded Lurra in an old townhouse in Kyoto, where he blends technical precision with strict seasonality and craft. In this podcast, we will hear about Jacob Kear’s search of his place in the culinary world, and his deep respect of the Japanese culinary tradition. At the end of the podcast he will reveal his favourite restaurants in Kyoto and the rest of the world. The recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands more are available in the World of Mouth app: https://www.worldofmouth.app/  

Yasmina Hayek is the Executive Head Chef at Em Sherif restaurants and cafés, and she is based in Beirut, Lebanon. She grew up in a family where food brought people together, told stories and upheld traditions. As a child, she loved visiting her mother Mireille’s restaurants and that led her to studies at the Institut Paul Bocuse in France, before working in Michelin-starred kitchens, from Paris to Copenhagen. She later returned to Beirut to work at Em Sherif, which has grown from the original restaurant in Beirut to branches in Harrods London, Monaco, in Abu Dhabi and many other locations. In this podcast we will hear about the legacy of Lebanese dining Yasmina Hayek is spreading around the world. At the end of the podcast she will reveal his favourite restaurants in Beirut, Copenhagen and the rest of the world. The recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands more are available in the World of Mouth app: https://www.worldofmouth.app/  

Ryan Cole is the chef and co-owner of Salsify at the Roundhouse in Cape Town. Cole was born in 1989 into a Cape Town fishing family. In high school, he worked for three days in a hotel kitchen and decided to attend the South African Chefs Academy to become a chef. He moved to London in 2010 and worked at The Square and La Trompette. Three years later, he returned to Cape Town and worked his way to the award-winning The Test Kitchen with chef Luke Dale-Roberts and later became its head chef. In 2018, Dale-Roberts and Cole opened Salsify at the historic Cape Town Roundhouse in Camps Bay. In this podcast we will hear about Ryan Cole’s love for South Africa’s nature and the farmed produce, and at the end of the podcast he will reveal his favourite restaurants in Cape Town and the rest of the world. The recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands more are available in the World of Mouth app: https://www.worldofmouth.app/  

Tim Raue is the chef and owner of restaurant Tim Raue in Berlin and many other restaurants in Germany. He’s one of Germany’s best-known chefs and has redefined German top gastronomy. He was born in Berlin in 1974, and had a rough youth as a member of a street gang in the Kreuzberg district. He saw the kitchen as a way into the working life, and began his culinary training at the age of 17. After a 30 year long career in various restaurants, Tim Raue has been awarded two Michelin stars and was ranked No. 26 by the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2022 and he was also featured in a episode of the Netflix series "Chef's Table". In this podcast we will hear about Tim Raue’s troubled youth, about not giving up and about his love for his hometown Berlin. At the end of the podcast he will reveal his favourite restaurants in Berlin and the rest of the world. The recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands more are available in the World of Mouth app: https://www.worldofmouth.app/ 

Torsten Vildgaard is the executive chef at FZN by Björn Frantzén in Dubai. He grew up in Copenhagen, and as a young chef had a dream of joining the small team at newly founded Noma. Finally, after winning the Chef of the Year competition in Denmark, he got the job. At Noma he spent many years as sous chef and head of R&D. After Noma he opened his own fine-dining restaurant, Studio in Copenhagen. In 2023 he joined the Frantzén Group to lead the kitchen at FZN in Dubai, and under his leadership the restaurant earned three Michelin stars in the 2025 Dubai Michelin Guide, a first for the UAE. In this podcast we will hear about Torsten Vildgaard’s passion for reaching the heights in fine dining and his lifelong pursuit of Michelin stars. At the end of the podcast he will reveal his favourite restaurants in Dubai and Copenhagen. The recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands more are available in the World of Mouth app: https://www.worldofmouth.app/