Ep 66: Work Hard, Cook Hard: Adrian Richardson & Markus Werner on Mentorship, Kitchens, and Friendship

2025-10-22

Download

In this episode of Straight To The Source, we’re joined by two culinary heavyweights: Adrian Richardson, TV chef and restaurateur behind La Luna and Good Chef Bad Chef, and Markus Werner, Culinary Director at Delaware North, overseeing stadiums and resorts across Australia. From humble apprenticeships to leading massive teams and global TV audiences, Adrian and Markus share how they first met (spoiler: it involves a “borrowed” knife), the values forged through old-school culinary training, and what drives them to keep learning after decades in the indus...

From humble apprenticeships to leading massive teams and global TV audiences, Adrian and Markus share how they first met (spoiler: it involves a “borrowed” knife), the values forged through old-school culinary training, and what drives them to keep learning after decades in the industry.

They talk about:

The realities of kitchen culture then and now. What has changed and what hasn’t
How to spot and nurture the next generation of great chefs
The balance between fine dining precision and stadium-scale catering
What keeps these bigger-than-life chefs inspired outside the kitchen, from hunting to motorbikes to salami-making
Their most memorable food moments (including Adrian’s unforgettable nonna’s ravioli)

A lively, heartfelt, and often hilarious conversation about passion, friendship, and what it truly means to dedicate your life to food.

This episode is proudly brought to you by Squizify, a digital platform that removes the old paper-based processes and replaces it with a modern digital solution to help operators improve their efficiencies. To learn more, take a squiz at https://squizify.com/

Follow our guests: