Naz Hassan - Opening Restaurants With Theo James, Surviving Toxic Kitchens & The Problem With Chef Ego

This week we’re joined by Naz Hassan, the chef behind two of London’s most talked-about Italian restaurants, Lupa and Ornella, alongside co-founders Ed Templeton and Theo James. Naz tells us how a drunken conversation at a Christmas party somehow turned into opening restaurants with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, why Lupa being fully booked for its first three months became both a blessing and a curse, and what it really takes to survive the hype surrounding a major London opening. 

Born in Bangladesh and raised in Milan, Naz also opens up about rejecting his Bengali identity as a teenager, experiencing racism in Italy and eventually finding his place in London’s restaurant world. We hear about his years in some of the city’s toughest kitchens, the infamous chef’s kitchen where he considered quitting almost every day, and how working with Chet Sharma helped him reconnect with his South Asian heritage. Plus, we get into chef egos, restaurant culture, the Bengali restaurant he still dreams of opening and the greatest dishes he’s ever eaten.

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