HUNGRY.

Ivan Orkin is one of the most unlikely success stories in the world of food.
A Jewish kid from New York moves to Tokyo, opens a tiny ramen shop in the suburbs, and somehow ends up becoming one of the most respected ramen chefs in Japan — a country famously protective of its culinary traditions.
In this conversation, Dan sits down with the founder of Ivan Ramen to unpack how that happened.
Ivan talks about teaching himself ramen, opening his first shop in Japan with barely any money, and the moment a single influential ramen critic changed the trajectory of his business overnight. He explains why ramen is one of the most creative foods in Japanese cuisine, why “authentic” is often the wrong word to use, and how breaking rules is sometimes the only way to find your voice.
Along the way they dive into the realities of running restaurants across different cities — from Tokyo to New York to Las Vegas — the difference between destination dining and foot-traffic restaurants, and the constant tension between creativity and the brutal economics of hospitality.
It’s a conversation about stubbornness, identity, and what it really takes to build something original in a culture that isn’t your own.
ON THE MENU:
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:08 Japanese Literature and Murakami
00:04:23 Why Ivan Studied Japanese at University
00:11:05 The Genesis of Ivan Ramen - $60k to get started
00:12:26 Foreigner in Japan’s Ramen Scene
00:14:02 Fixing the Hospitality Problem in Ramen Shops (Lessons form Lutece)
00:25:33 What makes a good Ramen?
00:36:12 Taking Advantage of the Gaijin Card
00:40:05 How Tokyo Became an International Food City
00:40:12 Pizza & Wine - Tokyo Rivals the Best of the World
00:41:11 Ivan’s Favorite NYC Pizza Spots
00:44:06 Why the Pizza Scene Exploded in New York
00:47:50 Why Ivan Doesn’t Fear Recipe Copying
00:51:02 Ray Kroc and No-Nonsense Business Advice
01:01:52 How the USA is Killing its Small Businesses
01:06:08 What Most Restaurant Business Plans Miss
01:07:08 Why "Authentic" is a Terrible Word
01:07:52 The Moment Ivan Decided He Could Go For It
01:12:21 The Best Sandwiches in NYC
01:15:47 Ivan on London’s Food Scene
01:17:16 Ivan on British Tea (PG Tips vs Fancy Tea)
 
============================================== 
♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here - https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/🍲 
============================================== 
🌟 HUNGRY's Absolutely Bloody Marvellous Sponsors🌟 ============================================== 
A massive shoutout to our incredible sponsors who make HUNGRY possible: ​ 
►North Star: (www.northstarbc.co.uk) 
🤝 Let's Connect! 
►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/) 
►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/) 
This episode was edited by: G.Thomas Craig (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gthomascraig/)

A masterclass in the nuts and bolts of running a world-class restaurant.
In this episode, Dan sits down with one of Britain’s most uncompromising chefs to talk about building a two-Michelin-star restaurant in the least glamorous location imaginable — a strange little oasis tucked under a Nottingham flyover, surrounded by graffiti, traffic, and the occasional burning car.
But that’s exactly the point.
Sat explains why great restaurants aren’t just about food — they’re about theatre, emotion, risk, and creating something so memorable that people will travel across the world to experience it. From the philosophy behind Restaurant Sat Bains to the psychology of hospitality, the conversation dives into why authenticity beats polish, why imperfection can be powerful, and why chasing Michelin stars is often the least interesting part of running a restaurant.
Along the way they explore Sat’s unconventional ideas — like the now-famous “Sat’s Gamble” wine lottery — the realities of attracting true traveling food lovers, and what it actually takes to build a restaurant that people obsess over.
This is a conversation about vision, stubbornness, and why sometimes the best restaurants in the world are built in the most unlikely places.
*If you noticed any issues with ads playing under the audio of this episode, please refresh the feed and re-download the episode to fix.  Thank you for listening!

00:00 Gastronomic Narnia
00:03:30 Your Restaurant is a Breathing Organism
00:05:50 The Secret Behind the Perfect Dish
00:9:26 Secret Scallop Techniques and What 30yrs in Kitchens Teaches You
00:14:30 The REAL difference w/ Sat Bains and Other Michelin Restaurants
00:17:45 How to Mix Complacency, Naivety, and Relentless Drive
00:19:35 More on Sat Bains' Scallop Technique 
00:21:30 How Sat Bains Treats His Staff
00:22:42 Acidity Explored
00:24:45 Why Makes Sat Different? (Mentoring New Chefs)
00:31:50 Cooking vs Actually Running a Restaurant
00:33:45 You've Got to Allow Your Guests to Spend Money
00:35:30 The Marketing Genius Behind Sat Bains' Menu Structure
00:47:00 Why Freedom Beats Mentors in Creativity
00:57:00 Your Restaurant is NOT a Dentist Office
01:00:00 Lessons From Growing Up in a Shop
01:04:00 Creativity Means Nothing Without Business
01:14:00 The £50 Two-Michelin-Star Breakfast Idea
01:26:00 The Little Things Matter (How to Match Customer Expectations)
01:35:30 Staring Death in the Eye (Sat's Heart Attack) 
01:39:00 Why Honesty Beats Perfect Social Media
01:40:00 Sat’s Gamble Wine Lottery Explained
01:58:05 Sat Gets Kicked Out of the House at 18yrs old 
02:02:00 Turning Art Into Michelin-Star Dishes
02:17:00 How Creative Ideas Become Real Plates
02:25:31 The Biggest Mistake Chefs Make
  ============================================== 
♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here - https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/🍲 
============================================== 
🌟 HUNGRY's Absolutely Bloody Marvellous Sponsors🌟 ============================================== 
A massive shoutout to our incredible sponsors who make HUNGRY possible: ​ 
►North Star: (www.northstarbc.co.uk) 
🤝 Let's Connect! 
►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/) 
►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

From bricks through the window in 1960s Skelmersdale to queues around the block in Liverpool, this is a story of immigrant hunger, insecurity, obsession with standards — and building something that blesses a city. Dan sits down with Nisha Katona — founder of Mowgli Street Food — the woman who turned authentic Indian home cooking into the first national Indian street food chain in Britain. 
Nisha breaks down why Mowgli was never meant to be a “curry house,” why Hindu home cooking avoids garlic and onion at lunch, and how sitting outside Greggs watching men in high-vis jackets shaped her pricing strategy.
We talk about scale, magic, heart, delivery, Empire, authenticity, Nando’s, Greggs, and why growth should never be something you’re ashamed of.
This is a masterclass in building a restaurant brand with soul — and keeping that soul intact across 27 sites.
If you care about food, cities, entrepreneurship, culture — or how to turn anxiety into momentum — this one’s special.

ON THE MENU:
00:00 Intro
00:54 Is Nisha a Workaholic?
02:54 Does Scale Kill Magic in Restaurants?
03:13 Treating Every Restaurant Like Your Child
04:26 Why She Decorated Mowgli to Fail
07:29 The First National Indian Street Food Chain
08:44 Curry House vs Authentic Indian Home Cooking
11:54 The Four Pillars of Building a Restaurant Brand
25:47 Researching Demand Before Opening a Restaurant
26:33 Pricing for Men in High-Vis Jackets
27:14 Chicken Tikka Masala & Britain’s National Dish
32:27 Why Mowgli Finally Launched Delivery
35:28 Temple Daal: Authentic Indian Home Food
41:40 Why Scale Doesn’t Kill Magic
43:18 Why She Backed Uber Eats in the North
44:46 Why Restaurant & Delivery Can Coexist
45:51 Restaurants Are Like Cinema for Your Tastebuds
59:45 Immigrant Parents, £2 in Their Pocket
01:00:50 Growing Up With Racism in 1960s Britain
01:27:00 Why She Refuses to Overbuild
01:30:48 The £35k vs £285k London Rent Decision