Retigo UK is kicking off 2026 with the launch of a new chef-led podcast.

The Mad Chef is by chefs, for chefs. Led by Retigo UK Culinary Consultant, Samuel Ashton, the monthly episodes provide raw chef chat, discussing the realities of working in a commercial kitchen – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Alongside Sam are fellow chefs Chris Beavis and Jordan Quantrell. Each with their own background, experiences and stories to tell about the real life of a chef, the trio have a no-filter approach to the podcast.

As well as the kitchen chat, the team are aiming to hit the road for site visits and to meet guest chefs across the UK, with the aim of showcasing the full capabilities of the Retigo combi oven range.

Explaining the concept of The Mad Chef podcast, Retigo UK Managing Director, Aneta Juroskova said, “We’ve been supporting service engineers across the industry via our WOW Training for some time now. About 12 months ago we started discussing how we could develop something similar for chefs, whilst also raising brand awareness amongst the chef community.

“We wanted to understand more about how chefs operate and so we visited several customers and Retigo users and spoke to them about the challenges they face in the kitchen. We then employed Sam, our Culinary Consultant, who has taught us a lot about chefs, their behaviours and how they work. The next step was deciding what to do with all the information we had gathered and how to present it. We knew, if executed correctly, we could have something unique to offer chefs, and so The Mad Chef was born.”

“It’s about graft, laughs and good taste”, says Sam. “Chefs don’t want a sleek, shiny marketing brochure or fancy sales pitches; they want no-nonsense talk, hands-on experience and the word of other chefs. The Mad Chef is about giving chefs just that; an honest chat, a chance to use the Retigo ovens and see what the Retigo brand is all about for themselves. It’s about collaboration, sharing ideas, trends and innovation. It’s about chef recognition.”

Aneta concludes, “We started working on this project last February and it’s been non-stop since! I must say that Sam and the boys have done a great job so far. We can’t wait to release the first episode this week and start engaging with the chef community. Follow TMC and stay tuned!”

The first episode goes out on Sunday 18^th January 2026.

Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1FLdd9GKaQe0VvJYLhprEJ

This is a visualised podcast and can be watched on YouTube: @themadchefuk

The Mad Chef has its own profile on multiple platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify. You can find out more about the podcast and the three chef presenters on the website: themadchef.co.uk