Good Food

In his first ever food interview, Queen guitarist Sir Brian May sits down with the Good Food Podcast. He talks about the meals, memories and beliefs that shape how he eats, and about Red Special Gin, the spirit he's just created. The interview takes place around the Ginstitute table in Portobello Road Distillery where Brian created the gin and where you can create your very own Gin. Brian remembers his dad's prized runner beans and seaside prawns on childhood holidays. He talks about building his famous Red Special guitar with his father, why he plays with a sixpence, and how calamansi oranges from his own greenhouse ended up in the gin.

He also shares memories of Freddie Mercury: gold-leaf desserts at a favourite Knightsbridge Indian restaurant, fridges full of Cristal, and private dinners on the lake in Montreux. He's also candid about animal welfare. He explains why he calls himself a "failed vegan," talks about the childhood moment that changed how he sees animals, and describes his work with the Save Me wildlife rescue.

In this episode:

What Brian had for dinner last night, and why it takes him back to his dad's garden

How Red Special Gin was made, from calamansi oranges and sage to its custom

Brian May sixpence How he controlled his drinking on tour (it turns out he was "zebra striping" before it had a name)

Building a guitar from scratch because the family couldn't afford a Fender or Gibson

Queen's food traditions and memories of Freddie

Why "every animal matters," and how that shapes what he eats

His favourite dish (melanzane parmigiana) and the family's love of beans on toast

What good food means to him: "a basic ingredient of a good life"

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No Cheese, Please: Professor Green on Hackney, Community and Finding Out He's Autistic at 41

In this episode of the Good Food podcast, Samuel Goldsmith talks with rapper and restaurateur Professor Green. They get into his strong dislike of cheese, growing up in a crowded flat in Hackney, and how the neighbours who always offered him a plate of food shaped who he is. He also talks openly about being diagnosed as autistic at 41, quitting drinking, and how being so sensitive to sound, smell and texture feeds his love of food. Along the way he covers his new Soho restaurant, Proper Good, how lockdown in Morocco led to Giz and Greens with Gizzi Erskine, his perfect roast dinner, and an ice cream flavour that sums him up.

In this episode:

Why he can't go near cheese, and the pub roast that proved how sensitive he is to smell

Growing up in Upper Clapton, Hackney, and finding new flavours in his neighbours' kitchens

His autism diagnosis at 41, giving up alcohol, and why kids who fidget shouldn't be called "naughty"

Proper Good: affordable, nourishing "food, fast" for under a tenner

How Giz and Greens started as an Instagram Live cookalong

His best dish, his biggest kitchen disaster, and a quick-fire round

Professor Green celebrates 15 years of his second album at Koko, London, on 20 December. Proper Good (PG) is open now. I

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Cook-a-long with Samuel Goldsmith, in this bonus recipe episode
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Si King's dad served on the Arctic convoys, then came home with spices his wife had no idea how to use.

In this episode of The Good Food Podcast, Si tells Sam about the food that shaped him, how it felt to write his first solo cookbook without Dave Myers, and why a Michelin-level chef eats instant noodles with peanut butter and strawberry jam. Si's new book, Proper Home Cooking, was inspired by his son's young family deciding to cut out ultra-processed food. It's built for busy households: short ingredient lists, flexible recipes and 40 years of kitchen hacks. He explains why it isn't a "finger-wagging" book, what food poverty campaigning has taught him, and why pan haggerty (and whether sausage belongs in it) once turned a menu meeting into "a UN meeting." He also tells the story of a disastrous crab soufflé cooked on a yacht in a gale, and answers our quick-fire questions, including the worst thing he's ever eaten. You won't guess it.

Si King is a chef, TV presenter, musician and anti-food poverty campaigner. He's best known as one half of the Hairy Bikers. His restaurant, Propa, is in Sunderland. If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast, leave a review and share it with someone who lives to eat.
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Cook-a-long with Samuel Goldsmith, in this bonus recipe episode.
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