Good Food

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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What happens when a sheep farmer goes on Love Island? Farmer Will joins Samuel Goldsmith to talk about life on the farm, finding love on TV, and why he once made his mum cook him a roast dinner every single night.

In this episode:

Farm to fame: how lockdown TikToks about sheep went viral, and the hard conversation with his dad before he went on Love Island

Finding love: why dating as a full-time farmer was so hard, and how he met his girlfriend Jessie

Mushrooms for the 3pm slump: better snacks, his air-fryer mushroom hack and how to stop mushrooms going slimy

The perfect roast: his tip for extra-crispy roast potatoes, and why Club Sunday wants families eating whole foods around the table again

Life on the farm: pet emus, donkeys and geese, lambing through the night, and the war Australia lost to emus

Culinary confessions: cooking disasters, his chocolate-and-cheese guilty pleasure and a quick-fire round where "roast dinner" comes up four times

Marathon Training: Will is training for the London Marathon to beat his dad's 2:30 time, and plans to open the family farm to the public.

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🍽️ For recipes and inspiration, visit goodfood.com or download the Good Food app.

Episode photo credit: Antony Jones / Stringer / Getty

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