I’m Furqan Meerza, a chef who worked in some of the world’s top kitchens, including Mugaritz and Noma.
Like a lot of chefs, I hit burnout. And I realized I needed a different way to stay connected to food; one that didn’t cost me my health or identity.
Fugitive Chefs is a podcast for chefs and food creatives who still love this craft, but need change.
Each episode features honest conversations with those who’ve stepped away from the traditional kitchen and into something new, from fermentation and R&D to storytelling, drinks, food culture, and more.
How a Mechanical Engineer Built a Food Career Without Working the Line | Rich Shih
He never worked a line, but his book sits on chefs' shelves.
Rich Shih started as a mechanical engineer at a space telescope company, taught himself to cook by hanging around chefs' kitchens, and went on to co-write Koji Alchemy and start KojiCon. Today he works in R&D for a brewery and food group in Aichi, Japan. This conversation is about how he built real authority in food without ever standing on the line.
In this conversation we discuss:
- How he taught himself to cook by showing up in professional kitchens
- The moment koji clicked, and why he calls it "a really hopped up seasoning"
- Why he says he's "just an adventurous cook" and not a chef
- Why he wrote a book and built a conference instead of opening a restaurant
- The line between respecting koji and using it as a trend
- Meeting Sandor Katz at a brunch where he didn't know who was hosting
- Helping traditional Japanese fermentation artisans keep their craft alive
- Using local ingredients with koji, like an Italian miso with cannellini beans
- Why the "safe" career path isn't as real as it looks, and how to start asking experts
🎧 Fugitive Chefs explores how culinary expertise creates value across the modern food system.
🌐 Website: https://www.fugitivechefs.com
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/57kmFAUgp6DhgnguexFuDs
🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fugitivechefs
🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fugitive-chefs/id1676930088
📩 Beyond the Pass: https://beyondthepass.substack.com
📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/fugitivechefspodcast
13 Oct 2026
From 80,000 Meals a Day to a Kitchen Full of Founders | Samer & Sami Simreen, KiCo
Their family built a catering company that served around 80,000 meals a day. After they sold it, Samer and his brother Sami asked what would happen if they filled a kitchen with food founders instead.
KiCo is a co-working kitchen and food founder community in The Hague. This conversation is about the gap between a home kitchen and a co-manufacturer, why chefs are often the missing perspective in food startups, and why big food keeps getting surprised by its own trend reports.
In this conversation we discuss:
🍽️ How Samer's family grew a catering company in the UAE to around 80,000 meals a day, and the question they asked after selling it
🏠 The gap between a home kitchen and a co-manufacturer, and why founders get stuck on the "hamster wheel"
🏗️ Why they chose infrastructure and knowledge, and how a dark kitchen built on virtual concepts pushed them toward founders
🧑🍳 How common a chef background is among KiCo founders, and what a chef brings to a food brand
🧪 Sami's pilot event: chefs cooking with ingredient startups' products for retailers, manufacturers and policymakers, and why "Will people eat this?" is the question that matters
💡 Why you never hear of hackathons in food, and the case for bringing in junior chefs
📉 Why big food keeps getting surprised by its own trend reports, and why Sami says focus groups don't work
🛒 Why a startup's power is in building its own following
🔮 What comes next for KiCo, including a surprise planned for early 2027
🌐 KiCo: https://www.kico.kitchen/
🎧 Fugitive Chefs explores how culinary expertise creates value across the modern food system.
🌐 Website: https://www.fugitivechefs.com
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/57kmFAUgp6DhgnguexFuDs
🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fugitivechefs
🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fugitive-chefs/id1676930088
📩 Beyond the Pass: https://beyondthepass.substack.com
📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/fugitivechefspodcast
6 Oct 2026
What Happens When You Stop Waiting Your Turn?
Recorded the week I turned 30, this is a solo check-in — on what's changed since I left consulting work to become a Senior Innovation Chef at Kraft Heinz, and on an idea I keep coming back to: that "paying your dues" might be the most outdated piece of career advice still floating around food.
In this episode, we discuss:
Why working inside a major food company surprised me more than I expected it to
The real cost of skipping steps — and why I don't think waiting your turn means what we're told it means
What changed at Fugitive Chefs this year: the guests, the community turning one, and a line I finally stopped debating with myself
A few names and conversations shaping where the show goes next
🎧 Fugitive Chefs explores how culinary expertise creates value across the modern food system.
🌐 Website: https://www.fugitivechefs.com (https://www.fugitivechefs.com)
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/57kmFAUgp6DhgnguexFuDs (https://open.spotify.com/show/57kmFAUgp6DhgnguexFuDs)
🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fugitivechefs (https://www.youtube.com/@fugitivechefs)
🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fugitive-chefs/id1676930088 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fugitive-chefs/id1676930088)
📩 Beyond the Pass: https://beyondthepass.substack.com (https://beyondthepass.substack.com)
📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/fugitivechefspodcast (https://instagram.com/fugitivechefspodcast)
Who has been a guest on Fugitive Chefs
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Jack Muirhead
Christian Weij
Ioakeim Goulidis
Jozef Youssef
Josh Whitehead
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
21,015
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
44 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 39 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
49
Social presence
0
YouTube
72
Engagement
0
Contact Fugitive Chefs
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about Fugitive Chefs
Who hosts Fugitive Chefs?
Furqan host the show. Published by Furqan Meerza.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes weekly, based on its RSS feed.
Does Fugitive Chefs take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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