Few journeys in British food are as dramatic as that of Nathaniel Mortley, better known as Natty Can Cook. In this episode Natty takes us from being a naughty kid in Peckham to becoming one of the most exciting young chefs in the country. He opens up about the night he was stabbed at just sixteen, the trauma and anger that followed, and how those years pushed him toward the streets, knives and choices that spiralled far from the kitchen he once loved.

Natty speaks candidly about losing his passion for cooking, getting arrested outside a rave in Vauxhall and receiving a five year prison sentence that could easily have ended his story. Instead, it became the turning point. He takes us inside Belmarsh and Brixton for a brutally honest look at prison life: the violence, the bullying, the humiliating controlled feeds, the strange economy of mackerel currency and the wild creativity of microwave cheffing and the legendary jail cake. His memories of the wing are gripping, raw and impossible to forget.

But this episode is also about redemption through food. Inside Brixton’s Clink restaurant, Natty rebuilt his confidence, his discipline and his love of cooking while teaching men who had never set foot in a kitchen. He describes the emotional shock of returning to the same prison years later to cook a four course tasting menu for 80 diners and a team of inmates who had no idea he once slept in those cells. It is a full circle moment that hits with incredible force.

Today Natty is on the Michelin radar, self funded, uncompromising and creating some of the most exciting Caribbean food in the country. From the chaos of his 200 cover soft launch to the rise of his viral Luxe Roast Challenge, from his pimento duck to his strict dress code and the unbelievable customer stories, this episode is a front row seat to a chef who fought his way back from the edge and is now aiming for history. It is powerful, emotional and completely unmissable.

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