Andrew Clarke - A Rock 'N' Roll Story - Overcoming Addiction To Create One Of London's Most Iconic Restaurants In Acme Fire Cult!

This week, we’re joined by Andrew Clarke of Acme Fire Cult for an episode that goes everywhere — from fire cooking and restaurant building to addiction, recovery, music, and the moments that change a life. This is a conversation with a true original: chef, restaurateur, former Maverick of the Year, co-founder of Pilot Light, plant medicine facilitator, and owner of what may well be the best facial hair in London.

We recorded this one at Acme Fire Cult in Hackney, and Andrew paints the full picture of how the restaurant grew from a scrappy lockdown car park operation into one of London’s most unique dining experiences. He talks about starting with barely any money, serving on palm leaf plates because proper crockery was out of reach, and slowly reinvesting every pound back into the space. There are brilliant details throughout — the dark walk down Abbott Street before you reach the yard, the old wine bar they inherited, the butternut squash cooking overnight in residual heat, the signature leeks with pistachio romesco, Marmite bread made from brewery yeast, and the way Acme turns into a “curry house” each winter inspired by his travels through Mumbai, Goa and Kerala.

But what makes this episode really special is just how much Andrew gives us. He shares stories from his childhood eating pie, mash and liquor, his early years wanting to be a professional musician, playing in metal and hardcore bands, DJing to fund his record habit, and drifting into kitchens almost by accident. He takes us through working at places like The Square, St. John, Anchor & Hope, Rita’s, Brunswick House and St Leonards, with all the chaos that came with it — tattooed chef prejudice in old-school kitchens, sleeping on banquettes, wild post-service nights, and the intensity of trying to create great food while his life was unravelling behind the scenes.

This episode also gets incredibly raw. Andrew speaks movingly about depression, cocaine addiction, telling his dad he didn’t want to live anymore, and the long road back through honesty, friendship, therapy, men’s circles and plant medicine. He tells unforgettable stories — a terrifying first ayahuasca ceremony in a blacked-out room in Essex, reviving a collapsing croquembouche at a wedding, a non-paying table turned into tequila-shot regulars, and the mad reality of building restaurants with brilliance and dysfunction happening at the same time. It’s hilarious, heavy, generous and packed with hard-won wisdom — and by the end, you’ll understand why Andrew Clarke is one of the most compelling figures in hospitality today.

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