The ADHD Chef: Why Chaos Felt Normal My Entire Life

Chef, content creator and food waste activist Martyn Odell - better known online as Lagom Chef - joins Ben for a chaotic, funny and emotional conversation about ADHD, creativity, food, and finally understanding his brain.

Diagnosed with ADHD midway through writing his first cookbook, Martyn reflects on growing up in kitchens where chaos and intensity were normalised, and why that made it difficult to recognise the difference between personality, coping and neurodivergence. They explore ADHD creativity, burnout, internet culture, the pressure of social media, and what happens when your job relies on constantly turning your brain into content.

Martyn shares why “eat the food you buy” became his philosophy, how cooking can help people reconnect with themselves, and why perfection is ruining the way we think about food.

This is a conversation about ADHD, identity, creativity, and learning to trust your own way of doing things.

Join us at hidden20.org/donate.

Eat The Food You Buy: 15 Everyday Ingredients, Endless Delicious Meals by Martyn Odell is publishing on 16th July 2026 (Penguin Life, £25)

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Host: Ben Branson

Production Manager: Phoebe De Leiburné

Video Editor: James Scriven

Social Media Manager: Charlie Young

Music: Jackson Greenberg

Head of Marketing: Kristen Fuller

00:00 Introduction

01:12 Martyn Odell: ADHD, Cooking & Internet Chaos

03:44 Why Kitchens Made ADHD Feel “Normal”

06:20 The Link Between Creativity, Chaos & Cooking

09:18 Growing Up With Undiagnosed ADHD

12:42 Social Media Pressure & Going Viral Online

16:10 Why Humour Can Become a Mask

19:25 Burnout, Content Creation & Internet Pressure

22:14 Being Diagnosed With ADHD Midway Through Writing a Book

25:39 ADHD, Executive Dysfunction & Writing Struggles

26:43 “Eat The Food You Buy”: Martyn’s Philosophy on Food Waste

28:30 Why Cooking Intuition Matters More Than Recipes

31:11 Social Media Pressure, Trolls & Public Perception

34:02 Why Perfection Is Ruining Cooking

38:16 ADHD Hyperfocus & Creativity in the Kitchen

42:05 The Emotional Connection Between Food & Memory

46:20 Why Simplicity Matters More Than Perfection

50:12 What Cooking Actually Gives Martyn’s Brain

54:40 Martyn’s Green Dot Badge

The Hidden 20% is a charity founded by AuDHD entrepreneur, Ben Branson.

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Ben Branson @seedlip_ben

Martyn Odell @lagomchef

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