This week on Ruthie's Table 4, we're delving into the archives to revisit one of our favourite guests, David Beckham. David featured in two episodes all the way back in season one. We could listen to him speak of his love for food and family forever, so now we've compiled them both into a special extended episode. Stories of Madrid, Milan, memories from his childhood. We invite you to share some more time in his company. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 26, 2024•37 min
In our second ‘Best Of,’ and final episode for this season, we’re revisiting some memorable conversations with Linda Evangelista, Eric Ripert, Stephen Fry, Gary Lineker, and Laura Dern—it’s been a great series. Please remember to keep sending your suggestions for Season 4. ruthiestable4@gmail.com Back in October. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 19, 2024•50 min•Season 3Ep. 45
Forty-three episodes later, Ruthie’s Table 4 is taking a break before starting Season 4 in October. Well, not really a break, as over the next two weeks you will have ‘Best Of’ compilations from Season 3, followed by some of our favourite episodes from all the series. Today we feature excerpts from Sarah Jessica Parker, Guy Ritchie, Wyclef Jean, Carey Mulligan and Tom Hollander. An immeasurable thank you to you ALL for being the greatest listeners ever. And should you have thoughts or suggestion...
Aug 12, 2024•48 min•Season 3Ep. 44
A few months ago in The River Cafe, after talking about raising children in a tumultuous world, the movies we've been watching, and above all, where and what we've been eating, Keira Knightley, James Righton and I vowed to do an episode of Ruthie’s Table 4 together. Schedules, families, work and travel got in the way until finally we reunited to talk about their many worlds—connected by their love of people, their love of food, and their love for each other. Ruthie’s Table 4 is made in partnersh...
Aug 05, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 43
In the past weeks I have been listening to Griffin Dunne’s interviews, watching his films, and most of all, reading his beautiful new memoir, ‘The Friday Afternoon Club,’ with stories about growing up in a family full of storytellers. Cooking is telling a story, eating together is telling a story, going to a food market in Naples, is telling a story. When Griffin told his brother Alex he was going to write a book about their family, he responded, ‘You can say anything you want, but say it from a...
Jul 29, 2024•43 min•Season 3Ep. 42
Have you ever heard a recipe rapped by one of the world’s greatest musicians? You will on this week’s episode of Ruthie’s Table 4 with her guest Wyclef Jean. Wyclef emigrated age nine from Haiti to the Brooklyn projects, played fourteen instruments by the time he was thirteen, won three Grammys, speaks seven languages, and was asked to run for President at least two times. After the recipe rap, Wyclef tells the stories of his life in food, music and memories. Ruthie’s Table 4 is made in partners...
Jul 22, 2024•53 min•Season 3Ep. 41
When I’m asked why I love Mexico, the answer is the culture, cities, food, the seas, the mountains, and the history. But what I really love most are the people, and Frida Escobedo is one of those people. A prominent architect in today’s world, Frida is reimagining the contemporary and modern galleries at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first woman architect ever to be appointed to do so. From reinventing the world-renowned Centre Pompidou in Paris to designing the Serpentine Gallery’s...
Jul 15, 2024•32 min•Season 3Ep. 40
Every year must be an anniversary for someone like Maria Sharapova, who hit her first tennis ball at the age of four, was spotted by Martina Navratilova age six, and became one of only ten women in history to win a career Grand Slam when she was 25. But this year is especially special. Maria is celebrating 20 years since winning against Serena Williams on Centre Court, becoming, at just 17, Wimbledon Champion. Today we are here at The River Cafe to celebrate - two women talking about food and me...
Jul 08, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 39
It was in our private dining room three years ago when I wrote to Ridley Scott asking if he’d be the first guest for a podcast idea I’d had about food and memories. Ridley wrote back saying, ‘Yes Ruthie but I’m directing Gucci. ’ A year later, ‘Yes Ruthie but I’m directing Napoleon. ’ A year later, ‘Yes Ruthie but I’m directing The Bee Gees. ’ Then a few days ago, whilst sitting in the River Cafe garden with his family, he drew a beautiful drawing on the wine list with the words: ‘Ruthie, how ab...
Jul 01, 2024•33 min•Season 3Ep. 38
Quite often, people say to me, ‘I couldn’t possibly have you to dinner, you’re the chef of the river café, cooking for you would be overwhelming.’ That’s how I feel about introducing Sir David Hare. How do you write for one of the greatest writers of our generation? Whether he's scripting acclaimed plays like Skylight, Plenty, Stuff Happens, or movies like The White Crow, Denial, or The Reader, David is nothing short of a master of the written word. But I do think David and I have much in common...
Jun 24, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 37
Tina Fey has been on Ruthie's Table 4 before and she is, in fact, our first returning guest. When we first met, she spoke about food being a major part of her life, but she only brought one half of her team. The other half, Jeff Richmond, is here with us now. A composer, producer, director, Jeff is Tina's creative partner, and he's her husband. He says he does all the cooking. Tina and Jeff have collaborated on almost everything, and now they're here in London to open the Mean Girls Musical at t...
Jun 17, 2024•31 min•Season 3Ep. 36
Jane Hartley was the American ambassador to France and Monaco, and now to the Court of Saint James. In the two years she has spent in the United Kingdom so far, Jane has had two monarchs, three prime ministers, four chancellors, and a late-stage pandemic. She has the qualities necessary for the role in abundance: leadership, resilience, duty. I know her as a close friend, and though I always introduce Jane as Ambassador Hartley, my nickname for her is Miss Sparkle . I don’t think I’ve ever seen ...
Jun 10, 2024•34 min•Season 3Ep. 35
A few weeks ago, I was invited to a gala dinner at the National Theatre. The host of my table, Yana Peel, said she was sitting me next to a young filmmaker who had recently won a BAFTA. Then I met an artist whose work had just been exhibited at Hauser & Wirth Gallery in Los Angeles, and is about to be shown at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Then I met a champion volleyball player who, aged 18, represented Britain in the 2012 London Olympics. Today in The River Cafe, I'm about to tal...
Jun 03, 2024•34 min•Season 3Ep. 34
If you find yourself on a mountain needing a ski jacket, going to a party needing something beautiful to wear, or in Paris or Milan craving perfect fish, the man to meet is Remo Ruffini, CEO and Chairman of Moncler co-owner of Langosteria restaurants in cities all over the world. Remo is dynamic, elegant and a visionary, putting sustainability at the heart of the company. His leadership is a manifestation of Moncler’s ethos, dreaming big and bringing those dreams to life. Today I'm in Milan for ...
May 27, 2024•40 min•Season 3Ep. 33
We've only just met, but I'm confident Claire Saffitz and I will be friends Claire shares the challenges of baking and life in general. She's a star in a new era of food writers who are experts in their knowledge, passionate about their craft, rigorous about their work. Claire majored in history and literature at Harvard, then one day, almost by accident, she became the host of her own cooking show. She has written two cookbooks, Dessert Person and What's For Dessert, both New York Times bestsel...
May 20, 2024•46 min•Season 3Ep. 32
My brother, Michael Elias, a writer and director tells me when visitors come to the set of a film, nothing stops. The only exception is if they are athletes. Maybe it’s because everyone thinks, if pressed, they could act, sing or dance, but never run a race, ski downhill or score a goal. When Gary Lineker, one of the great footballers of our time, walks into The River Cafe everything stops. He is one of the very few footballers never to have received a red or yellow card — consistent with who he...
May 13, 2024•33 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Thinking about Laura Dern coming here today, I scrolled through three years of text messages. It's a story about making plans and choosing restaurants to go to. As usual, most of our ideas were aspirational, adapting around our families, movies, cooking and travel. Laura is fun, curious and smart, hanging with the crew on set. She has memories of her grandmother and describes her parents as heroes. She is a bold spokesperson for women in the film. Renzo Piano, the architect for the Academy Museu...
May 06, 2024•35 min•Season 3Ep. 30
I may not know what makes a good comedian, but I do know what makes a good father. When Judd and I met in London — where his daughter Maude was playing the lead role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret — he told me this was the eighth time he'd seen it in three weeks. While I don’t know what makes a good comedian, Judd certainly does. His advice to kickstart your writing: think of a topic and write down as many jokes and one liners as you can. Don't be scared if your first draft doesn't make you laugh ou...
Apr 29, 2024•39 min•Season 3Ep. 29
Sam Taylor-Johnson is a close friend and director of Back To Black , the story of Amy Winehouse. Checking in with her during filming, she always reassured me it was intense. It was challenging. It was exhilarating. But, the best part was working with Marisa Abela. One night a few months ago, Sam called me at home to tell me Marisa was in The River Cafe and could we send her a glass of champagne? When I told this to Michael, a friend visiting me from New York, he said, ‘Ruthie, we're not sending ...
Apr 22, 2024•31 min•Season 3Ep. 28
Imagine going to a close friend's birthday, months after the death of your son. Imagine realising it was too soon and telling the man you're talking to who you hardly know, why you need to leave. He takes your arm and insists on seeing you to the lift. Then he goes down with you until you get to the street. This becomes a ten minute walk to the car park. A climb up the stairs, him holding your hand tightly until you find your car. Driving off, you see him in the rearview mirror waving goodbye. I...
Apr 15, 2024•36 min•Season 3Ep. 27
“Across a garden from where Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and I are sitting, people are having Sunday lunch in The River Cafe . Walking into the room you hear the rise and fall of conversation and laughter, friends and families connecting over food. At age 37 Vivek was appointed as the youngest Surgeon General of the United States by President Obama and is now serving a second term with President Biden. During Covid in his gap between terms as Surgeon General, he might have researched illnesses –...
Apr 08, 2024•43 min•Season 3Ep. 26
The first time that Sarah Jessica Parker and I spoke, the tables were turned. She was on the phone in The River Cafe kitchen, and I was on a beach in Mexico. It was really hard to hear her with the noise of pots and pans, the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. But her dazzling warmth travelled the 6000 miles. If the phone connection was poor, the friendship connection was instant. Last month, she was in The River Cafe with her family, and I was there with mine. They were sitting on table one, ...
Apr 01, 2024•44 min•Season 3Ep. 25
If you're in politics, being outgoing, engaging and caring is part of the job. And these are the words often used to describe the Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, and first Lady Tammy Murphy. But having been close to Phil and Tammy for as long as I have, I know this is truly who they are. In 2008, Phil was the finance chair for the Democratic National Committee and as Americans abroad, we supported the presidential campaign for Barack Obama. Phil and Tammy worked day and night traveling to L...
Mar 26, 2024•36 min•Season 3Ep. 24
There is a well-known cartoon in The New Yorker magazine depicting President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his pyjamas, on his knees next to his bed, saying a prayer for his wife, the most active first lady in history. ‘Dear Lord, please make Eleanor tired tomorrow’. I can imagine the friends and family of Stephen Fry saying the same prayer, for there's very little Stephen doesn't do. Actor, comedian, television host, director, a prolific writer with four novels, three autobiographies and countle...
Mar 19, 2024•46 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Fisher Stevens and I were recently brought close together by one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Philip Guston, and one of the greatest footballers, David Beckham. Last September he was in The River Cafe with the producers of Beckham, the series he directed for Netflix. We agreed to have breakfast at my house and the next morning he arrived. Walking up the stairs, Fischer stopped at the large pink Guston. It was hard to tear him away as he spoke about the painting and what it meant ...
Mar 12, 2024•38 min•Season 3Ep. 22
In a profession that is ever changing and always challenging, Eric Ripert is an inspiration. He's been the chef, and co-owner, of New York's legendary Le Bernardin for more than 30 years. He is a mentor to many, and someone who so many chefs look up to. Today, I'm here in New York with him at his Michelin three-star temple to fish and seafood, talking about us living in different cities, while cooking the food of different countries. But you know what? We're a lot alike: Two chefs with much to s...
Mar 05, 2024•40 min•Season 3Ep. 21
I’ve known Emily Mortimer since she was six. Her parents were close friends—John, a playwright and barrister, and Penny, a fly fisher and tennis player, who managed the no small feat of smoking while playing the game. What Emily does now is impressive—she's an actor, a writer, and director, known for such films as Notting Hill, The Pursuit of Love, Newsroom, Match Point, and Apple TV’s latest, The New Look, with Juliette Binoche. Not that she has only worked onscreen. Emily was one of the first ...
Feb 27, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Restaurateur Danny Meyer opened Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern in New York more than 30 years ago and proved values matter. One could not only treat staff with the respect they deserve, but make customers happy. Happier, as they say, when they leave than when they arrived. Danny then launched Shake Shack in 2001, a hotdog stand in Madison Park. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, when Ruthie has a question about fair policies for the people who work with her or how to think about ex...
Feb 20, 2024•38 min•Season 3Ep. 19
When Ruthie found herself living in Mexico City for four months in 2018, her regular world of London, work, family and friends became irregular. She was thrust into a city with new people, new language and new food. Then one day someone suggested she meet at Niddo, a small restaurant recently opened by Karen Drijanski and her son Eduardo Plaschinski. From that moment her mornings changed. She went to Niddo almost daily, always to be greeted with a strong embrace from Karen, who would go back to ...
Feb 13, 2024•40 min•Season 3Ep. 18
When you ask Guy Ritchie to do a podcast, you don't just get Guy Ritchie the director—you get Guy Ritchie the food lover. Before sitting down with Ruthie, there he was in the garden at The River Cafe, setting up his WildKitchen cooking rig to grill a ribeye steak for all the chefs. He then joined Ruthie to talk wine, creative process, how he measures success, fishing, how he cooks his steaks, and bringing the WildKitchen to his film sets. Ruthie's Table 4 is made in partnership with Moncler. See...
Feb 06, 2024•39 min•Season 3Ep. 17
