Welcome to River Cafe, Table four, a production of iHeartRadio and Adami Studios.
In front of the camera and behind it. Danny Houston has spent his life in movies. Danny's son of John Houston, grew up watching Russia's traveling to film locations and meeting all the great actors, later directing, producing and acting in films and television series Mister North, Fade to Black, The Constant Gardner Succession, and much more. I knew Danny loved food, but nothing could have impressed me more than one of
all the River Cafe recipes he chose. While basically toast toast, or rather, as the Italians call it, brusquetta, was what made me want to cook Italian food when I first tasted it in Florence in nineteen seventy one. Danny and I have much to discuss today as we sit here in the River Cafe, food, music, family, cookie, traveling. Then we'll go inside across the green and have a piece of briskinna.
I will read the recipe of a brusquit for four people. It would be four thick slices of bread from sour dough loaf, one garlic clove, very good olive oil, a state bottled extra virgin olive oil. You heat the griddle pan or you chargrill it until it's very hot, and you toast the slices and until they're dark but not burnt on both sides. You remove the slices from the grill and you rub them lightly with a garlic clove. You season with salt, black pepper, and you drizzle it
very generously with olive oil. And that is it.
Thank you, so as I was saying, why did you choose a piece of brusquette with olive oil?
It is one of my early memories being in Rome as a child. I remember going to a restaurant called the Kukuruku by the Tiber. There was always a lot of attention Townan's love children. It would be the phone books would be brought out so I could sit higher in the chair, and the bluskit that would come out, usually rather vigorously scratched, really with with with the garlic clove,
and out it would come. It's one of my early memories, as I said, diving into these wonderful kazari show pieces of bread and it would just stimulate my appetite as it does today.
And so you were you were actually born in Rome.
I was born in Rome. My father was making a film called The Bible. It was long. It was a long pre production and post production, rather well known book. Yesk yeah, yeah, but here was that nineteen sixty two. My love of food really started right there.
Did you eat out a lot, a lot of your food in restaurants?
Yes, we ate out a lot beautiful restaurants. And the connection towards children, as I said earlier, the phone books on the chair and the tension, I mean, the star at the table is the kid, and they you know, they squeeze your your your cheeks, which you can get a little annoying after a while, but the attention is on you. What do you what do you? You know, what does the kid like? And great joy drive by everybody if the child is happy. Yeah, I had I.
Had some friends who came from New York and they rented a house in Tuscany and they had a two year old child. One year old child, put her in the bed and woke up in the morning she's gone, I mean she's gone. And they completely understandably panicked. And you know what those days didn't have mobiles and went to the neighbor's house to call the police. And they walked into the neighbor's house and they're sitting in a high chair with their daughter, you know, eating breakfast. Because
they had seen them arrived the night before. They thought the baby might be hungry. The parents would be sleeping, so they just came in and took the baby and took care of her, you know, and that was you know, you know, it's just such a different idea of the child as the center of the of the story. Yeah.
Yeah. And there's an expression at times, the bonnacle bianet, which is mean as good as.
Bread, as good as bread.
Yeah, so you grew up as good as bread. Tell me about your father and food, because I grew up with John Houston. I know, the young chef in my restaurant is cooking today, also called Danny, when I told him you were coming.
You know, loves your work.
He knows every movie you've been in, and he knows about your grandfather and your father and you and.
Say, this family. Can you tell us about this family?
Certainly, certainly my grandfather Walter Houston, marvelous actor, My father John Houston, master director and actor. My sister Angelica once again, tremendous actress and the best friend and sister that one could possibly have. And she's my angel, and we I can say with great confidence that we all love food and wine. My father designed the label for a Muton Rothschild, which was a superb year. He shared that with other artists such as as Matisse and Warhole. Yeah. And I
remember in Spain, let me Danny taste this. It's it's called a DESPATCHO.
Did you know your grandfather?
I never met my grandfather. I only met him through the film. Is that my father would show me. There was always a big sort of plava made out of bringing the projector out, and sometimes the film would rip be spliced back together and and there'd be the sort of beam of light that would cut through the cigar smoke. And there was my grandfather.
And treasure and that I remember with the gold shaking, shaking memory.
Yeah, yeah, And I mean I thought he was those characters. I thought he was the gold prospector. And then films like Dodsworth and and my father did at the u beginning of an evening, he'd he'd he'd make the sound addressing.
He did.
Yes, absolutely, Yes, see a mustard oil, vinegar and a little dash of sugar. Sugar, yeah, which is which is something that I've tried to reproduce and I can't quite get it right, Not like he not like he did. There was some magical thing that he did and I can't reproduce.
What do you cook other food? That?
That was? That was his his gesture before a meal.
What about drinks? Did he have a cocktails?
Well, Martini was a dry lemon twist. But depending on where we were, what country were we were, the cocktails would would differ. In For instance, I remember in Mexico when he was making a film called Under the Volcano Malcolm Lowry with Albert Finney. We would watch the daily Russia's whatever he shot that the previous day. We'd watch it in the evening and I used to make him cocktails.
You made the cocktail? Yes, an age for you.
Then Danny very young, and he would I remember him in Mexico. He was having kuba libres and I'd make him a rum and coke and I handed to him and he'd say, no, no, no, the coke should only color the rum.
We have to make a drink for your father. And so who cooked in your house?
My mother cooked.
She was born in India.
She was born in Indian luck now yeah, just under the Himalayas. Then during the partition they moved to London.
Did she bring that culture with her or her parents? Did your grandparents cook Indian?
Well?
Did they come as well?
Yes? They did? Well, my my my grandmother. It was always a spicy doll, was Mati Rice Sogpanier. But I also remember digestive biscuits and uh television, you know, Dad's are Army and those those kind of programs.
As you grew up with different cultures Indian, your father being American and Italian.
Yes, and was that all mixed you think in your palette of the early years.
Yeah, yeah. I spent a lot of time in Galway in Ireland growing up, and we drive to Kanamara Bay and have oysters. I would have a little glass of guinness.
What age would this be?
Very young?
What age?
Oh? Preteens? But Kannamara Bay you could really taste taste the sea in those and in those oysters, the mutinous Shannon waves and that wonderful breeze. And I learned to swim in Calamara, the very freezing much much much to everybody's horror. But but Betty O'Kelly would hold hold my my body up with her hand, and that's that's how I learned how to swim. Many memories with my father and in Saint Clarence and Galway. Uh interesting guests, you know,
mister Fuller, Robert Mitcham, Lauren Bacall. I remember falling in love with with with with Ava Gardener at a restaurant at Montpilly Square.
She did, you know she lived in.
And lunch with my mother and and Ava. And after the lunch I said to my mother, again barely a teenager, Mom, I'm I'm in love and she she just clipped me in the back of the head and she said, of course you.
Are a gardener, for christ, what's not to love?
She was. She was dressed so casually. She was wearing doctor showls and just sort of you know, she she was hardly hardly any makeup. But the combination of her and the and the food that made me a little dizzy. I was sent to boarding school in England, must have been about eleven twelve years old. I mean the boarding school I had was quite tame. It was in Somerset, compared to other people's experiences. Mine was very, very tame and a summer set Millfield, Millfield.
Yeah, it was.
Okay, it was a way for me to claim my independence. But yes, a stark difference.
What was the food like? Dot ghastly?
Yeah. I remember I was sitting next to a girl who was from India and her food looked much better than mine, and I asked why and they said, she's a vegetarian. Okay, well I'll be a veget at school, I'll be a vegetarian. So I still don't eat a lot of meat. My weak spot is or you know, figs. That is a comfort place for me. But I'm not a big, big meat teacher. But the moment I I finished school and started cooking, my forte was cooking for.
Two as a method of We've talked a lot about seducing a woman with food as a.
Method of seduction. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but yes, as as a method of seduction, and it was.
Very sexy having a mad cook few. I have to say, I do think there is something as a woman. This just is a scene in Michael came when I talked to Michael in an interview and we looked. We talked about the ip Crisfild and there's a scene where he is a spy and an agent and he's a great kind of figure. But there's this very moving scene where he actually cooks for the woman and she and he does seem more interested in chopping the carrot than even you know, the first kiss.
It's very well, it's a very central thing, isn't it. Bibet's feast. Yeah, many films use that as a visual language because of course you can't taste the food through the screen, but you can only imagine what it tastes like.
So what would you cook when you were young?
Man? What I what I what I think is fun is is sort of necessity is a mother invention. And so you go back home, it's not been premeditated, necessarily, and you open the purgency what's there? And you whip it up? And this something about the improvisation also searching for a pleasant accident. I sort of translate that to my work as well to acting. You're you're looking for the for the unexpected, and sometimes you whip something up.
You've got some carrots and chop them up finally and you throw them in with the with with with the garlic, and uh, and you've discovered another another type of acting. Maybe it's it's it's something that wasn't that wasn't written and and and and certainly not pre premeditated that you discover that gives it a feeling of reality and truth. And the person that you're working with also discovers something else because of it, and it becomes a wall a dance.
Do you like to eat when you're filming?
Yes? And no. I mean food for me is the past and the present and and that anticipation right before you eat of something, of something unexpected, and in a way it takes me away from from my work. To combine it with work for me as for me as difficult. I remember having lunch with my father and Orson Wells in l A and Orson eating a lot, and I could see my father looking quite concerned and maybe even a little.
Phobic about what that was going on too long, that he was was unhealthy or.
Just it was it was unlike not onlike today. It was a hot day, and he was eating too much, and it's just I could see I could see it making my father a little a little queasy. He didn't particularly like sharing dishes. He didn't like it when his agent, Paul Kohner, used to plunge his fork into his whatever whatever he was eating. He liked to keep it separate.
But man was he a big man, tall, big.
Heart, personality, generous and loved a fine a fine meal, and a good restaurant. I remember I remember going to Alfredo's with him in Rome and his delight when the Golden fourk and Spoon came out. No, he absolutely loved loved food, and loved dining, and loved spending time with with with people and celebrating. But at times, at times he liked his own space.
Did you spend time growing up in La?
Not growing up? But I spent time I was in La in my twenties. I like the California Palette. It's it's it's again, it's freshness, it's those great salads and talking about accidents. How the caesar salad came about some stale bread and anchovies and a couple of leaves and parmesan. Really,
it's wonderful when something occurs like that. And I mean, I don't know how you came across, how you came across this location and how it developed, but maybe possibly there were a series of unexpected surprises that came your way.
Yeah. When we opened here, it was a Duckham's oil refinery. My husband and his partners, architectural partners decided because we were living in Paris for four years, he did the Pomperty Center and we came back and didn't want to be in the center of London in office buildings, so found this site and tried to create a community. And so the community was built on the idea there would
always be someplace to eat. And we were reviewing different ideas for restaurants that wanted to come here, cafes really, because there's a tiny space.
And I said, you know what, maybe I'll do it. And that's what happened, you know. And then I did it with my friend Rose Gray. And then the rest is just like you say, any idea that it is then.
Or an accident, an accident of birth, an accident a place, an accident of creative activity sometimes takes you somewhere else.
Have you ever worked in a restaurant?
No, I haven't. I would love to. I to. I actually have a sort of a fantasy which I'm sure will probably never be fulfilled, but I would love to own a restaurant by the beach and catch of the day. And yeah, I know that's got to be a lot of stress, especially to maintain a certain standard. You can't let it go the same way as a film director. Yeah, you know, you've got to be probably a little obsessive and in charge and seeing every seeing every detail, otherwise
things could fall apart. But my fantasy is sort of some sort of.
Hammock where what country would that be?
It would be it would be it would be well, you know, the Mediterranean certainly, or Mexico, Mexico.
I lived in Mexico for four months. That's two years ago. I lived in Mexico City and my husband had an accident, so we stayed there for four months and I loved it. I just as a place that I want to return to again and again. Where were you in Mexico? Is that with your family?
Yeah? My father had a house that you can only get to my boat. This is when he gave up ireland. He became very minimal. He leased some land outside of Puerto Arta that you could only get to on a on a boat, on a panga. And there he had a chef called.
Archie and very Mexican Mexican.
No, no, no, Archie. Archie was Filipino, and he now has a restaurant in part of art which is which is, which is delicious? Actually, sadly he's not with us anymore, but his wife, his wife wife runs at Archies restaurant, and part of our what was And in a way it's my definition of complete luxury, eating fine food and drinking delicious wine in the tropics, you know, and the again, the freshness, the papayas, the mangoes, the avocados, and the fish.
Yeah, so that's where you could open your restaurant.
What's clear in your stories and our lives is that you know, food is memory, food is sharing, Food is comfort.
What would that food be that is a comfort food?
Well, I have one of my one of my weaknesses is waking up in the middle of the night and tiptoeing to the kitchen just cutting a piece of bread and dunking it into a little saucer of olive oil and adding adding some salt and and and secretly literally eyes closed, enjoying the combination of tastes. I suppose that sort of brings us back to to our brusqueite, where
it's it's it's. It is so much about those first things that you ate when you when you were a child, and and and a certain kind of regression, uh, momentary regression which which makes you feel cozy and at.
Home and safe, Yeah, safe and comfort. Thank you, Danny. Let's thank you so much.
To visit the online shop of The River Cafe, go to shop the River Cafe dot co dot uk.
Rivercafe Table four is a production of iHeartRadio and Adamized Studios. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.