Table Talk - podcast cover

Table Talk

The Spectatoraudioboom.com
Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts interview notable guests about their life, through the food and drink that has come to define it.Lara Prendergast is the Food and Drink Editor of Spectator Life.Olivia Potts is Spectator Life's Vintage Chef.
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Episodes

With Joel Golby

Joel Golby is a journalist who has written for – among others – Vice and the Guardian , where he has a regular column, the watcher, reviewing television. He has since translated his skill for wry observations and self-reflection into the new book Four Stars: A life reviewed which hilariously grapples with our fascination with opinions On the podcast Joel tells Lara about his appreciation for square sponge and pink custard, why Mum's roast is always the best roast and where a pint is best enjoyed...

Apr 23, 202439 min

With Anna Jones

Anna Jones is a food writer, food stylist and author. She is known predominately for her focus on vegetarian cooking, and her new book Easy Wins celebrates a capsule pantry of twelve ingredients. On the podcast she tells Lara about her way in to becoming a food journalist, cooking vegetarian at home, and her desert island meal.

Apr 09, 202425 min

With Gennaro Contaldo

Gennaro Contaldo is an Italian chef, cookbook author and television presenter. He is also known as Jamie Oliver's mentor and Antonio Carluccio's travel partner on Two Greedy Italians . His latest cookbook Gennaro's Verdure – which celebrates seasonal vegetables – is out now. On the podcast he tells Liv and Lara about his upbringing on the Amalfi coast, what he's learnt from Jamie Oliver and how he came to love fish and chips. Photo credit: David Loftus...

Mar 26, 202424 min

With Alex Jackson

Alex Jackson is the founder of Sardine and currently head chef at Noble Rot, Soho. His cookbook Frontières: the food of France's borderlands is available now. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv why the smell of chip fat reminds him of home, how his interest in cooking was ignited during time spent at university France, and divulges his desert island meal.

Mar 12, 202429 min

With Thomas Robson-Kanu

Thomas 'Hal' Robson-Kanu is former professional footballer who was part of the Welsh team that reached the semi finals of Euro 2016, thanks largely to a memorable goal he scored against tournament favourites Belgium. He is also the founder of The Turmeric Co. On the podcast, Thomas tells Lara and Liv how his Welsh and Nigerian heritage influenced the food he ate as a child, how turmeric was the miracle cure to an injury-ridden early career and how footballers prepare nutritionally for big games....

Feb 27, 202429 min

With Professor Charles Spence

Professor Charles Spence is an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on how an in-depth understanding of the human mind will lead to the better design of multi-sensory foods and products. He is the author of several books including his most recent, Sensehacking : How to Use the Power of Your Senses for Happier, Healthier Living . On this episode he talks about how he started experimenting with food and the human senses, working with Heston Blumenthal, and ho...

Feb 13, 202434 min

With Edward Stourton

Edward Stourton is a broadcaster who has worked as foreign correspondent for the BBC, Channel 4 and ITN. He is the presenter of BBC Radio 4's Sunday Program, and presented the Today Program for ten years. He has authored eight books including his most recent, Sunday: A History of Religious Affairs through 50 Years of Conversations and Controversies which is available now. On the podcast, he recalls chocolate-stuffed baguettes on Swiss ski slopes, reveals the disappointing breakfast options in th...

Jan 30, 202425 min

With Alexandra Collier

Alexandra Collier is a Melbourne-based writer who has written for theatre, screen and print. She is a MacDowell fellow and a recipient of the RE Ross Trust playwrites' award. Her memoir Inconceivable , about her journey to becoming a solo Mum by choice, is out now. On the podcast she tells Lara and Liv why restaurants are inherently theatrical places, discusses her experience with IVF, and explains that it takes a village to raise a child. Photo credit: Karin Locke....

Jan 16, 202423 min

With Philip Hensher

Philip Hensher is a novelist and regular contributor to The Spectator’s books pages. His books cover a variety of subjects and often deal with important historical change, such as the fall of the Berlin wall and the war in Afghanistan. His most recent novel is To Battersea Park . On the podcast, he discusses how he developed an affection for offal as a small child, the secret to an ‘austerely perfect’ carbonara, and why food is a such a great character device for novelists....

Jan 02, 202431 min

With Michel Roux Jr

Michel Roux Jr. is an English-French chef and is the chef patron of Le Gavroche, the first restaurant in the UK to received one, two and then three Michelin stars. Earlier this year it was announced that Le Gavroche will close its doors in January. On the podcast, he recalls how his father would hand churn vanilla ice cream, reveals his fondness for both traditional French custard and English packet custard, and tells Liv and Lara why Le Gavroche is closing.

Dec 19, 202329 min

With Tara Wigley

Tara Wigley is the in-house writer for the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen, she also has a weekly column in the Guardian and a monthly column in the New York Times which she shares with Yotam Ottolenghi. On the podcast she reminisces about her father's 'egg in the cup', the secret to a great Ottolenghi recipe, and takes Lara and Liv through her new book How to Butter Toast, which is written completely in verse.

Dec 05, 202332 min

With Celia Walden

Celia Walden is a journalist, novelist and critic whose most recent novel, The Square, is out now. On the podcast she tells Lara and Liv why lentils are her ultimate comfort food, explains the joys of a buttered scotch pancake and discloses her husband Piers' signature dish, 'spaghetti Morganese'.

Nov 21, 202317 min

With Victoria Hislop

Victoria Hislop is a bestselling author and a lover of all things Mediterranean. Victoria’s first book ' The Island', came out in 2005 and became an immediate international best-seller. Victoria’s subsequent novels have explored the Spanish Civil War, Cyprus and the Greek islands, and she’s celebrated for cleverly combining history, culture, family, time and place into fascinating stories. Her latest book ‘The Figurine’, is out now and it deals with the contentious subject of acquiring cultural ...

Nov 07, 202330 min

With John Nichol

John Nichol is a former RAF Tornado navigator who, during the first Gulf War in 1991, was famously shot down, paraded on television and held prisoner by Saddam Hussein. John wrote movingly about his experience in his first book, 'Tornado Down' , and has gone on to write fifteen more best-selling books. His latest, 'Eject, Eject', is out now. He also loves food, is very fond of cooking and often posts pictures on social media of his many and varied culinary creations. Presented by Olivia Potts. P...

Oct 24, 202336 min

With Ewan Venters

Ewan Venters is the former chief executive of Fortnum & Mason and is now the CEO of Artfarm and Hauser & Wirth. Ewan is launching Artfarm’s first London venture combining food, drink and art which will also mark the revival of the historic Mayfair landmark, The Audley. Presented by Olivia Potts. Produced by Linden Kemkaran.

Oct 10, 202338 min

With Diana Henry

Diana Henry is a critically acclaimed, multi-award winning cook, food writer and author of 12 books including the classic cookbook ' Roast Figs, Sugar Snow', which has just been updated and re-released twenty years after it was first published. Diana also writes for newpapers and magazines, and presents food programmes on TV and radio.

Sep 26, 202342 min

With Philip Khoury

Philip Khoury became the head pastry chef at Harrods in 2018. He made it his mission to pioneer the creation of plant-based desserts, calling it the 'last frontier' of vegan cuisine. He's just written a book 'A New Way to Bake', which came out on 31st August 2023, and which focuses on creating masterpieces out of vegan ingredients.

Sep 12, 202322 min

With Sir Nicholas Mostyn

The Hon. Mr Justice Mostyn was a British high court judge who left the Bench just a few weeks ago. Nick Mostyn enjoyed a long and distinguished career and earned the nicknames 'Mostyn Powers' and 'Mr Payout' after winning vast sums for ex-wives in high-profile divorce cases. Recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he went on to form the cult podcast 'Movers and Shakers' with fellow sufferers Jeremy Paxman and Rory Cellan-Jones. To join a special live episode of 'Movers and Shakers' on Wedne...

Aug 29, 202341 min

With James Dreyfus

James Dreyfus is an actor, best known for his roles in TV sitcoms The Thin Blue Line and Gimme Gimme Gimme . James also appeared in the film Nottinghill and has a long and distinguished stage career. On the podcast, James talks about his early memories of food living between France and America; some of the catering throughout his acting career and how that's changed over the years; and his time on Hell's Kitchen at the mercy of Gordon Ramsay.

Aug 15, 202322 min

With Ebru Baybara Demir

Ebru Baybara Demir is a Turkish chef with a big dream; to introduce tourism to Mardin, a municipality in the Kurdish region of Turkey. It was a brave decision as Mardin is a city beset by terror-related security issues, boasting very little local agriculture and dealing with huge border problems due to the war in neighbouring Syria. On the podcast they discuss the challenges of creating a restaurant from scratch, preparing and serving local delicacies and pulling together as women in a patriarch...

Aug 01, 202323 min

With Jimi Famurewa

Jimi Famurewa is a British-Nigerian journalist, writer, broadcaster and food critic. In 2020 Jimi became chief restaurant critic for the Evening Standard and he has also won the restaurant writing awards at both the Fortnum and Mason and Guild of Food Writers awards. On the podcast they discuss Jimi's new book Settlers: Journeys Through the Food, Faith and Culture of Black African London , his earliest memories of food growing up in Lagos and how he came to become a restaurant reviewer....

Jul 18, 202336 min

With Amy Newsome

Amy Newsome is a Kew-trained horticulturalist, beekeeper and author of the new book Honey: Recipe's from a beekeepers kitchen . On the podcast, she tells Lara and Liv how beekeeping saved her mental health, why you should always keep at least four types of honey in your pantry and details her desert island meal.

Jul 04, 202338 min

With Ingrid Newkirk

Ingrid Newkirk is a British-American activist, who founded People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in 1980. She speaks to Lara about her earliest memories of food, the joys of a Greggs vegan sausage roll, and defends PETA’s controversial tactics.

Jun 20, 202321 min

With Eddie Huang

Eddie is an American author, chef, restauranteur, presenter and former attorney. He has recently brought his famous Taiwanese bao buns over the UK, and they are now available at Neighbourhood in Islington and Shelter Hall in Brighton. On the podcast he tells Liv and Lara about his early memories of cooking with his mother, how to make the perfect fried rice, and the process of setting up his acclaimed restaurant Baohaus.

Jun 06, 202324 min

With Sarah Woods

Sarah Woods is an author and cook, who left her corporate job behind to pursue her real passion after reaching the final of BBC1's Best Home Cook 2020. Her first cookbook, Desi Kitchen , has recently been released. On the podcast she tells Liv and Lara about her upbringing in a Punjabi household and how she was inspired by Desi communities around the UK.

May 23, 202328 min

With Niki Segnit

Niki Segnit is the author of the hit cooking books The Flavour Thesaurus and Lateral Cooking . Her new book The Flavour Thesaurus more flavours: Plant-led pairings, recipes and ideas for cooks , is out this Thursday 11th May. On the podcast she speaks to Lara and Liv about weird and wonderful flavour combinations, her childhood fascination with Oxo cubes and why she has gone plant-led for her new book.

May 09, 202335 min

With Guy Tullberg

Guy is the managing director of The Tracklements Company, providers of artisan chutneys, relishes and preserves, all made in small batches and to traditional recipes. On the podcast they talk about the joys beef dripping on toast, the thriving food scene in Wiltshire and Guy's desert island meal.

Apr 25, 202324 min

With Jonathan Ray

Jonathan Ray is The Spectator’s drinks editor and formerly wine critic for the Telegraph . He has also written several books on the subject of wine and how to buy it. On the podcast Lara, Liv and Jonny share a glass of wine and discuss Jonathan’s earliest memories of food, his go-to hangover cure and his desert island meal.

Apr 11, 202333 min

With Fadi Kattan

Fadi Kattan is a Palestinian chef and hotelier who has recently brought a menu inspired by all the different regions of his home country to his new restaurant Akub , in Notting Hill. On the podcast he talks about inheriting his love of food from his grandmothers, what it was like opening a restaurant on the occupied West Bank and his love of oysters.

Mar 28, 202324 min

With Eleanor Steafel

Eleanor is a features writer and columnist for the Daily Telegraph where she writes the the regular food column The Art of Friday Night Dinner. Her new book – of the same name – is released on the 30th March and includes recipes for every kind of Friday night. On the podcast she reminisces about her mother's famous tomato sauce, takes us through her perfect Friday night and explains why she has always loved gathering friends around the kitchen table. (Photo credit: Sophie Davidson)...

Mar 14, 202326 min
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