Ruthie's Table 4

As a conflict producer for CBS News, Erin Lyall has eaten with Ukrainian soldiers on the freezing front line, cooked with families in their homes in Gaza, and shared meals on the battlefields of Syria and Iraq with bullets sounding in the distance. From these experiences in the field, Erin created Food Under Fire, a unique food blog featuring recipes, anecdotes, and portraits of the people she's m...

In this bonus episode of Ruthie's Table 4, Graham Norton reveals what he learned from working in restaurants, what he noticed about tricky customers, and why he would recommend the experience to everyone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week marks a very special occasion. My friend, Mel Brooks, is turning 100. For the best part of a century, he has lit up the world with his warmth and humour, delighting audiences as a writer, director, actor and comedian. From The Producers and Blazing Saddles to Young Frankenstein, his unique talents have left an indelible mark on film, television and theatre. To celebrate Mel, we're going...

To be a truly great host, as Graham Norton is every week on his television sofa, you have to understand and genuinely like people. It's the same for me at the River Café. There's no such thing as a difficult customer. Everybody has a story, and every table is a world. Usually it's Graham asking the questions, but today, he's answering mine—about his early years in an American commune,...

Last September, at the Venice Film Festival, I went to see Agon — a radical and powerful film. Afterwards, I immediately changed my schedule to attend a dinner for its director, Giulio Bertelli. Today, Giulio and I are back together in Hammersmith to discuss his filmmaking, the food of his childhood in Milan, his time as a professional sailor, the history of food and seafaring, and the compa...

Everyone knows Piers Morgan as a journalist, editor, and fearless interviewer. But I also know him as someone who loves food and can describe in detail what makes a great restaurant. Today, we're here together to talk about growing up in his family's country pub, the postcard he cherishes from his mother, drinks with Bill Clinton, dining with Tom Hanks, and seeing the glass half full. Order Table...

In this bonus episode of Ruthie's Table 4, Ruth Porat - President and Chief Investment Officer of Google and Alphabet - discusses the social responsibilities that come with technological advancement and how AI must be used to tackle society’s most intractable problems. Order Table 4 at The River Cafe —the star-studded, food-filled book inspired by the beloved podcast: https://bit....

Ruth Porat is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Google and Alphabet. She is also my friend. Her extraordinary schedule has often kept us thousands of miles apart as she moves across continents, connecting people, ideas, and communities. But today, we’re together at last - a Ruth and a Ruthie - to talk about the importance of food at Google, her scientific childhood, how her...

In this bonus episode of Ruthie’s Table 4, Consello CEO Declan Kelly discusses his decision to become a vegetarian as a teenager in 1980s Ireland, and how he eats today. Order  Table 4 at The River Cafe —the star-studded, food-filled book inspired by the beloved podcast: https://bit.ly/Table4AtRiverCafeBook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few months ago, I met Declan Kelly, founder, Chairman, and CEO of Consello, one of the world’s most influential advisory firms.  The connection between us was immediate, as I discovered a fascinating person with a fascinating life. Born in rural Ireland, from humble beginnings, he became an important journalist, created an influential communications company and in 2007 and 2008 served as o...

In this bonus episode of Ruthie’s Table 4, The River Café’s Sian Wyn Owen joins Michael and Lindsay Tusk to discuss the menu she has prepared for the day, the seasonal ingredients she is using, and how she organises a lunch service with her team. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chef Michael Tusk and his wife and partner, Lindsay Tusk, believe great food is about simplicity, quality ingredients, and happiness. A few months ago in San Francisco, I saw this for myself at their restaurants - Quince, Cotogna, and wine bar, Verjus. Today, on a beautiful spring day at the River Café we will talk about creating food what we look for in a restaurant, and much more. See omn...

In this bonus episode of Ruthie’s Table 4, Patrick Radden Keefe talks about two contrasting food pleasures - hosting and eating alone. Order Table 4 at The River Cafe —the star-studded, food-filled book inspired by the beloved podcast: https://bit.ly/Table4AtRiverCafeBook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’ve sometimes wondered whether writing a book might be a bit like cooking a meal. I create a menu by choosing the ingredients I’m drawn to. In the same way, today’s guest, Patrick Radden Keefe, creates a book by choosing the people he’s drawn to — most recently in his newly published London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for...

In this bonus episode of Ruthie’s Table 4, Burberry’s Paul Price talks about the restaurants of his past, and his idea to start one in the future. Order Table 4 at The River Cafe —the star-studded, food-filled book inspired by the beloved podcast: https://bit.ly/Table4AtRiverCafeBook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Price is Burberry’s Chief Product Merchandising Officer. When I asked his friend, film director Andrew Jarecki about him, he said ‘Paul is a tastemaker and a creator. He has reshaped my perception of what life can be, reimagining legendary fashion brands, most recently Burberry, making them newly relevant.” Paul and I are together to talk about life in fashion, the school lu...

Spring is here, which means it’s asparagus season. In this bonus episode of Ruthie's Table 4, we’re joined by The River Cafe executive chefs Sian Wyn Owen and Joseph Trivelli, to discuss their love of asparagus, and how they like to cook with it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dara Khosrowshahi is known as one of the world’s most influential CEOs. Everyone wants to talk to him about leading a company as huge, and impactful, as Uber. So do I - but mostly, I want to talk about food: Persian cuisine, memories from his childhood kitchen in Iran, the importance of food when his family fled to America, eating with his father after six years apart, and with his family no...

In this bonus episode of Ruthie’s Table 4 , journalists Jorge and Paola Ramos discuss Jorge’s favourite way to welcome Paola home - quesadillas. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When I was growing up in the sixties, the United States was a tumultuous place. Journalists were heroes, seeking the truth with courage. So today, when we need them more than ever, it was thrilling to be introduced to two extraordinary journalists: father and daughter, Jorge and Paola Ramos. In their podcast, The Moment, they question, analyse, and report. We are here together to talk about identi...

In this bonus episode of Ruthie's Table 4, Bruce Bozzi discusses the magic of his mother's lasagna. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few months ago, I was at Bruce Bozzi's home in Los Angeles. We decided to make a tomato pasta together, and there in the kitchen, we discovered how much we shared. Bruce grew up in an Italian American home, and for many generations, his family co-owned the Palm Restaurant franchise—an American legend. Now, Bruce and I are together again to talk about grandmothers and great-grandfathers, ho...

In this bonus episode of Ruthie's Table 4, former CEO of MTV Networks, Tom Freston, talks about the joys and the value of bartending. Order  Table 4 at The River Cafe —the star-studded, food-filled book inspired by the beloved podcast: https://bit.ly/Table4AtRiverCafeBook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some weeks ago, I met Tom Freston at a party in London. We immediately started talking—mostly about  Unplugged , his brilliant new memoir. Unplugged is the story of an incredible man who hitchhiked across the Sahara, lived in Kabul, spearheaded the rise of MTV, and even had lunch with Fidel Castro. Today, here we are: me in London, him in Los Angeles. We'll discuss the adventures from h...

A few weeks ago, just hours before the opening of Jamie’s Italian in Leicester Square, Jamie Oliver joined me at The River Cafe to sit, and to talk. We turned on the microphones and, in true Table 4 fashion, were soon joined by more friends around the table - Gary Lineker, the presenter, podcaster, and former footballer, and Seth Doane, the Senior Foreign Correspondent for CBS News. Together...