Table Talk

Russell Norman is an award-winning restauranteur, writer and broadcaster, and the founder of the Polpo restaurant group. Last year he launched Trattoria Brutto. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about enjoying Spam fritters, blagging his way onto the Orient Express, and how he changed careers from teaching to cooking. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts....

Ed Smith is a food writer and chef who started his acclaimed blog Rocket and Squash while he was working as a solicitor. On today’s podcast, he tells Liv and Lara about how his passion for good food started, why he left the world of law, the changing nature of the London food scene, and the ingredients for the perfect restaurant review.  Since 2017, he has authored On the Side and The Borough Mark...

Poppy O'Toole runs Poppy Cooks on TikTok, where she shares cooking videos with her two million followers. She trained as a chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and  lost her job in March 2020 because of Covid. She started Poppy Cooks to pass the time during lockdown. Her potato series made her a viral sensation, getting millions of views. This led to her publishing her first cookbook, Poppy Cook...

Beatrice ‘Bee’ Wilson is an acclaimed food writer and journalist, who has authored several books on topics from how bees make honey to the history of the sandwich. On the podcast, Bee discusses the fad of clean eating, how the internet has changed food culture, working with her charity TasteEd, her time as a contestant on Masterchef, and the experience of working on her first cookbook, The Secret...

Lord Alf Dubs is a politician. He moved to the UK as a child when the Nazis invaded what was then Czechoslovakia, and went on to become an MP, a parliamentary under secretary for Northern Ireland, and a member of the House of Lords. He is a campaigner for refugee rights. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about his evacuation from Prague, eating langoustine straight from a loch in Northern Irel...

Theo Fennell is a jewellery maker. He has been designing and making jewellery in Fulham, London for over forty years and in 2008 founded The Original Design Partnership. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Liv about his childhood growing up in the colonies during the last days of the British Empire. He gives his top tips for being the perfect guest (so you never have to cook again), and his love...

Dee Rettali is an artisan baker. She founded Patisserie Organic in 1998, and afterwards the Fortitude Bakehouse in London. She is the author of Baking with Fortitude: sourdough cakes and bakes . On the podcast, she tells Lara and Liv about enjoying tinned fish, relying on the custom of cyclists in lockdown, and learning from 1970s French patisserie that baking was better without kitchen machinery....

Rachel Roddy is an author and food writer based in Rome. She has written for several publications, including the Financial Times , the Telegraph , Food and Wine , The Spectator , and has a weekly column in the Guardian . On the podcast, Rachel talks to Lara and Liv about growing up in Hertfordshire, coping with an eating disorder, why she chose to move to Italy and life under lockdown there over t...

Laurie Woolever is a writer and editor, and for nearly a decade worked as the assistant to the late author, TV host and producer Anthony Bourdain. On the podcast, she talks to Lara and Liv about tending to garden peas from the age of four, finishing co-writing a book with Bourdain after he passed away, and finding comfort at a local bakery during the pandemic. Become a Spectator subscriber today t...

Grizelda is an award-winning cartoonist for publications including  The Spectator , the New Statesman and  Private Eye.  She was Pocket Cartoonist of the Year in 2018. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Liv about her brother's infamous cooking, how she comes up with ideas for cartoons, and why she only knows four recipes. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts....

Ed Balls is an acclaimed broadcaster, writer, economist, professor and former politician who served as shadow chancellor from 2011 to 2015. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about the importance of Sunday lunches growing up, his long history of making bespoke children's birthday cakes and the times he turned his campaign team into a makeshift kitchen staff. All this and more is documented in h...

Charlie Stebbings is an acclaimed food director and photographer. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about taking photographing M&S's melt in the middle chocolate puddings, treating himself to baked beans and red wine and measuring mayonnaise from a syringe. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Specta...

Rory Bremner is one of Britain's leading comedians, impressionists and political satirists. On the episode, he tells Lara and Liv about his first impression (of a school history teacher), doing shows with Ainsley Harriott, getting stuck in a storm in Turkey at the same time as Betty Boothroyd, and helping refugees and asylum seekers through food. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this...

Molly Baz is a cook, recipe developer, video host, cookbook author, and a self proclaimed weenie lover. On this episode, Ella talks to Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts about her food revelation with an Italian house-mother in Florence, her time working for Bon Appetit and about her new cook book COOK THIS BOOK , which revolutionises the medium by adding easy to access how-to videos to watch as yo...

Ella Al-Shamahi is a presenter, comedian, and an explorer recognised by National Geographic. On this episode, Ella talks to Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts about her ill fated early days as a domestic house wife, her critiques of the paleo diet and the time she had to try turtle - not a fan.  Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree...

Jack Whitehall is an actor and comedian, however during the pandemic he has also started a food blog, FoodSlut . On the episode, he talks to Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts about his public love of McDonalds, his secret love of The Ivy and the time he once saw a man attempt to make a grilled cheese with his feet.  Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to...

Calum Franklin is executive head chef at Holborn Dining Room, and an internationally renowned pie-maker (dubbed 'The Pie King' by Jamie Oliver). On the episode, he talks to Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts about how his menus try to recreate the nostalgia of his simple childhood meals, like fish pie; the centrality of pies to British cuisine; and why his restaurant is inspired by the copper and b...

Craig Brown is an awarding winning critic, satirist and former restaurant reviewer. His most recent book  One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time,  won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Olivia about the horrible food at Eton, his utter failure to bake a cake, and proposes that one of the least important things to him when he was reviewing a restaurant...

Patrick Jephson is a consultant, journalist, broadcaster and New York Times best selling author. From 1988 to 1996, Patrick worked first as Princess Diana's equerry and then as her private secretary. He is also currently a historical consultant on Netfilx's The Crown. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Olivia about bonding over mealtimes with his fellow seamen when in the Navy, having ambassador...

Jonathan Drori CBE is a Trustee of the Eden Project and Cambridge Science Centre, an ambassador for WWF, and was for nine years a Trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. In a previous life at the BBC, he was executive producer of more than 50 prime-time science documentaries and popular series, and he is now the author of Around the World in 80 Plants . On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Oliv...

Sebastian de Souza is an English actor an author. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about eating too much on set, enjoying cornflakes, double cream and sugar, and writing after a drink. His new book,  Kid , is out now. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/pod...

Carole Hayman is a writer, broadcaster, actor and director. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Liv about facing anorexia, London in the late 70s, smoking on stage and cooking while writing. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts . Contact us: podcast@spect...

Lydia Forte is the Group Director of Food & Beverage at Rocco Forte Hotels. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Liv about missing Martini's, cooking in lockdown, and hosting a family Come Dine With Me. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts . Contact us: po...

Geordie Willis is the creative director and brand experiences director of Berry Brothers and Rudd, Britain's oldest wine merchants. He is the eighth generation of his family to work in the business, which was founded in 1698. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about his grandmother's homemade mayonnaise, being kicked out of the family business, and the secret to matching wine with food. This ep...

Max Halley is one of Britain's pre-eminent sandwich aficionados. He is the founder of Max's Sandwich Shop, and the author of Max's Picnic Book . On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about being exposed to obscure ingredients, working in a pudding factory, and the six essential components in every great sandwich. This episode is sponsored by Berry Brothers and Rudd. Become a Spectator subscriber t...