Podcast
Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts interview notable guests about their life, through the food and drink that has come to define it. Lara is the Food and Drink Editor of Spectator Life and Olivia is Spectator Life’s Vintage Chef.
Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts interview notable guests about their life, through the food and drink that has come to define it. Lara is the Food and Drink Editor of Spectator Life and Olivia is Spectator Life’s Vintage Chef.
Table Talk
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
Play 25 mins
Table Talk
Sebastian de Souza is an English actor and 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.
Play 30 mins
Table Talk
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, and cooking while writing.
Play 38 mins
Table Talk
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.
Play 21 mins
Table Talk
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
Play 19 mins
Table Talk
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
Play 36 mins
Table Talk
Eliot Higgins is an investigative journalist. He is the founder of Bellingcat, a platform specialising in open source intelligence. Bellingcat is known for its work on the Syrian civil war, the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, and the Salisbury poisonings. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about his love of custard,
Play 18 mins
Table Talk
Bip Ling is a model, musician, food writer, visual artist and DJ. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Liv about being inspired by her grandmother’s Indian cooking, eating as a model, and why macaroni cheese should be made with almond milk rather than full-fat. This episode is sponsored by Berry Brothers and Rudd.
Play 21 mins
Table Talk
Alison Roman is an American food writer, cook, and author of New York Times bestseller Nothing Fancy. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Livvy about the recipes she learnt from her mum, how she plans a dinner party, and craving pizza in lockdown. This episode is sponsored by Berry Brothers and Rudd.
Play 23 mins
Table Talk
Leroy Logan is a former superintendent at the Metropolitan Police, former chair of the Black Police Association, and author of Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about his love of apple crumble, his wife’s lunchboxes, and why police officers should always stay dry.
Play 29 mins
Table Talk
Tom Kerridge is a Michelin-starred chef. He opened The Hand & Flowers in 2005, and now has another restaurant and a butchers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, alongside spots in London and Manchester. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about growing up on free school meals, falling in love with hospitality, and catering for NHS
Play 30 mins
Table Talk
Jeffrey Archer is a novelist, former politician, and peer of the realm. He has sold 275 million copies of his books – in 97 countries and more than 30 languages. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about food in prison, his wife’s jacket potato, and why he loves shepherd’s pie.
Play 21 mins
Table Talk
Henry Jeffreys is features editor of Masters of Malt, and author of The Cocktail Dictionary. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about living like the Goodfellas in Leeds, being ‘portly’ at university, and enjoying his mum’s apple and bramble pie.
Play 26 mins
Table Talk
Pen Vogler is the author of Scoff, which describes the history of food in the British class system. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Liv about being vegetarian for a year, eating at Oxford colleges in the 1980s, and why avocados are so popular.
Play 25 mins
Table Talk
Marcus Wareing is a celebrated, Michelin-starred chef, a judge on Masterchef: The Professionals and Chef Patron at Marcus in Knightsbridge. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about eating in school canteens, working with Gordon Ramsay, and catering during coronavirus.
Play 36 mins
Table Talk
Sharmadean Reid is an entrepreneur and the founder of Beautystack. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Livvy about her grandfather’s allotment, cooking roasts and trying crab for the first time.
Play 35 mins
Table Talk
Dan Keeling is a wine writer behind the magazine and restaurant Noble Rot. He tells Lara and Livvy about how he discovered his love of wine; working in the music industry; and how to start a restaurant with zero experience. Presented by Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts.
Play 23 mins
Table Talk
Olia Hercules is a chef and food writer. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Livvy about growing up in Cyprus; being disappointed by British ingredients; and teaching her son to love Ukrainian cooking.
Play 20 mins
Table Talk
Ian Rankin is a bestselling crime writer, most known for his Inspector Rebus novels. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about living in a motel during his first year at university; how eating curry for the first time was ‘a revelation’; and the snacks that keep him going while he writes. Tell us
Play 20 mins
Table Talk
Dolly Alderton is an author, journalist and podcaster who hosts ‘The High Low’ podcast. On the episode, she talks to Lara and Livvy about campaigning for gender equality (and cooked breakfasts) at her boarding school; how taste in food can make or break the attractiveness of a man; and the importance of planning a desert
Play 44 mins
Table Talk
Annie Gray is a historian, cook and writer who specialises in food from 1600 to present day. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Olivia about a childhood of eating ‘frisbee-like’ omelettes, why male hares are inedible, and how an episode of Antiques Roadshow nearly jeopardised the release of her new book. Annie Gray’s Victory
Play 37 mins
Table Talk
Skye McAlpine is a Sunday Times columnist and the author of two cookbooks. She joins Lara and Olivia down the line from Venice, where she grew up. On the podcast, she talks about moving to the city as a child, her favourite Venetian meals, and why, despite being a dinner party maestro, she doesn’t believe
Play 29 mins
Table Talk
Rory Sutherland is the vice-chairman of the renowned advertising firm, Ogilvy, and the Spectator’s ‘Wiki Man’ columnist. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Olivia about everything and anything from the dreadful British food of the 70s, why he loves chain restaurants, and the best and worst kitchen gadgets. As well as his incredibly
Play 45 mins
Table Talk
Greta Bellamacina is an actress and poet, who has published numerous collections and made her acting debut in Harry Potter. On the podcast, she talks to Lara and Olivia about what it was like to be on set for Harry Potter, growing up with four siblings, and why her favourite restaurant is an over-priced Chinese
Play 27 mins
Table Talk
Rhik Samadder is an actor and columnist for the Guardian, where his column Wellness or Hellness? reviews kitchen gadgets and life hacks. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Olivia about his mother’s adventurous dinner table, his teenage battles with anorexia, and the worst kitchen gadgets he ever reviewed (including a mug which had
Play 24 mins
Table Talk
John Williams is the ebullient Executive Chef at the Ritz. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Livvy about breaking into the London fine dining scene as a boy from Tyneside, how the Ritz is as far from rustic as you can get, and his friendship with Margaret Thatcher, when she lived at the
Play 46 mins
Table Talk
Rory MacLean is a historian and travel writer. His latest book, Pravda Ha Ha, is out now. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Livvy about how his mother was the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s Miss Moneypenny, singing a duet with David Bowie, and the time he was taken to lunch by a Vietnamese
Play 28 mins
Table Talk
Ryan Riley is a chef and entrepreneur, whose organisation Life Kitchen gives free cookery classes to people with cancer. On the podcast, he talks about his own mother’s struggle with cancer, how the best ideas always come on Tuesday nights (and with a drink), and why umami is the key to cooking for people with
Play 28 mins
Table Talk
Camilla Fayed is an entrepreneur, restaurateur, and daughter of Mohamed Al-Fayed, former owner of Harrods department store. On the podcast, she talks to Lara and Olivia about her childhood love of Finnish cuisine, interning in the Harrods kitchens, and Farmacy, her vegan restaurant chain.
Play 20 mins
Table Talk
Chef, writer, and broadcaster Valentine Warner has worked in numerous London restaurants, presented programmes such as the BBC’s ‘What to Eat Now’, and author of five books, the latest of which is ‘The Consolation of Food’. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Livvy about how growing up on a farm inspired his love
Play 28 mins