Lara Prendergast is executive editor of The Spectator. She hosts two Spectator podcasts, The Edition and Table Talk, and edits The Spectator’s food and drink coverage.
Now that we must all wear face masks, it is hardly surprising that they have started to become a fashion accessory. An Israeli jeweller has created a gold and diamond-encrusted mask that is said to be worth $1.5 million. According to the designer, the man who commissioned the extravagant mask — which weighs nearly 100
37 min listen
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
29 min listen
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
45 min listen
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
27 min listen
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
24 min listen
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
46 min listen
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
32 min listen
The government is looking at easing the lockdown, but how much remains unknown about the coronavirus (00:40)? In the meantime, Joe Biden is batting off sexual assault allegations (10:15), and we take a look at the upside of lockdown for new parents (21:30). With science writer Matt Ridley, virologist Elisabetta Groppelli, Spectator USA editor Freddy
I laughed when my Spanish midwife mentioned in passing that in Latin American countries they have a custom for new mothers known as la cuarentena — the quarantine. This was back in late February, a few weeks before my daughter Lily was born. I remember thinking it seemed not only ludicrous but archaic for a
28 min listen
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
28 min listen
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
20 min listen
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.
28 min listen
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
38 min listen
Chris Atkins is a journalist and documentary filmmaker, whose work on the tabloid media led him to give evidence in the Leveson Inquiry. In 2016, he was sentenced to five years in prison for tax offences. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Olivia about food in prison – why it was doomed to
25 min listen
Jon Atashroo is Head Chef at the Tate Modern, whose culinary career began with proving dough on a radiator at university. His latest creation is a tasting menu inspired by the Tate’s upcoming Andy Warhol exhibition, featuring dishes such as Coca Cola Jelly and Tuna Fish Disaster. On the podcast, he talks to Olivia and
41 min listen
As Sinn Fein enters coalition talks with Fianna Fail, economist Fredrik Erixon writes that the encroachment of fringe parties on the mainstream is a part of a wider European trend. What’s more, he argues that the only the mainstream parties that adapt can survive. On the podcast, Fraser Nelson bats for Fredrik’s thesis, and debates
13 min listen
Skye Gyngell, an Australian chef best known for her work as food editor for Vogue, and for winning a Michelin star at the Petersham Nurseries Cafe. She is now the founder of Spring at Somerset House and the culinary director of Heckfield Place. On the podcast, she talks to Lara and Livvy about being subjected
In 1622, Elizabeth Joscelin wrote a letter to her unborn child. This was fairly common practice in Elizabethan England; pregnant women were encouraged to write ‘mother’s legacy’ texts in case they did not survive the birth. ‘It may… appear strange to thee to receyue theas lines from a mother that dyed when thou weart born,’
31 min listen
First, as the news agenda is dominated by things like Huawei, HS2, and public spending, could politics be – whisper it – returning to normal? In his cover piece this week, Rod Liddle writes how, for the most part, the election result has put a lid on the civil war between Remainers and Brexiteers. One
36 min listen
Sarah Langford is a barrister and author of the best-selling In Your Defence, which follows 11 real-life cases in the criminal and family courts. On the podcast, Sarah tells Lara and Livvy about her family’s background in farming, the vending machine diet of a barrister, and how MeToo killed the drinking culture in chambers. Presented
