Table Talk

Surely needing no introduction to Spectator listeners, Michael Gove has been a staple of British politics for almost two decades. As a Christmas treat, he joins Lara Prendergast to talk about his memo...

Tom Gilbey, the internet’s most charismatic wine expert, sits down with Olivia Potts for Table Talk. Tom is a winemaker, merchant, educator – and also an author. His new book, Thirsty, is part-me...

A woman that needs no introduction for regular Spectator readers, Tanya Gold has been the Spectator’s restaurant critic since 2011. On the podcast she tells Lara why – while it might be annoying – fel...

Sandrine Zhang Ferron is a tech entrepreneur and founder of Vinterior, the online marketplace for antique and vintage furniture. She joins Olivia Potts on this episode of Table Talk.&nb...

Stephen Harris, a self-taught chef who has run the Michelin-starred restaurant The Sportsman for over 25 years, sits down with Olivia Potts on Table Talk. Based just outside of Whitstable in Kent, The...

Broadcaster, writer, actor – and former MP – Gyles Brandreth joins Lara Prendergast on this episode of Table Talk to discuss his memories of food, from hating dates and loving 'bread sandwiches' to hi...

Writer Andrew Turvil is the former editor of the Good Food Guide, the AA Restaurant Guide and the Which? Pub Guide. His new book Blood, Sweat and Asparagus Spears: The Story of the 1990s Restaurant Re...

In a bumper episode, the legend that is Raymond Blanc joins Olivia Potts and Lara Prendergast. The self-taught chef heads up the double Michelin-starred Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, has trained chefs ...

Ben Lippett is a chef and food influencer whose recipes and cooking tips are hugely popular online. His new book How I Cook: A Chef's Guide To Really Good Home Cooking is out on the 2nd September...

Brett Graham is the man behind the Michelin-starred The Ledbury in Notting Hill, which is celebrating 20 years this year. He’s also the director of The Harwood Arms in Fulham, London’s only pub with a...

Charlotte Ivers is the restaurant critic for the Sunday Times; most recently she reviewed Lupa, Fenix and Home SW15. Charlotte started her career as a media adviser in Theresa May’...

Candice Chung is a food writer whose work has been featured in many publications, including the Guardian. Her first book, Chinese Parents Don’t Say I Love You, is out now.On the podcast, she tells Liv...

Thomasina Miers is a chef, writer and restaurateur who co-founded Wahaca – the award-winning restaurant group that brought bold, sustainable Mexican street food to the UK. Her new book, Mexican Table,...

Nadine Dorries is one of the most recognisable Conservative politicians from the past two decades. Elected as the MP for Mid Bedfordshire in 2005, she notably clashed with David Cameron and George Osb...

Jun Tanaka is a Japanese-British chef with over 30 years’ experience in some of London’s most famous restaurants, including La Gavroche, Restaurant Marco Pierre White and The Square. In 2016 he opened...

Daria Lavelle was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and raised in New York. Her work explores themes of identity and belonging and her short stories have appeared in The Deadlands, Dread Machine, and elsewhere. ...

Mary-Ellen McTague is a chef based in Manchester. She is the culinary driving force behind Aunbury, 4244, the Creameries and her newest venture, Pip at the Treehouse Hotel. Mary-Ellen is also the co-f...

Roger Pizey is a baker, chef and one of the most influential pâtissiers in the UK. He started his culinary journey as an apprentice at La Gavroche under Albert Roux before taking on the role of head o...

Gok Wan is a renowned stylist and television presenter. Over the years, Gok has transformed the way we think about style and body image with his much-loved series How to Look Good Naked and Gok’s Fash...

Loyd Grossman is a man of many talents: from appearing on our screens as the host of MasterChef and Through the Keyhole, to crafting a beloved line of pasta sauces. Loyd has left his mark on both the ...

Ash Sarkar is a journalist, academic and political activist known for her commentary on social justice and democratic socialism. She is a senior editor at Novara Media, and her work has been published...

Emma Fox is the chief exec of Berry Bros & Rudd, the world's oldest fine wine and spirit merchant. A retail veteran, Emma's broad experience has been shaped by a career spanning over 30 years. On the ...

Andy Cato is a musician, record producer and DJ, and is perhaps best known as one half of the Grammy Award-winning electronic music duo Groove Armada.Andy is also a farmer and now puts his energy into...

Jeremy Chan is the head chef and owner of Ikoyi, a West African-inspired restaurant that celebrates British seasonality. He is also the author of a cookbook of the same name.On the podcast, he tells L...

Julian Baggini is a philosopher, journalist and author. He has served as the academic director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and is a member of the Food Ethics Council. His new book, How the Wo...

Laura King is affectionately known as the 'Caviar Queen' and is widely regarded as the UK's foremost caviar expert. In this special episode of the podcast Laura takes Liv and Lara through a caviar tas...

Elif Shafak is a novelist, political scientist and essayist. She has published 21 books – 13 of which are novels – and her books have been translated into 58 languages. Her most recent novel There Are...

Richard Madeley is a presenter, author and journalist who has been on our screens since the 1980s, most notably presenting This Morning with his wife Judy and more recently on Good Morning Britain.On ...

Julian Metcalfe is a British entrepreneur and one of the most influential individuals on the London high street. He revolutionised the grab-and-go lunchtime food industry in 1986 by co-founding Pret a...

Terry Wiggins is a chef who led the catering team at Westminster’s Portcullis House. During his time, he served 13 prime ministers and received an MBE for services to Parliament. He has recently retir...

Tim Spector is a leading professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London and a renowned expert in nutrition, gut health, and the microbiome. He is the founder of the Zoe Project, which focu...

Claire Dinhut is known to thousands on social media as CondimentClaire. Raised in a European household in Los Angeles, her upbringing and her background studying history have influenced her other pass...

Charlie Bigham founded his eponymous ready to cook meals over 25 years ago. Having left a career as a management consultant, his company has gone on to report annual sales in the tens of millions, wit...

Musician Simon Raymonde is perhaps best known as part of the Scottish band the Cocteau Twins, but he has found further success as the co-founder of Bella Union Records. Bella Union produce music by Fa...

Will Beckett, CEO of Hawksmoor, founded the steakhouse chain with his childhood best friend Huw Gott in 2006. It has since expanded to 13 locations, including three outside the UK, and consistently be...

Romy Gill is a British-Indian chef, food-writer and broadcaster who was awarded an MBE in 2016 for her services to hospitality. She is the author of three cookbooks including her newest, Romy Gill's I...

Fred Smith is Head of Beef at Flat Iron. Having trained at several of London's top restaurants, he later became Head of Food at Byron. He then joined the Flat Iron series of restaurants in 2017. On th...

Jess Shadbolt is part of the celebrated trio behind King and Jupiter restaurants in New York City. Originally from Suffolk, she worked at the River Cafe and trained at Ballymaloe cookery school before...

Where to begin with Sir David! An English industrialist and explorer, he was the first person to complete the ‘Explorer’s Grand Slam’. This means he has completed both North and South Poles as well as...

Hadley Freeman is a journalist and author. She writes for The Sunday Times, having previously written for The Guardian. Her books include House of Glass: The Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century J...

Theo Randall is a Head Chef, restaurant owner, and food writer. He's currently the Chef Patron of Theo Randall at the InterContinental, and he was famously awarded a Michelin star at The River Cafe. H...

Tom Hayward is an award-winning food writer, a broadcaster, and proprietor of the bakery Fitzbillies in Cambridge. He writes regularly for the FT Magazine and often appears on BBC Radio 4. Following t...

Michael Zee is an author, cook and the creator of SymmetryBreakfast, which started as an Instagram account, before amassing over 670,000 followers and becoming one of the ‘most popular food books of 2...

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 obser...

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 t...

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 cookb...

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...

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 fav...

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-se...

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 ye...