Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware

It’s a foodie dream today with our next guest, chef and entrepreneur Meera Sodha. Author of the new vegetarian & vegan cookbook ‘Dinner’, Meera joined us for lunch bringing an absolutely delicious freshly baked honey cake with her! We discovered that Meera learned to cook from her lovely mum who grew up in Uganda, how she became a columnist for the Guardian magazine, her varied (and wild!) past careers, setting up her own dating agency 'Fancy an Indian?’(!), how she started writing cookbooks with the help of a smoothie company, and the fabulous story of how she met her husband (it’s like a Netflix romcom). Plus, she really gives Nigel Slater a run for his money with her incredible ways of describing food. Meera’s new vegan and vegetarian cookbook ‘Dinner’ is available to buy now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have Irish acting royalty joining us this week - and my new best friend - the fabulous Saoirse Ronan! We managed to grab lunch with Saoirse in the midst of promo for 2 incredible film projects, Steve McQueen’s Blitz & her very own The Outrun. Fresh from her viral appearance on Graham Norton, Saoirse told us all about growing up between NYC and Ireland, her iconic mum Monica, her love of Vegemite & Barry’s Tea, how she met her husband, being on film sets from a very young age and all about the joint love her family have for John Travolta. Plus, mum surprises us all this week with an epic version of the story of Skimbleshanks, who knew she was hiding that talent?! And who needs her on a new audiobook reading?? We absolutely adored having Saoirse join us, you really won’t want to miss either of the films she is currently starring in - The Outrun is available to buy & rent now, and Blitz will be released on Apple TV+ on 22nd November. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we have our favourite Bostonian comedy actor joining us for lunch at mine, and what a treat it was! Mum was over the moon to have the ‘dazzlingly handsome’ Rob in front of her, and - over an absolutely delish Nigel Slater peach and poached chicken salad - we heard all of his hilarious and heartwarming stories. He told us about meeting his wife at a summer camp 20 years ago, joining an olive oil club with his next door neighbour, working with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, the horrendous food poisoning he got from a dodgy oyster, and we’ve found another Table Manners guest with a penchant for a cold water swim! Rob is not only a fabulous actor, but also a great cook apparently - we’re coming round for a chicken noodle soup soon! Rob is currently staring in Bad Monkey which is available to stream now on Apple TV+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the pod this week, we welcome the legendary Gary Barlow! In between early morning studio sessions and tour rehearsals, Gary stopped by my house to share some brilliant stories — from his days on the road with Take That, where he and the band indulged in the infamous “King Naan” curry competition, to the comforts of home, like his mum’s classic chicken and mushroom pie. On the menu is a recipe I’ve never made before, from the Sunlight & Breadcrumbs recipe book by Renee Erickson & Sara Dickerman - mum is obsessed! Scrambled eggs with radicchio, parmesan and balsamic with @dustyknucklebakery focaccia and for pud, the banana bread from the Table Manners cookbook.Gary opened up about his journey into winemaking, his love of good food, wine and the perfect juicer (he loves a daily shroom smoothie). He even let us in on his rider staples and reminisced about listening to music with King Charles. Gary’s new ITV series Gary Barlow's Wine Tour: South Africa starts from 11th Nov. ‎Join us for a one off special live recording with Choose Love at The Union Chapel in Islington on December 2nd - more information here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.