Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware

We have actor, presenter, and national treasure Danny Dyer round for lunch this week. Mum wondered who would out swear each other over the meal, but we were both on our best behaviour! We learned about his close relationship with playwright Harold Pinter, his love of his mum’s shepherds pie, his thoughts on being related to the royals, his plans to open a Kent caravan park with his daughter Dani, and we discover his starter of choice for a burger is… another burger! We can’t wait to pop down to the caravan park for a holiday, save a spot for us Dyers! Danny’s new film ‘Marching Powder’ is in cinemas now.

We have a Grammy legend on the podcast this week, 11 time winner, it’s singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile! Brandi schlepped to New Cross from Windsor where she was staying with her best friend, Sir Elton John. She is about to release a brand new album with Elton, and we heard all about how the album came about - and that the entire process was filmed for a documentary too. Brandi also talked about living on a compound in Washington state with all of her close friends and family, that she got married to her wife in London, all about her regular jamming sessions with Joni Mitchell (with wine and Mexican food dished up for everyone!), that it was thanks to Sir Paul McCartney that she met her wife, plus she has THE best idea pitch to Ben & Jerry’s for their new Ice Cream flavour - Candy Bar-lile! Brandi & Elton’s new album ‘Who Believes In Angels’ is released on the 4th April, and you can catch Brandi on her UK & European tour in June & July.

This week we have the absolutely gorgeous chef and cookbook writer, Jake Cohen joining us for lunch. The Native New Yorker - known for his delicious bakes - came over to bring us a special pud fresh from his upcoming cookbook. Jake told us all about the amazing NYC food scene and what restaurants to try, that he studied wine in Bordeaux, and he reveals he had a nautical cruise themed bar mitzvah. We also talk about how he threw dinner parties in high school, and we discover that he was planning what to make us for pud while he was out raving! Jake’s new cookbook ‘Dinner Party Animal’ will be out later this year, and it sounds like a dinner party hosts dream - we can’t wait to grab a copy! Think maybe a trip to NYC should be on the cards soon?

We have the ‘Baroness of the Riverside’ on the podcast this week, the legendary Ruthie Rogers of the River Cafe in London. I made Ruthie Marbella chicken for lunch, and she brought a delicious trio of River Cafe puds for us to taste - including the iconic Chocolate Nemesis! Ruthie knows absolutely everyone and we loved hearing all her stories of the incredible people she has cooked for. We also learned she was taught all her cooking tricks from her grandma, she was born in Woodstock, New York, she developed a podcast in lockdown, and she is our only guest who has ever asked what season of the year her last supper would take place in! We could listen and talk to Ruthie all day! Ruthie’s podcast ‘Table 4’ is available everywhere now.

This week we have an absolute mega star on the podcast, the gorgeous Zoe Saldaña! Fresh from her Golden Globe win for Emilia Pérez, we sat down for brunch to chat about everything before she heads off to the BAFTAs & Oscars later in the month. We heard all about her growing up in the Dominican Republic and learning to cook from her grandma, how Emilia Pérez made it to the big screen, the wonderful story of how she met her husband (and asking for a day off from Guardian’s of The Galaxy for their wedding!), and we learn that Zoe judges people by the quality of their rice! Plus she share's some delicious Dominican recipes and tips that we can’t wait to try. Sending you all our luck and best wishes for the award season Zoe, we’ll get the Chinese noodles on standby for after the win! Emilia Pérez is available to stream now on Netflix.

We get to see a legend’s True Colours on the podcast this week! We joined the powerhouse hitmaker Cyndi Lauper for lunch in central London and mum cooked up some borscht especially for the occasion. It was a total honour to hear Cyndi’s stories; we learnt how she grew up in the same house as her whole extended family, how she would play tricks on her priest, her tips on cooking the perfect Italian pasta sauce, how she got kidney stones from spinach, the incredible LGBTQIA+ advocacy work she does, and she confesses that her upcoming tour really will be her last. We sent Cyndi home with some boxes of mum’s borscht - us girls really did have fun with Cyndi, you really don’t want to miss her upcoming UK tour it sounds incredible! Tickets for the ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Farewell Tour’ are available through Cyndi’s website now.

2025 is our year of the Oscar & BAFTA nominees, and this week we have this years 'Best Supporting Actress' nominee Felicity Jones joining us for lunch. Felicity is currently starring in The Brutalist which is absolutely phenomenal, and she told us all about how the beautiful film came together. We discovered the Birmingham born actress is very superstitious, how she got her first role in the radio series ‘The Archers’, filming a Christmas film in the peak of summer, and why she will never be able to star in a musical! The biggest revelation is that we might even be related, or we all just love a wild Birmingham delicacy… We’re rooting for you Felicity, best of luck with all of the award nominations, you’re a superstar! The Brutalist is playing in cinemas now.

We have documentary legend, Louis Theroux joining us for dinner this week. After getting a puncture on his bike cycling round to Clapham, we sat down for a 3 course dinner served up by mum which included her famous chicken soup. We heard all about when he lived in a brothel, his love of spaghetti hoops and evolving from fussy eating, being born in Singapore, getting a first class degree at Oxford, working with porn stars and we discover his first job was working for a glass blower in Boston! We’re pleased to report that Louis has now fixed his bike and had it fully serviced - looking forward to seeing you out on the roads - or just come by for another glass of wine Louis! Season 4 of The Louis Theroux Podcast is available everywhere now.

This week we have Tim Cook - CEO of Apple - joining us for brunch at mums. Sandwiched between a meeting with the Prime Minister and afternoon tea with the King & Queen, Tim popped over to join us in Clapham and mum rustled up a Kedgeree. Tim brought us his favourite Californian Chardonnay and some very special spiced apple jam made from the fruits grown on Apple Park in San Fran (my kids have finished the jar!). Tim told us about waking up before 5am every day to start work, that an Apple Watch saved his dad’s life, his excitement about the upcoming F1 film, his love of caving & hiking, growing up in Alabama, receiving over 600 emails a day, and how he started his career flipping burgers at age 14 for $1 an hour. Thank you Tim for taking time to join us in Clapham, we can’t wait to pop to Cafe Macs for lunch with you soon x