In this bonus episode of Ruthie's Table 4, BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated director Luca Guadagnino discusses pasta and the diversity of Italian food from different regions.

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?What I know about Luca Guadagnino is, of course, the films he's made. But what I know from Luca is how passionate he is about food. Friends tell me Luca has three kitchens at his home in Piemonte, including one elaborately equipped for pastries, and a special room for keeping vinegar and dried herbs from his garden. 

Food not only plays a strong role in his home life, but an important role in his films, conveying sensuous desire and transformation. We're here today, in the one kitchen I have in my home, to talk about food, memories, film and family. A beginning to a new friendship, one cook to another.

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Whenever I'm with Bella Freud, which isn't often enough, I always wish I could see more of her. Bella and I share the same social values and beliefs, and we pursued careers which are both fleeting but lasting: She is in fashion, and I'm in food. A meal is a moment, and an outfit changes daily.  In our early years, Bella's father, Lucian Freud, came almost every day to The River Cafe. When with Bella, we were told never to interrupt, as this was their precious time. Now when Bella comes with her friends, I always wish I could whisk her away and have her all to myself.  Today, on Table 4, I finally do.

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People often say they'd be too nervous to cook a meal for me, so imagine how I feel interviewing Alastair Campbell, co-host of The Rest Is Politics, one of the UK's top podcasts.  Alistair is a journalist, author, broadcaster, and defining political figure of our time. I've known him since the early days of New Labour, where he was Director of Communications and Strategy at the heart of it all. He's also been a prominent mental health activist and joins me today in The River Cafe to talk about food, family, values, and even busking in the south of France with his bagpipes. How do I really feel about hosting him today? I'm not nervous at all, just honoured and excited.

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The Oscars are only a few days away and Ruthie’s Table 4 is excited. Ralph Fiennes, Zoe Saldaña and Elton John - three Ruthie’s Table 4 guests - are nominated for Academy Awards, and we’re revisiting their interviews in this episode.

Ralph is nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his brilliant performance in Conclave. Elton for Best Original Song for ‘Never Too Late’ from the documentary about his life of the same name. Zoe Saldaña is nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her magnetic performance in the musical Emilia Pérez.

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Erling Kagge? is one of the world's great explorers - a man whose life embraces solitude. That is, when he‘s not being attacked by a polar bear… thankfully, he lived to tell the tale. He is the first person to reach, by foot, the North Pole, South Pole, and Mount Everest. Erling and my life might be dissimilar, but we share a love for the unknown. For him, it might be a new horizon. For me, a discovery of a little-known Sicilian recipe. Today, we're here on our own adventure, not on the top of a mountain or in the icy North Pole, but safe and warm in the River Cafe.

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In Francis Ford Coppola (Part 2), we discuss the origins of pizza, his experience eating lambs’ brain as a child, and how a loophole during America’s prohibition led to Francis buying the Inglenook winery with his earnings from The Godfather. We both bought in bottles of his wine to taste - a lovely way to begin and to continue a conversation.

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When Francis Ford Coppola agreed to do a podcast with me, good friends who know us both said “actually Ruthie, the two of you are rather alike”. Did they mean being a Chef is like being a Film Director? Or producing a movie is like running a restaurant? Or is choosing the grapes for your vineyard is like choosing the herbs for your fish? Or most of all, did they mean we both have our family involved in everything we do? I'm happy to take any of the above.

In part one of my conversation with Francis, we talk about the vocabulary gangsters use when cooking, meeting an aspiring young filmmaker called George Lucas, the pain of losing our sons far too young - and everything in between. Also… in a first for the podcast, we even find time for a musical break - and sing a duet of the Howdy Doody theme song.

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In this bonus episode of Ruthie's Table 4, Golden Globe-winning actress Zoe Saldaña discusses her love for New York - a melting pot of different foods and cultures.

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A couple of months ago I discovered a sign on the door to my office, saying ‘Do not disturb.’ Zoe Saldana was inside, changing into her dress for lunch downstairs to celebrate the release of her new movie, Emilia Pérez. Afterwards I walked her to her car, talking about how to make the perfect rice. A few minutes later, we'd agreed to do a podcast together.

Since then, I've seen her everywhere, on screens and newspapers, magazines and posters. Last month she won a Golden Globe, and in February and March she’s a contender for both a BAFTA and an Oscar. Now, Zoe is back here with me on a Saturday morning in The River Cafe, to talk about food, family, and happiness.

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What can a lunch tell you about a colleague, or a job candidate? In this bonus episode, Founder and Editor of Tortoise Media, James Harding, discusses the power of the working lunch.

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Around the table with friends we were talking about the kind of movies we like best. My vote was for movies about journalism — His Girl Friday, Broadcast News, The Insider, All the President's Men.

I don’t need to watch a movie to see my favourite journalist, I just call James Harding — the youngest ever editor of The Times, Washington editor of the Financial Times, and head of BBC News. In 2018 he founded Tortoise, an online news platform, with the principle of responsible, deep journalism. Slow news in the age of high-speed information.

James and I speak often about what’s happening in the world, our families, what he’s writing, where he’s going and a lot more. Today we’re in The River Cafe to talk about food and memories.

Two friends, a journalist and a cook together. That’s what I call news.

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When the great filmmakers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach wrote to say they were moving to London for a year, we decided to meet for Sunday lunch with their son in The River Cafe. After that first lunch we made a date for the following Sunday, and the next one. Soon they became a tradition.

Today, Noah, Greta and I are here in The River Cafe to talk about food and life, food and friendship, and the beautiful movies they've made for all of us — Barbie, Little Women, The Squid and the Whale, and Marriage Story.

And after our conversation, we will have lunch, together. Now that's tradition.

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In this bonus episode of Ruthie’s Table 4, with the inauguration approaching, Ruthie joins friend and writer for The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik, to discuss James Carville, the election and America’s future.

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"It’s the economy, stupid." You may recognise the slogan which won Bill Clinton the presidency in 1992. It was the creation of James Carville, the brilliant campaign strategist who has gone on to become a key voice in American politics as a consultant, commentator and author. Now, James is here at The River Cafe to share memories of growing up in the Deep South, stories about his mother, and his new film, Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid.

And in a special crossover ahead of the inauguration, we are joined halfway by Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel of The News Agents podcast, to talk politics, presidents, and the importance of charm.

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The first time I met Josh Brolin was here at The River Cafe, and there was an instant connection between us. Josh is a storyteller, and I sat there listening as he described what it was like to be a 14-year-old chef in an Italian restaurant, and acting in No Country for Old Men, Milk, and most recently Knives Out.

Josh is back in The River Cafe today to talk about his beautiful memoir, From Under the Truck, memories of a vivid childhood, and the way food and love for his family sustains him.

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In this bonus helping of Ruthie's Table 4, Sienna and Ruthie discuss the art of the Sunday roast — a sacred ritual in Sienna's life.

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Everyone knows Sienna Miller—not just as an actress and a fashion designer, but also as a brave combatant who stood up against a powerful media empire. At The River Cafe, we know her as a fabulous eater. Always here with a big table, always with children, always sharing.

On this episode of Ruthie's Table 4, I’m here with Sienna for a conversation about food, family and bravery. 

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Happy holidays to all of our listeners, we thank you so much for your responses and for your support.

As a present for you, we’ve made this podcast with Sian Wyn Owen and Joseph Trivelli, the executive chefs at The River Cafe. We’ll take you inside the world of The River Cafe during this special time of year, and answer some of your festive cooking questions.

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I’m often asked about the inspiration for Ruthie’s Table 4. The answer is easy. Two words — Ian McKellen.

For some years, Richard and I invited actors to perform at our home. Ian ended his performance with a reading of a recipe for Ribollita, a traditional Tuscan soup. Compelling as any sonnet, we were all spellbound.

Ian is known to everyone as different characters — Macbeth, King Lear, Gandalf. I think of him as one character, inspiring, kind and brave. For this podcast, we went to his beautiful house overlooking the Thames. A morning and a conversation I shall always remember.

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Acting, directing, cooking. In this candid conversation, Saoirse, Greta and Ruthie explore their personal approaches to learning, and mastering their own confidence.

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The other week, the director Greta Gerwig sat at my table, describing the unique experience of working with Saoirse Ronan — ‘Ruthie, you have to meet her.’

In a way, I feel like I’ve already met Saoirse through the intimacy of her award-winning performances in 'Atonement', 'Lady Bird' and 'Brooklyn', and her forthright interviews. Now, the three of us are here together at The River Cafe in person — Saoirse, Greta and I. We’re talking about food and cooking, Ireland, Saoirse’s garden, learning to eat spaghetti and much, much more.

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Adam Gopnik is a brilliant mind. An acclaimed writer, essayist and commentator; he's authored nine books, and has written for The New Yorker for nearly forty years, to which he's contributed non-fiction, fiction, memoir and criticism.

I've been lucky enough to share 34 years of friendship with Adam, and in that time, we've never stopped cooking, and sharing our passion for food. Today, we're talking about family, the world, and of course, eating.

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When Michael McCarty walks into The River Cafe, he immediately fills the room with his warmth and kindness. Restaurants are, of course, what he knows best.

He and his wife Kim opened Michael?s in Santa Monica in 1979, bringing Californian cuisine to the world; artichokes, asparagus, tomatoes and peaches, grown in the sun and eaten under the sun. Ten years later, California came to New York when they introduced Michael?s to midtown Manhattan. 

Today, they are with me in London, bringing their warmth and kindness to Table 4. 

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When Rose and I opened the River Café in 1987, we were credited for bringing open kitchens, farm-sourced ingredients, and women chefs, to restaurants. We would always say ?Alice Waters did it first.

Chef, author, food activist, founder of Chez Panisse and Edible Schoolyard, Alice is a culinary icon and a hero.  She is also my close friend.

Today, we are here to talk about our restaurants, our families, the world we live in and wonderful memories. 

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The connections between Scott Rothkopf, Director of New York?s Whitney Museum, and I run deep.

When Rose and I wrote the first River Cafe Cookbook in 1994, Scott?s husband, Jonathan Burnham, helped us with our introduction.

Museums and restaurants are about connecting art and people. They welcome people into a space and create something beautiful to see, or cook something delicious for them to eat. This is what my friend Scott and I do every day, and this is what we will talk about today. A deep connection, indeed.

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When Elton John agrees to do a podcast, you go to wherever he is. So a few weeks ago, I travelled to Elton and David Furnish?s beautiful home in Berkshire. We sat around his wooden dining table, tried to think of songs with lyrics of food (?Blueberry Hill?, ?Sugar Sugar?), talked about shelling peas with his grandmother, the first meal he and David shared (at the same table) and much more.

What was meant to be a half hour conversation stretched to an hour. His assistant, who joined us, said in 20 years of interviews, she had never heard many of the stories he told.

That?s what food does for memories - and what our podcast is all about.

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The world knows Kristin Scott Thomas as an actress, starring in films such as The English Patient, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and most recently, playing Diana Tarverner in Slow Horses. Having lived in Paris for decades, Kristin is passionate about French cuisine and culture, and today at The River Cafe we speak about how food, France, and family have all played a role in her journey.

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We return with our guest this week, former Prime Minister Tony Blair. In the second episode of the new series, Tony Blair reminisces about food in politics, from the 'memorable? meals he made his children at Chequers to dining with Heads of State, including the late Queen Elizabeth II. 

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This week, we had our first guest of the new series, award-winning director Guillermo Del Toro, on the podcast. When he came to The River Cafe, he shared his deep knowledge of tequila and his passion for making his own. Today we're sharing with you what he taught us, giving you a taste of his hometown and the tequila region, Jalisco. 

You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcasts. 

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Our first guest in the new series is film director Guillermo Del Toro. Guillermo has taken us into his world, often surreal, mystical, and sometimes dark, through his hugely successful films. But today, he joins us in The River Cafe to talk about the foods of his childhood in Mexico, the foods in his movies, and how food is often used to build trust between his characters.

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We are days away from the new season of Ruthie's Table 4, which begins on Tuesday 22nd October! Today, we are giving you a preview of who you can expect to hear from in the coming weeks. 

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We have just one week until the new series of Ruthie?s Table 4 starts on the 22nd October!

And in just 21 days, the U.S. Presidental election will be underway.

This week we are revisiting an episode from Series 2 with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. 

Considered the most powerful woman in American political history, she recalls how her five children would help her prepare dinners for the Democratic Party in the early days of her political career, her memories of childhood meals in Baltimore, and her love of everything chocolate. 

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We have just one week until the new series of Ruthie?s Table 4 starts on the 22nd October!

And in just 21 days, the U.S. Presidental election will be underway.

This week we are revisiting an episode from Series 2 with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Considered the most powerful woman in American political history, she recalls how her five children would help her prepare dinners for the Democratic Party in the early days of her political career, her memories of childhood meals in Baltimore, and her love of everything chocolate. 

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On 22 October the new series of Ruthie's Table 4 returns! In this episode from series two, Steve McQueen talks beautifully about his family, ethical values and the impact of food in his life and work.

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Ahead of the the fourth series of Ruthie's Table 4 returning on the 22nd October, we are visiting the archives and today, we hear from our guest - Emily Blunt.

Emily gives us the recipe for the roast chicken worthy of a marriage proposal, reveals why her favourite pasta dish is cacio e pepe, and how she ate Burger King every night before performing on stage with Dame Judi Dench. 

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Three weeks from today, on 22nd October Ruthie?s Table 4, Season 4 of will begin.

This week we are replaying one of our favourite episodes - Dame Judi Dench which we recorded in January of 2023. 
Listen to her recite from memory a childhood poem, recall trying to impress an agent with her cooking, and describe how she cooked a raw sausage on stage for Norman Rodway. 

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In this week's episode of Ruthie's Table 4, we're delving into the archives again, ahead of our return for series 4 in October. 

This time, we're revisiting our time with fashion model, actor and political activist, Adwoa Aboah. 

Adwoa's parents have been part of the River Cafe family since we opened 37 years ago. Five years later Adwoa was born, and was soon sat in the River Cafe as a child, eating pasta, butter and cheese. Now we're here, talking about her life as one of the most successful models in the world, mental health, and of course, food.

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This week on Ruthie's Table 4, we're revisiting our time with actor, filmmaker, writer and comedian, Mel Brooks.

Mel makes the world laugh, but funny isn't the word he'd choose for himself. That word, would be hungry.

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This week on Ruthie's Table 4, we're going back to the archives to relive a memorable conversation with Oscar-winning actress, and successful entrepreneur, Gwyneth Paltrow. 

Two friends, talking about food, family and love. 

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This week on Ruthie's Table 4, we're delving into the archives to revisit one of our favourite guests, David Beckham.

David featured in two episodes all the way back in season one. We could listen to him speak of his love for food and family forever, so now we've compiled them both into a special extended episode.

Stories of Madrid, Milan, memories from his childhood. We invite you to share some more time in his company.

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In our second ?Best Of,? and final episode for this season, we?re revisiting some memorable conversations with Linda Evangelista, Eric Ripert, Stephen Fry, Gary Lineker, and Laura Dern?it?s been a great series.  

Please remember to keep sending your suggestions for Season 4.  

ruthiestable4@gmail.com

Back in October.

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Forty-three episodes later, Ruthie?s Table 4 is taking a break before starting Season 4 in October. 

Well, not really a break, as over the next two weeks you will have ?Best Of? compilations from Season 3, followed by some of our favourite episodes from all the series. 

Today we feature excerpts from Sarah Jessica Parker, Guy Ritchie, Wyclef Jean, Carey Mulligan and Tom Hollander.

An immeasurable thank you to you ALL for being the greatest listeners ever. And should you have thoughts or suggestions for Ruthie?s Table 4 please contact me: ruthiestable4@gmail.com.

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A few months ago in The River Cafe, after talking about raising children in a tumultuous world, the movies we've been watching, and above all, where and what we've been eating, Keira Knightley, James Righton and I vowed to do an episode of Ruthie?s Table 4 together.

Schedules, families, work and travel got in the way until finally we reunited to talk about their many worlds?connected by their love of people, their love of food, and their love for each other.

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In the past weeks I have been listening to Griffin Dunne?s interviews, watching his films, and most of all, reading his beautiful new memoir, ?The Friday Afternoon Club,? with stories about growing up in a family full of storytellers.

Cooking is telling a story, eating together is telling a story, going to a food market in Naples, is telling a story. When Griffin told his brother Alex he was going to write a book about their family, he responded, ?You can say anything you want, but say it from a place of love.?

Today, Griffin and I are going to talk about food and family, food and friends, food and memories?from a place of love.

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Have you ever heard a recipe rapped by one of the world?s greatest musicians? You will on this week?s episode of Ruthie?s Table 4 with her guest Wyclef Jean.

Wyclef emigrated age nine from Haiti to the Brooklyn projects, played fourteen instruments by the time he was thirteen, won three Grammys, speaks seven languages, and was asked to run for President at least two times.

After the recipe rap, Wyclef tells the stories of his life in food, music and memories. 

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When I?m asked why I love Mexico, the answer is the culture, cities, food, the seas, the mountains, and the history. But what I really love most are the people, and Frida Escobedo is one of those people.

A prominent architect in today?s world, Frida is reimagining the contemporary and modern galleries at New York?s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first woman architect ever to be appointed to do so. From reinventing the world-renowned Centre Pompidou in Paris to designing the Serpentine Gallery?s annual Summer Pavilion, Frida?s unique vision now influences many of the most iconic architectural landmarks of our time.

Today, in The River Cafe, we?re making deep-fried zucchini flowers?their stunning colours remind me of our beautiful Mexico, and when she?s not with me, they remind me Frida.

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Every year must be an anniversary for someone like Maria Sharapova, who hit her first tennis ball at the age of four, was spotted by Martina Navratilova age six, and became one of only ten women in history to win a career Grand Slam when she was 25.

But this year is especially special. Maria is celebrating 20 years since winning against Serena Williams on Centre Court, becoming, at just 17, Wimbledon Champion.

Today we are here at The River Cafe to celebrate - two women talking about food and memories, with stories to tell.

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It was in our private dining room three years ago when I wrote to Ridley Scott asking if he?d be the first guest for a podcast idea I?d had about food and memories.

Ridley wrote back saying, ?Yes Ruthie but I?m directing Gucci.?

A year later, ?Yes Ruthie but I?m directing Napoleon.?

A year later, ?Yes Ruthie but I?m directing The Bee Gees.?

Then a few days ago, whilst sitting in the River Cafe garden with his family, he drew a beautiful drawing on the wine list with the words: ?Ruthie, how about next Tuesday??

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Quite often, people say to me, ?I couldn?t possibly have you to dinner, you?re the chef of the river café, cooking for you would be overwhelming.? That?s how I feel about introducing Sir David Hare. How do you write for one of the greatest writers of our generation? Whether he's scripting acclaimed plays like Skylight, Plenty, Stuff Happens, or movies like The White Crow, Denial, or The Reader, David is nothing short of a master of the written word.

But I do think David and I have much in common. We both like being hosts; me, in The River Cafe, and David at his home, where he understands the theatre of sitting at a table. We both know that if food brings a table to life, so do the people around it.

Today, we are here together in the River Cafe to talk about food, memories, theatre, travel and more. It would be natural to feel overwhelmed, but David makes it easy, and I just feel delighted, and lucky, to have him here.

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