Share
Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware
Grace Dent
The fantastically glamorous Grace Dent arrived in Clapham having already won mum over with her leopard print dress as soon as she step through the door. The broadcaster, author and restaurant critic joined us round the dinner table for mum's delicious harissa meatballs whilst mum and I fawned over her every word.
We heard about her dad’s famous ‘Sketty’, her love of Angel Delight and a drink she describes as ‘Happiness In A Glass’ - a Pina Colada. The Masterchef regular tells us about growing up ‘up north’, her 'sarcastic face', memories of watching the Blackpool illuminations and how she can get into any restaurant she wants... We obviously exchanged numbers and I'm now will happily be her future plus 1.
Her absolutely brilliant and touching memoir ‘Hungry’ is out on October 29th and is available to preorder now.
Here’s the recipe for mum’s Lamb Harissa Meatballs:
1kg minced lamb
2/3 thick slices of bread
300 ml milk
Handful of mint chopped
Handful of parsley chopped
1 tsp dry oregano
Large tsp of cummin
2 cloves of garlic crushed
Grated zest of one lemon
Sauce:
3 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cans of tomatoes
10 cherry tomatoes halved
1 tablespoon of harissa
Handful of basil
Soak the slices of bread in milk for a few minutes. Add lamb, herbs, garlic and lemon and mix thoroughly with a fork.
Make small balls of mixture( golf ball size) and put on a large baking tray.
Make sauce by frying garlic, adding all tomatoes and harissa. Cook for 10 minutes. Whilst sauce is cooking, griddle or grill the meatballs until they are browned. Then put in sauce and cook for 20/30 minutes.
Sprinkle chopped basil on top before serving with mashed sweet potato and/or rice
Autumn Courgette & Charred Sweetcorn Salad:
6 small corn on the cob
4 courgettes cut into strips or diagonal
Bag of salad (rocket or ruby chard)
Olive oil
Sherry vinegar
Pepper and salt
100 grams feta
Heat oil in griddle
Griddle then corn on cob until cooked
Then griddle courgette to get nice stripes
Allow to cool
Put bag of salad in bowl
Put courgette on top
Strip the corn from the cob and add to salad.
Add few extra chard leaves on top.
Add sprinkle of salt and pepper
Dash of olive oil and a tablespoon of sherry vinegar
Crumble feta on top
More episodes
View all episodes
32. Matthew Broderick
55:29||Season 17, Ep. 32It’s week 3 of our NYC series and we’re certainly not having a day off, it’s acting legend Matthew Broderick! Star of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Producers, The Lion King, and so many more, Matthew is a born and bred New Yorker so it was meant to be! We got details of his morning coffee routine, sharing the milk with his cat, what it was like working with Marlon Brando, spending time in Ireland, visiting his mum every weekend and the delicious food they ate, eating around London & New York while working on the West End & Broadway, and we find out whether Matthew or his wife SJP has a bigger wall of shoes! What a treat to be at the top of The Standard High Line with Matthew pointing out all of the best hot spots in NYC out the window, thank you so much for joining us Matthew!!
31. Jonathan Groff
57:41||Season 17, Ep. 31This week for our NYC series we have the star of stage and screen, Broadway legend - and newly Tony nominated - Jonathan Groff joining us! Fresh from opening night of his brand new - and already 6 time Tony nominated - show Just In Time, Jonathan joined us at The Standard High Line for lunch. We heard all about what it’s like playing the iconic Bobby Darin and how the play came to be. We also talked about Jonathan growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania, figuring out his sexuality, working as a waiter in NYC, audition rejections, Frozen 3, and his deep love of Beyoncé. Just In Time has just opened at the Circle In The Square Theatre in NYC, and you don’t want to miss seeing him shine!
30. Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco
01:05:09||Season 17, Ep. 30Table Manners takes on Manhattan! For our NYC series, we’re serving up the wonderful Selena Gomez and her gorgeous fiancé (and good friend of the podcast) Benny Blanco! Recorded live from the glorious Boom Bar at The Standard High Line hotel, Selena & Benny told us all about their first date in LA, the recipes Selena learned from her nana, wedding plans, how Selena got a rash after their first kiss, the meals Benny’s mum cooked him growing up, eating pickles at the cinema and that she used to hide round the corner from Benny’s house before a date. This was a total delight with the most gorgeous guests - we can’t wait for you to see what else is ahead for this stellar NYC season! Selena & Benny’s joint album ‘I Said I Love You First’ is out now.
29. Emma Grede
48:37||Season 17, Ep. 29We have CEO and entrepreneur Emma Grede joining us for lunch this week. She is the star of both Dragons’ Den & Shark Tank, and also co-creator of Skims, Good American & Safely (all created with the Kardashian family!). Over a delicious Ravinder Bhogal chicken dish, Emma taught us the details of her Thanksgiving ham recipe, talked about cooking and learning with her friend Mrs Nancy, creating her ‘’A Seat At The Table’ events, investing in the Lumberjaxe boys on Dragons’ Den, juggling being a mum and an entrepreneur, her love of an M&S cheese & celery sandwich and we discover the best trivia about brown sauce! Emma thank you so much for joining us, hope the food on the flight home was the curry you were looking for! Emma’s latest project is coming early May!
28. Martin Freeman
57:45||Season 17, Ep. 28We have Emmy & BAFTA winning actor Martin Freeman joining us for dinner this week! And he may have a filthier mind than me! In the midst of rehearsals for his new play, mum served up a delicious Ginger Pig lamb with an array of gorgeous sides for Martin. We heard all about his love of musicals (especially West Side Story), how he nearly became a professional squash player in his youth, how he gave up being a vegetarian after 25 years, what it’s like being the youngest of 5 children, and we hear about the exciting new play he is starring in with Jack Lowden. We laughed throughout this whole episode, Martin was a total dream dinner party guest (even if he had given up puddings for lent!). Martin’s show ‘The Fifth Step’ opens at ‘@SohoPlace' on 12th May and runs through to the end of July.
27. Jonathan and Honey Ross
55:30||Season 17, Ep. 27Chat show legend Jonathan Ross and his fabulously talented and fantastic screenwriter daughter, Honey Ross join us on the podcast this week! I whipped up an Ixta Belfrage prawn lasagne, mum made a lemon curd roulade, and we settled down to hear some amazing stories from the brilliant duo. Jonathan told us all about his infamous halloween parties, Honey treated us to the story of her iconic dirty martini recipe, we heard about both of their unique collections of items, Jonathan’s online alter-ego, and we hear some delicious recipe ideas that are a must try! We couldn’t have loved both of them more, what a treat of an episode. Jonathan & Honey’s amazing film & TV podcast ‘Reel Talk’ is available to listen to wherever you get your podcasts!
26. Geri Halliwell-Horner
48:13||Season 17, Ep. 26She’s here to spice up our lives, we have the icon that is Geri Halliwell-Horner joining us this week! Geri is a Spice Girl, author, actress, and singer - there’s nothing she can’t do! Over lunch we heard about the time she met Nelson Mandela, winning Star Baker on Bake Off, her love of the Tudors, collecting snails as pets, living with George Michael and we discover that she would choose pick ’n’ mix as her last supper main course! Always an absolute treat to have a Spice Girl join us on the podcast, 3 down, 2 to go! Geri’s new children’s book Rosie Frost: Ice on Fire is released on 10th April worldwide.
25. Tom Parker-Bowles and Henry Jeffreys
53:03||Season 17, Ep. 25We have two guests this week, Food critic - and Queen Camilla’s son - Tom Parker-Bowles, and his podcast co-host and wine expert, Henry Jeffreys. Their new podcast ‘Intoxicating History’ delves into the origins of all types of alcohol, and Henry dug out a few bottles of wine from my wine cupboard to pair with our meal! We chatted about growing up with a future Queen and what Camilla would cook for Tom (scrambled eggs is her speciality), their shared love of Thai & Mexican food, the pleasure of a Big Mac, how they found each other to put together a podcast, and we can all agree that a long lunch really is one of life’s best joys! This was the ultimate food and wine episode. Intoxicating History is out now and available to stream on all the usual podcast platforms.
24. Paddy McGuinness
58:21||Season 17, Ep. 24We likey, it’s our next guest - Paddy McGuinness! The Bolton born comedian, actor and presenter joined us for lunch to celebrate the release of his upcoming TV series. Over a roast chicken, Paddy told us that Northerners always love their food to be swimming in sauce, how he was getting tips from Sir Chris Hoy for his charity bike ride last year, his first visit to The Ivy and stealing the napkin, how he created the characters with Peter Kay for their series Phoenix Nights and he is the second guest in two weeks to go for a prawn cocktail as their last supper starter! We also talked all about Paddy’s new show Tempting Fortune which really is excellent TV. It’s available to watch now on Channel 4 every Sunday and we’re hooked!