Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware

We said it last week, but this time it really does feel like the hottest day of the year… joining us for lunch is the gorgeous actress Suranne Jones! Star of Doctor Foster, Vigil, Gentleman Jack, and a Coronation Street icon, and this week we caught up to talk about her new TV project, ‘Hostage’. We heard about growing up in Chadderton (and how mum used to go horse riding there!), how she met her husband at a wedding, filming Vigil during Covid lockdowns, setting up her own production company, admitting she isn’t the best cook and we even hear about her love of witches - and the Channel 4 documentary she made about them! This episode has been a very long time coming, Suranne, you were totally worth the wait as you are a total delight! Suranne’s new series Hostage launches on Netflix on the 21st August.

Get ready for one of foodiest guests we’ve ever had on the podcast, it’s actor Will Poulter! Will joined us on what was probably one of the hottest days of the year in London, so please excuse any fan noises you may hear in the episode or sweaty faces you will see! Will is a connoisseur in finding the best local restaurants to eat at and we loved hearing all about his recent stint in The Bear, creating a charity taco for a restaurant in London, the food scene in New Orleans when filming his latest project, working with incredible actors and actresses (including starring in the latest Haim video), labelling himself a professional eater, and we wouldn’t expect anything less than a fully thought out last supper ending with a trio of desserts! It was a complete pleasure to chat everything food, films & family with Will or ‘chicken man’ as he is fondly known as now. A total dream guest, Will is welcome for dinner every night! Keep an eye out for all the amazing projects Will has coming up soon.

We have podcaster, author, and voice of Radio 2 drivetime joining us this week, the delightful Sara Cox! Mum’s just home from her Greek holidays, so we have a full Grecian menu for lunch - Psari Plaki with potatoes & Feta, followed by home made strawberry ice cream. Sara told us about making a podcast with her best friend Clare, growing up on a farm (and her dad’s foot injury from a bull called Ferrari), becoming an early riser to write her next book, the traditional Lancashire food she had growing up, and we hear about her Bake Off stint and how she won the show with her amazing showstopper! Sara you must come round again, and next time we’ll make you 'tatty ash' and black peas! Sara & Clare's podcast The Teen Commandments is out now on all podcast platforms.

‘iya to this weeks guest, the gorgeous Charley Marlowe! She travelled down from Manchester especially to come and join us for lunch and it was glorious. We heard all about Charley becoming the voice of 'I Kissed A Girl’ on the BBC, taking on TikTok during lockdown, how honey is her secret ingredient in everything, her secret dress quick-change halfway through the BAFTAs, and what it was like finally meeting her idol, Jane McDonald. Thank you Charley for being so patient with us when both mum & I had a disaster with a mandoline (video to come). Charley really is a superstar presenter in the making, watch this space and she’ll be everywhere!

We have Irish acting royalty joining us this week – star of the stage, Killing Eve, Fleabag, Harry Potter, Star Wars, the list is endless – it's the incredible Fiona Shaw! Fiona is in the midst of promo for 2 films, Echo Valley and Hot Milk, and she found time to join us for a spot of brunch at Mum’s. We heard about life between London & New York (and Sri Lanka), her routine of a smoothie for breakfast every morning, working with the formidable Julianne Moore, her mum singing daily when she was growing up, and discovering and cooking Sri Lankan food with her wife. Fiona’s fantastic in both films – of course – don’t miss Echo Valley, which is out now on AppleTV+, and Hot Milk, which is released in cinemas on the 4th of July.

We have the wonderful Michelin star chef, and owner of La Gavroche, Michel Roux Jr joining us for lunch this week. Mum was surprisingly calm considering she was cooking for a double Michelin star chef, but Michel even got involved and guided her through the fish cooking! We heard all about Michel’s military training in his teens, his dad cooking for the Queen Mother, his love of vintage champagne, leaving Masterchef The Professionals due to potatoes and he tells us how his mother’s waters broke right in the middle of their dinner service! Michel was a true gentleman and joins our list of fabulous chef guests across the series. You can catch La Gavroche at Wimbledon this summer and on board selected Cunard cruise ships.

‘Kia ora!’ to our next guest, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern. We caught up with Jacinda at the start of her book tour, and chatted over another delicious Ixta Belfrage recipe. We hear about how her aunt Marie got her into politics, making her favourite plum sauce, meeting world leaders, learning how to fillet fish from her husband, handling Covid in New Zealand, being pregnant while in office and she talks about studying for a masters at Harvard and now living in Boston. We also found out we have more in common than we thought, as Jacinda & I have both performed at the same Australian music festival, Laneway - hi DJ Jacinda! Jacinda’s brand new book ‘A Different Kind of Power’ is out now, it really is a fascinating read.

We’re back in the UK, and we have an acting legend joining us this week - it’s Jason Isaacs! Jason had already been in touch earlier in the week to apologise for ‘being a vegan who doesn’t like vegetables’! But no bother! We cooked up a storm and we love a challenge. And Jason more than made up for it with his excellent table chat; we heard about working with Gillian Anderson on their new film ‘The Salt Path’, filming White Lotus, how he married his wife for the health insurance, his encounter with a ghost, turning down West End shows, and we discover that men who are vegan have better erections… Plus Jason even treats us to a magic trick, the must see video will be on our socials this week. Don’t miss Jason’s beautiful new film The Salt Path, which is out in cinemas this Friday the 30th May.

It’s the last episode of our New York series 💔and we’re going out with a bang with legendary Late Night host and SNL icon Seth Meyers! Seth popped over to the hotel for breakfast, catered by the fabulous Buba’s Bureka (and some Breads bakery babka too!) We covered everything from SNL, Broadway musicals, his love of Chinese food, pet goats, lockdown meatball obsessions, his mum’s legendary sandwich fillings, and what it’s like hanging out with his 3 year old daughter at restaurants. Seth, you are such a gent and we promise to cook for you when you join us again in London for the full chicken soup and matzo ball experience! A big thank you to The Standard High Line for having us on our New York adventure, and to all our fabulous guests too - think this might need to be a regular trip… Seth’s stand up special ‘Dad Man Walking’ is available to stream on HBO Max in the US and Sky in the UK now.