From the Archive: Benedict Cumberbatch on Living with Wes Anderson, Imitating Ruthie & ‘Daddy Pancakes’

During our between-season break, we’re revisiting some of our favourite conversations from the Ruthie’s Table 4 archive. This week, we're looking back to when Benedict Cumberbatch joined me at The River Cafe to talk about Negronis with Wes Anderson, growing up in a theatrical family, body transfor…

From the Archive: Zoe Saldaña on Growing Up in Queens, Family Recipes & Why NYC Has the Best Pizza

As we look forward to Series 6 in October, we’re revisiting some of our favourite episodes of Ruthie’s Table 4. Zoe Saldaña was a force from the moment she entered the restaurant back in 2025. She told us stories about her grandmother’s coconut desserts, how her family dances through life, and wha…

How Food Shapes Our Work… Gayle King, Mark Ronson, Graham Norton, Emerald Fennell, and Patrick Radden Keefe.

Whether in film, music, books or television, food can be a source of inspiration or integral to the way we work. In this special compilation episode of Ruthie's Table 4, we're talking about the shared ingredients of what we do, with Gayle King, Mark Ronson, Graham Norton, Emerald Fennell – the dir…

Where Food Meets Politics… Jacinda Ardern, Andrew Jarecki, Erin Lyall, Hilton Als, Annie Leibovitz, Kamala Harris

I've always thought we judge a culture by the way we feed our poor, our sick and our prisoners. In this special compilation episode of Ruthie's Table 4, we're talking about food and politics, in conversation with Jacinda Ardern, documentary filmmaker Andrew Jarecki, CBS conflict producer Erin Lyal…

Why Restaurants Matter… Jamie Oliver, Piers Morgan, Marina Hyde & Richard Osman, Tracey Emin & Dara Khosrowshahi

It may come as no surprise that I have a special interest in restaurants. The River Café is where I work, where I record this podcast, and where I spend so much of my life. In this special compilation episode of Ruthie’s Table 4, we’re talking about restaurants—how to run them and why they matter—…

The Food That Shaped Us… Kamala Harris, Sadiq Khan, Ab Rogers, Marina Hyde and Richard Osman, and Rashida Jones.

Childhood kitchens, our parents' cooking—the food we eat when we're young stays with us for life. This special compilation of Ruthie's Table 4 celebrates food and childhood, featuring memories from Kamala Harris, Mayor Sadiq Khan, architect Ab Rogers, Marina Hyde and Richard Osman, and Rashida Jone…

If You Can't Take the Heat… How Does a Restaurant Handle a Roasting Summer?

As a farewell to series 5, I'm joined by Sian Wyn Owen to take you behind the scenes at The River Café during the recent heatwaves this summer—what we cooked and how we served. And Season 6 is on the way, starting off with the stars of Only Murders in the Building, Steve Martin and Martin Short, i…

Dorothée Boissier on Designing Restaurants, Paris, and Creative Partnership

Dorothée Boissier is an interior designer and co-founder of the Gilles & Boissier studio. Together with her husband, Patrick Gilles, she creates exquisite architecture and interiors around the world. Today, we're at Moncler's beautiful flagship store on the Champs-Élysées, designed by Dorothée and…

Clare Hornby, Founder and CEO of ME+EM

Good food and good clothes should do the same thing: make you feel instantly comfortable, confident, and completely at home. In this episode Ruthie sits down with Clare Hornby, the visionary entrepreneur founder and CEO of ME+EM. Clare has built the UK's fastest-growing luxury label by mastering "…

Bonus: Michael Elias on his new book, Bender's LA

Ruthie speaks to her brother, screenwriter and author Michael Elias, about his latest novel, Bender's LA. In the coke-dusted canyons and deal-making rooms of 1970s Los Angeles, writer David Bender sets out to remake his life - romantically, professionally, and spiritually - after his wife walks ou…