Ruthie's Table 4

Welcome to Season Six!

How did growing up in a household affected by heroin, surrounded by jazz greats, shape Nile Rodgers? How did his Barbadian grandmother’s lessons about spices influence him? And what was it really like working with Madonna, David Bowie and Michael Jackson?

In the first episode of Season Six, I sat down with Nile to explore his remarkable life, from his childhood in New York and joining the Black Panther Party at 16 to forming Chic and creating some of pop music’s biggest records. He shared stories of Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie visiting his family home, making Like a Virgin with Madonna and going out to restaurants together, as well as his first meeting with David Bowie.

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Join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

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Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

Credits

Presented by Ruthie Rogers: https://www.instagram.com/ruthierogers

Production Manager: Bella Salini

YouTube Editor: Andrew Tsang

Producers: Robbie Hamilton

Editors: Julia Johnson

Executive Producers: Ruthie Rogers, Zad Rogers

Recorded at: River Café: https://www.rivercafe.co.uk/

Ruthie’s Table 4 is an Atomized Studios production: https://www.atomizedstudios.tv/

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re back!

The sixth season of Ruthie’s Table 4 begins Tuesday, 3 November.

Steve Martin and Martin Short tell us why grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup make the perfect Christmas dinner. Nile Rodgers remembers cooking with his grandmother in Barbados. Bertha González Nieves takes us to the agave fields where she fell in love with tequila, while Thandiwe Newton talks about reclaiming her name and her Zimbabwean heritage.

These are just some of the stories and intimate conversations I’ve been having around the table, and I’d love you to join us.

And this season, there’s something new: Table 4: Chefs’ Notes. Each week, our River Café executive chefs, Sian Wyn Owen and Joseph Trivelli, will join me at the table to share their notes and opinions on our favourite recipes, along with cooking tips and secrets from the River Café kitchen.

Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode, and join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

TikTok: tiktok.com/@ruthiestable4

YouTube: youtube.com/@RuthiesTable4Pod

Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Richard E. Grant delighting audiences on The Traitors, we’re looking back at this special episode of Ruthie’s Table 4. I remember Richard and his wife Joan in the early days of The River Cafe, coming in for lunch and sitting at the same table, always warm, lovely and absorbed in each other. More than thirty years later, Richard and I share the loss of the partners we loved. We came together to talk about family, food, friendship and, above all, the enduring joy of love.

Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode, and join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

TikTok: tiktok.com/@ruthiestable4

YouTube: youtube.com/@RuthiesTable4Pod

Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re looking back at Gary Lineker’s visit to The River Cafe.

Over the table, we travelled from his childhood in Leicester and the food of his mother’s kitchen to the football pitches of Barcelona. We talked about fame, family, and the importance of speaking out for refugees and compassion. Gary made potato gnocchi with tomato sauce alongside our chef Joseph Trivelli, and revealed his love of cottage pie.

Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode, and join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

TikTok: tiktok.com/@ruthiestable4

YouTube: youtube.com/@RuthiesTable4Pod

Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re looking back to the summer morning we shared with Cate Blanchett, who joined me at The River Cafe after her run in Thomas Ostermeier’s The Seagull.

We talked about the pleasures of touring a play, growing up between American and Australian food traditions, silent meals after losing her father, teenage dinner parties inspired by a Salvador Dalí cookbook, the joys of growing food, and her love of sake.

Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode, and join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

TikTok: tiktok.com/@ruthiestable4

YouTube: youtube.com/@RuthiesTable4Pod

Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re revisiting our live episode with Sarah Jessica Parker. And what a guest she was.

Sarah has always had a deep love of food, so we had plenty to talk about: from the role of food in Sex and the City, where so many memorable conversations unfolded around a meal, to growing up as one of eight children and cooking every night with Matthew Broderick.

She cooked puntarelle in the kitchen with Sian Wyn Owen, took questions from our audience, shared her thoughts on airplane food, revealed her perfect pork chops, and her devotion to Burford eggs.

Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode, and join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

TikTok: tiktok.com/@ruthiestable4

YouTube: youtube.com/@RuthiesTable4Pod

Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 transformations, and cooking for his children.

Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode, and join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

TikTok: tiktok.com/@ruthiestable4

YouTube: youtube.com/@RuthiesTable4Pod

Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

Credits

Presented by Ruthie Rogers: https://www.instagram.com/ruthierogers

Production Manager: Bella Salini

YouTube Editor: Andrew Tsang

Producers: Alex Bell & Robbie Hamilton

Editors: Alex Bell and Julia Johnson

Executive Producers: Ruthie Rogers, Zad Rogers

Recorded at: River Café: https://www.rivercafe.co.uk/

Ruthie’s Table 4 is an Atomized Studios production: https://www.atomizedstudios.tv/

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 what it was like growing up in Queens.

We talked about Caribbean soups, Dominican cooking and New York pizza — and by the end of the episode, we were all ready to eat.

Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode, and join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

TikTok: tiktok.com/@ruthiestable4

YouTube: youtube.com/@RuthiesTable4Pod

Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

Recorded at: River Café: https://www.rivercafe.co.uk/

Ruthie’s Table 4 is an Atomized Studios production: https://www.atomizedstudios.tv/

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 director of Wuthering Heights, and Patrick Radden Keefe – the author of London Falling.

Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode, and join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

TikTok: tiktok.com/@ruthiestable4

YouTube: youtube.com/@RuthiesTable4Pod

Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

Credits

Presented by Ruthie Rogers: https://www.instagram.com/ruthierogers

Production Manager: Bella Salini

YouTube Editor: Andrew Tsang

Producers: Alex Bell & Robbie Hamilton

Editors: Alex Bell and Julia Johnson

Executive Producers: Ruthie Rogers, Zad Rogers

Recorded at: River Café: https://www.rivercafe.co.uk/

Ruthie’s Table 4 is an Atomized Studios production: https://www.atomizedstudios.tv/

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Lyall, writer and critic Hilton Als, Annie Leibovitz, and Kamala Harris.

Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode, and join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

TikTok: tiktok.com/@ruthiestable4

YouTube: youtube.com/@RuthiesTable4Pod

Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

Credits

Presented by Ruthie Rogers: https://www.instagram.com/ruthierogers

Production Manager: Bella Salini

YouTube Editor: Andrew Tsang

Producers: Alex Bell & Robbie Hamilton

Editors: Alex Bell and Julia Johnson

Executive Producers: Ruthie Rogers, Zad Rogers

Recorded at: River Café: https://www.rivercafe.co.uk/

Ruthie’s Table 4 is an Atomized Studios production: https://www.atomizedstudios.tv/

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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—with stories and memories from Piers Morgan, Jamie Oliver, Marina Hyde and Richard Osman, Tracey Emin, and Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber.

Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode, and join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

TikTok: tiktok.com/@ruthiestable4

YouTube: youtube.com/@RuthiesTable4Pod

Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

Credits

Presented by Ruthie Rogers: https://www.instagram.com/ruthierogers

Production Manager: Bella Salini

YouTube Editor: Andrew Tsang

Producers: Alex Bell & Robbie Hamilton

Editors: Alex Bell and Julia Johnson

Executive Producers: Ruthie Rogers, Zad Rogers

Recorded at: River Café: https://www.rivercafe.co.uk/

Ruthie’s Table 4 is an Atomized Studios production: https://www.atomizedstudios.tv/

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Jones.

Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode, and join the Ruthie’s Table 4 community on social.

⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthiestable4

TikTok: tiktok.com/@ruthiestable4

YouTube: youtube.com/@RuthiesTable4Pod

Shop River Café Books and more… http://www.shoptherivercafe.co.uk

Contact us: ⁠Ruthiestable4pod@gmail.com

Credits

Presented by Ruthie Rogers: https://www.instagram.com/ruthierogers

Production Manager: Bella Salini

YouTube Editor: Andrew Tsang

Producers: Alex Bell & Robbie Hamilton

Editors: Alex Bell and Julia Johnson

Executive Producers: Ruthie Rogers, Zad Rogers

Recorded at: River Café: https://www.rivercafe.co.uk/

Ruthie’s Table 4 is an Atomized Studios production: https://www.atomizedstudios.tv/

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, in an episode full of laughter, food memories, and banjo playing.

See you in October!

Order Table 4 at The River Cafe—the star-studded, food-filled book inspired by the beloved podcast: https://bit.ly/Table4AtRiverCafeBook

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Patrick. We'll talk about Paris, food, their creative partnership, and the art of designing restaurants.

Order Table 4 at The River Cafe—the star-studded, food-filled book inspired by the beloved podcast: https://bit.ly/Table4AtRiverCafeBook

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 "intelligent style" -creating crafted, functional wardrobes for women.

Bound by a shared love for exceptional ingredients in food and fashion, Ruthie and Clare talk about friendship, building a business from scratch, the food memories that shape them, and much much more.

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 out in Puerto Vallarta with a single sentence and a suitcase.

Order a copy now: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Benders-L-Michael-Elias/dp/B0GWC41TVM

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zanny Minton Beddoes and I have different professions, and different workplaces. As editor-in-chief of The Economist, hers is in the newsroom mine is the kitchen.

But we have much in common, sharing a message of honesty - me with ingredients, Zanny with words.

And we both have time limits - in the case of this conversation, just 20 minutes which we recorded live onstage at the Google Zeitgeist conference. In this brief time, we explored her work and life through the lens of food.

And what a life it is.

Order Table 4 at The River Cafe—the star-studded, food-filled book inspired by the beloved podcast: https://bit.ly/Table4AtRiverCafeBook

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ab Rogers explains his fascination with wine and why he prefers grapes that have had to fight for their survival.

Order Table 4 at The River Cafe—the star-studded, food-filled book inspired by the beloved podcast: https://bit.ly/Table4AtRiverCafeBook

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ab Rogers is a visionary designer. He is also my stepson.

For over 50 years, we’ve been side by side, taking adventures together.

Today, we’re together in the River Cafe to share stories - memories of his father and my husband Richard Rogers - travels, families, work and food.

We will also talk about five women who inspired the way he cooks, and the creative methods he uses to bring ingredients together, creating some of the most delicious food I’ve eaten in my life.

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erin Lyall, a conflict producer for CBS News, reveals what it's like to eat with soldiers, how an army feeds itself, and how she personally recovers after the strain of working in a war zone.

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.