Fearne Cotton, roast cauliflower with chicory salad and a fiery lime margarita

Jun 18, 2025

Fearne Cotton, a talented broadcaster and the mind behind the Happy Place brand, shares her journey from early TV stardom to podcasting success. She discusses the upcoming Happy Place Festival, packed with wellness events and inspiring talks. The trio bonds over their shared food experiences, as Fearne reveals her mostly vegan diet and hilarious moments in interviews with high-profile celebrities. Enjoy the vibrant conversation accompanied by delicious dishes, like roast cauliflower with chicory salad and a spicy margarita that takes the edge off!

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INSIGHT

The 20-Minute Sweet Spot

Fearne finds the conversation truly opens up around 20 minutes in when guests relax.
She aims to stop focusing on notes and listen actively once that comfort appears.

ANECDOTE

Nervous With High-Profile Guests

Fearne described being terrified before interviewing Hillary Clinton amid heavy security at a hotel.
Despite nerves, Clinton used Fearne's name and was personable, which put Fearne at ease.

ADVICE

Prepare, Then Let Go

Prepare thorough research so you can rely on it when nerves appear on the day.
Accept that some interviews will be better than others and learn from each one.

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Nick and Angela welcome a brilliant broadcaster to our very own happy place.

Fearne Cotton is a TV and radio broadcaster and founder of the hugely successful Happy Place universe. Fearne, who grew up in Hillingdon, West London began her career at the age of 15 presenting kids TV show, The Disney Club. She went on to present shows including Diggit, The Saturday Show and The Xtra Factor, and cohosted Top of the Pops with Reggie Yates from 2004. Fearne is a great friend of Nick’s and worked alongside him at BBC Radio 1, where she hosted Live Lounge in the mid-morning slot.

Fearne currently presents Sounds of the 90s on BBC Radio 2, but is arguably best known for her Happy Place podcast, which has just celebrated its seventh birthday. She joins us to chat about the Happy Place Festival, which takes place in London’s Gunnersbury Park on 12 and 13 July, and in Cheshire’s Tatton Park on 30 and 31 August. The festival is full of inspiring guest talks, podcast recordings, yoga and workshops.

Angela provides plenty of happy plates in this episode, serving Fearne roast cauliflower with dates, spiced chickpeas, preserved lemons & green tahini with chicory salad, which is paired with a glass of No.1 Beaujolais Villages. Before the arrival of the main course, Fearne is handed a fiery lime margarita, which goes down a treat.

It’s no surprise that this week feels like good mates catching up as Fearne and Nick share some of their more random tales of pop star interviews. Fearne talks about her approach to veganism (or ‘veganity’), including the time she broke all her own rules for an interview with Ludovico Einaudi. And is this our most considered Fast Food Quiz yet?

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A transcript for this episode can be found at waitrose.com/dish

We can’t all have a Michelin star chef in the kitchen, but you can ask Angela for help.

Send your dilemmas to dish@waitrose.co.uk and she’ll try to answer them in a future episode.
Dish from Waitrose is made by Cold Glass Productions.