
Desert Island Dishes
What would you choose as your last meal? Chef Margie Nomura talks to a special guest about the seven dishes that have shaped their lives.
In this podcast you will find conversations with interesting people from the world of food and beyond uncovering the seminal dishes and experiences that have shaped who they are today. We will find out about their favourite childhood dishes, the dishes they eat the most often, and the dishes that mean the most to them. And of course we will also discover what their last dish would be before being cast off to the desert island.
Latest episodes

May 18, 2023 • 43min
S14 Ep8: Annoushka Ducas founder of Links of London and Annoushka Jewellery talks to us about how her mother's fish business was the catalyst for her hugely successful jewellery career
Annoushka's mother had a business selling fish to all the top restaurants in London and it was this business that accidentally set Annoushka onto the path to become one of the most successful jewellers in the UK. Annoushka does not believe she's a good cook but you really wouldn't know that from her delicious choices of dishes.
Annoushka Ducas MBE is a jewellery designer, creative director and entrepreneur who founded British jewellery companies Links of London and Annoushka Jewellery.
After studying in Paris in the 1980s, Annoushka embarked on the first of many extensive world travels, stopping to spend time in Hong Kong, where she first began to design jewellery.
In 1990, together with her husband, she founded Links of London – a global luxury jewellery brand. In 2009, she went on to launch the brand Annoushka Jewellery. Annoushka enjoys a star-studded fan base that includes the likes of Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez and Kate Middleton.
In 2012, Annoushka was awarded an (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to the British jewellery industry, which spans three decades. In 2019 she launched the Brilliant Breakfast which generates money for disadvantaged young women and girls in the UK. It’s raised over 2 million to date and is the only annual fundraiser dedicated to enabling disadvantaged young women in the UK.
Thank you to our sponsor Lloyds Bank for supporting us and helping us to bring the show to you each week.
Don't forget to come and find us on Instagram and Tiktok @desertislanddishes
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May 11, 2023 • 47min
S14 Ep7: Jessie Inchauspé, known online as The Glucose Goddess on her life changing discovery and why parmesan is everything
Jessie is a French biochemist, bestselling author, and founder of the Glucose Goddess movement.
She's helped millions of people improve their health by making cutting-edge science accessible. Her whole philosophy is one that focuses on the idea of adding things to your life and not taking them away. She’s very clear that she doesn’t advocate a certain type of diet, her whole focus is on the science and that actually the biggest benefit can be found in changing the order in which we eat. Her book, the Glucose Revolution, is a #1 international bestseller and has been translated into 40 languages.
She holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from King's College London and a master's degree in biochemistry from Georgetown University.Jessie has said she didn’t set out to change the world, her whole story is a very personal one based on her own journey with her mental health following a life-changing accident she had at the age of 19
Thank you to our sponsor Lloyds Bank for supporting us and helping us to bring the show to you each week.
Don't forget to come and find us on Instagram and Tiktok @desertislanddishes
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 4, 2023 • 55min
S14 Ep6: Sophie Ellis-Bextor on the best meal she's ever eaten and why lockdown was the making of her
Sophie Ellis-Bexter is a double platinum selling artist.
She started out as the lead singer of indie band the audience at the age of 17. She shot to fame with her single with Groovejet which earned her her first number 1.
Since then she’s gone on to release 6 studio and 2 compilation albums, written a memoir, went on Strictly come dancing, appeared in Game of Thrones, launched her own podcast, wrote a cookbook with her husband and Kept everyone dancing during lockdown with weekly discos streamed live from her kitchen.
Shes acheieved all this and much more whilst also being the mother of 5 boys. In 2021 she did a 24 hour kitchen disco danceathon with raised over a million pounds for Children in Need.
I am thrilled to have the undisputed queen of lockdown with us today, thank you so much for listening.
To enter the brilliant competition we have with The Garden Trading Company, where you can win £250 to spend on their site, simply click here to enter here. Good Luck!
Thank you to our sponsor Lloyds Bank for helping us to bring the podcast to you each week.
See you next week!
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Apr 27, 2023 • 49min
S14 Ep5: Shelina Permalloo: Cookery Author and TV Chef on how Masterchef changed her life
Shelina describes herself as a cook, an author and restaurateur.
She grew up in Southampton with her Mauritian parents and siblings. It was only in 2011 that she decided to follow her heart and gave up a career in diversity and equality to enter the MasterChef competition. Over 6.5 million viewers watched Shelina triumph in the MasterChef final: with her instinctive spicing and intense flavours, she brought Mauritian food to TV for the first time, inspiring legions of home cooks to try out her recipes at home.
Since winning the title, she has written two cookbooks, is a regular on TV and Radio and has opened her own restaurant serving Mauritian food in her home town of Southampton. Shelina has said - “It’s true what they say – ‘winning MasterChef can change your life’.
Thank you to our sponsor Lloyds Bank for supporting us and helping us to bring the show to you each week.
Don't forget to come and find us on Instagram @desertislanddishes and check out the website www.desertislanddishes.co
Thank you so much for listening,
See you next week!
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Apr 20, 2023 • 44min
S14 Ep4: Dan Keeling: Co founder of Noble Rot, restaurateur and the man responsible for discovering Coldplay on
Dan is an award winning wine writer, magazine editor and restaurateur
He is the Co founder of Noble Rot named for the fungus that shrivels and sweeten grapes which began life as a cult food, wine and popular culture magazine. The magazine created a space that is as informative as it is witty and serves up wine with alongside sides of life and culture. The brand has since expanded to two award winning restaurants and a wine shop Shrine to the Vine.
Dan has won numerous awards for his writing about wine and food and has written for the Financial Times, The Spectator and Melody Maker. Before Noble Rot Dan was previously managing director of Island Records. He was the one who found and signed Coldplay who then went on to sell 5 million copies of their debut album.
Find us on instagram @desertislanddishes and visit the website www.desertislanddishes.co
Thank you to our sponsor Lloyds Bank for helping us to bring this with you each week.
And thank you very to you for listening!
See you next week,
Margie
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Apr 13, 2023 • 52min
S14 Ep3: Shivi Ramoutar on being the Queen of Caribbean Cooking and how getting made redundant was the best thing to happen to her
Shivi has been dubbed by The Guardian as the “Caribbean Food Supremo”, and it has been said she is the "Queen of Contemporary Caribbean Cooking". She is a food writer, cookbook author, TV chef and presenter. She was born in Trinidad but was brought up between there, New York, the English countryside and London. This diverse upbringing has really influenced her style of cooking. She says her culinary mission is to twist classic Caribbean dishes and make them into her own vibrant, fresh and easy to make recipes.
She’s had a fascinating career - Starting out as singer / songwriter – training as a lawyer before going on Masterchef and turning her dream of working in food into a reality. She’s now written three cookbooks, and can regularly be found cooking on TV. She is a regular guest on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and has previously hosted the show as well as a regular on ITV’s This Morning.
She has just released her third cookbook, Cook Clever.
Do hope you enjoy today's episode. Do rate, review and subscribe to the podcast if you are enjoying it and help us to spread the word.
Thank you very much to our sponsor Lloyds Bank for helping us to bring the show to you each week.
And thank you all for listening.
Come and follow us @desertislanddishes and head to the website www.desertislanddishes.co
See you next week!
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Apr 6, 2023 • 46min
S14 Ep2: Jesse Jenkins: Creator of the food studio ADIP: Another Day in Paradise on growing up in LA and how life as a sponsored skateboarder led to breakout success as star of the London food scene
Jesse, known online as ADIP has taken the food world by storm with his cinematic cooking videos which have been wracking up millions of views. Despite only starting his social media last year he has already amassed several hundreds of thousands of avid fans and followers.
Jesse grew up in LA combining working in a professional kitchen with life as a sponsored skateboarder. He then came to the UK and spent a very successful decade working as a fashion photographer and director, shooting campaigns for the likes of Marc Jacobs and Victoria Beckham.
But it was always food that was his true passion. Inspired by the people he has cooked for and alongside over the years, his food is in his own words, “fresh, fast and a bit filthy, with a laid-back American vibe - perfect for sharing”. His videos too, have echoes of his former life on a skateboard.
He now works as a chef alongside Jackson Boxer at his restaurant and In addition he has his own very successful series supperclubs at Carousel London, so it truly is a very exciting time to be sitting down and talking to him.
Hope you enjoy today's episode. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss an episode and thank you to our brilliant sponsor Lloyds for helping us to bring this season of Desert Island Dishes to you.
Come and find us on instagram @desertislanddishes and @adip_food
Thank you for listening!
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Mar 30, 2023 • 54min
S14 Ep1: Jack Savoretti the singer, songwriter on Summers in the Italian Riviera, why he's grateful success didn't happen overnight and his surprising last dish
Singer and songwriter Jack Savoretti is described in pretty much every interview I came across as both extremely talented and also very charming perhaps it is this combination that has led to Jack’s stellar career. He tells us of his idyllic childhood Summers spent in the Italian Riviera, why he's grateful that his success didn't happen overnight and reveals a surprising yet delicious final desert island dish.
Jack's one of the most successful singer / songwriters in the UK and has collaborated with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Bob Dylan and Nile Rogers and performed to a sold out Wembley Arena. He had an international upbringing, with an Italian father and a German-Polish mother, moving from London to Switzerland, and spending idyllic childhood summers in Portofino, Italy, where his father’s family come from.
After falling in love with music at the age of 15 it was a somewhat slow-burning rise to fame for Jack as a musician. He toured the UK for several years, quietly growing his fanbase and it was his sixth album, Singing to Strangers, that finally hit the number one spot. His most recent record, the gorgeous sun-soaked, feel good and star-studded Europiana – inspired by his European upbringing and life –was also a chart-topper and arguably his best work to date.
Thank you so much for listening.
Thank you to our season sponsor Lloyds bank for supporting us and helping us bring the podcast to you each week.
Follow Jack here
Follow @DesertIslandDishes
Thank you for all your lovely reviews. Do leave one on Spotify or Apple for a chance for yours to be read out next week.
See you next time!
Bye!
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Mar 20, 2023 • 52min
One from the archives: Dawn O'Porter on lockdown life, parenting and honeymoon food
Dawn O'Porter is an author, broadcaster, writer, podcaster and journalist.
Having trained at drama school, Dawn become a TV presenter, rising to fame with her critically acclaimed BBC documentary Super Slim Me. Many more TV shows followed and in 2013 began a new passion for Dawn as she began writing more seriously and started a new chapter of her career. She released her first novel which got shortlisted for the Waterstone’s children book prize, more books followed - she’s now written 7 and she has continued to have huge writing success as a Sunday Times Bestseller.
Dawn lives in Los Angeles with her movie star husband, two young sons and her dog Potato.
Dawn has said
“I love food. I realise that’s a basic statement and might not sound like it warrants a whole load of page-time but for me it does. Food is the great passion and pleasure of my life. Reading cookbooks, shopping for ingredients, spending hours in the kitchen, making it, serving it and then eating it. Brilliant”
If you enjoy the podcast, do subscribe to the show, we'd love to have you!
And if you want your review to be read out next week do pop a review up and you'll be in with a chance!
@desertislanddishes
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Mar 7, 2023 • 45min
One from the archives: Julius Roberts on how leaving London was the best decision he made
Julius Roberts is a first generation millennial farmer and rising star of the food scene.
In 2016 he gave up working at the acclaimed restaurant Noble Rot in London - and swapped the rat race for an idyllic life of pigs, goats and chickens instead.
His first foray into farming was a small-holding in rural Suffolk and then last year he moved with his family to a farm in Dorset.
His charm and humble approach to life on the farm have seen him amass an army of followers online as he shares the trials and tribulations of farm life alongside his menagerie of animals. Julius describes himself as a cook, farmer and gardener on a journey to self-sufficiency.
Julius says his his aim is simple – "to educate his audience on topics including animal welfare and seasonal cooking".
This was a lovely episode to record and I do hope you enjoy listening whether for the first time or again.
Not long to go until our new season begins!
See you soon,
Margie
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