Comfort Eating with Grace Dent
The Guardian
From school dinners to sofa snacks – food has a huge part to play in shaping our story - and your favourite celebs have some delicious tales to tell. Join Grace Dent and celebrity guests as she throws the cupboard doors open and chats life through food. Expect to hear from guests (actors from TV, movie, theatre and film; sportspeople, comedians, chefs…) such as: Katie Price, Jamie Laing, Natalie Cassidy, Kathy Burke, Jon Ronson, Shirley Ballas, Nadiya Hussain, James Norton, Graham Norton, Jamie Demetriou, Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Amma Asante, Jay Blades, Michelle DeSwarte, Gaz Coombes, Georgia Pritchett, Fern Brady, Jayde Adams, Adam Kay, Jaime Winstone, Malorie Blackman, Dawn O’Porter, Neneh Cherry, Greg Rutherford, Goldie, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Marian Keyes, Rufus Wainwright, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Big Zuu, Eddie Marsan, Self Esteem, James May, Guy Garvey, Dave Myers, Jo Brand, Craig David, Bernardine Evaristo, Tom Watson, Rosie Jones, Laura Whitmore, Desiree Burch, Russell Tovey, Stephen Fry, Deborah Meaden, Munya Chawawa, Aisling Bea, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Candice Carty-Williams, Lawrence Chaney, Siobhán McSweeney, Scarlett Moffatt, Joanne McNally, Mae Martin, Rafe Spall, Nish Kumar, Bridget Christie, Mary McCartney, Keith Brymer Jones, Adjoa Andoh, Tamsin Greig, Tom Kerridge, Katherine Ryan, Golda Rosheuvel, Suranne Jones and, David Baddiel, Amol Rajan and Russell T Davies. Comfort Eating is a one-to-one interview. In Grace’s kitchen, her guests discuss their lives in the context of food, cooking and cuisine. They talk about comfort food and snack recipes. The tone of the podcast is: warm, comforting, chatty, feel good, cheering, heart warming, comical and amusing. It’s inspiring but also escapism. It’s funny, comedy, laugh out loud / LOL, entertaining, humourous, inspirational, hilarious, illuminating, memorable, uplifting, soothing, reassuring, cheery and entertaining. Expect to hear humour, discussion, gossip and revelation. Grace's new Comfort Eating book, inspired by the podcast, is out now. It’s a wonderfully scrumptious, life-affirming journey through the foods that really mean the most to us.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 27, 2024 • 41min
S6 E3: Kathy Burke, actor, director and writer
Kathy Burke joins Grace Dent to discuss her diverse acting career, from punk teenager to award-winning actor. They reminisce about food moments on film sets, Kathy's love-hate relationship with bananas and beans, and her newfound appreciation for biscuits in her 50s. The conversation is filled with quirky anecdotes and reflections on personal experiences, all topped off with a bit of burnt toast.
Feb 20, 2024 • 41min
S6 E2: Michelle de Swarte, comedian
Model-turned-standup Michelle De Swarte knows how to make an entrance. And arriving at Grace’s with her eat-it-or-climb-it comfort snack of choice, she doesn’t disappoint. For the woman who left school at 14, signed as a model at 19, fell on the Gucci catwalk a month later, modelled for years in New York afterwards and then changed tack to become a comedian, life is what you make it. Straight-talking, no-nonsense, Michelle and Grace get down to business and discover their shared dependence on a well-known sandwich chain. There’s glitz, there’s glamour, and quite a lot of rude bits. Sorry, not sorry
Feb 13, 2024 • 43min
S6 E1: David Baddiel, comedian
Pulling up a pew at Grace’s house to launch a new season of Comfort Eating is the legendary comedian and author, David Baddiel. With a career spanning 40 years on TV, stage and radio, not to mention coining anthemic football songs and writing multiple bestselling books for adults and children, David has a unique place in our nation’s popular culture. He brings Grace his favourite comfort snack and while demolishing this cherished chow, David opens up about family, relationships and an obsession with telling the truth. Together, he and Grace take a trip down memory lane back to the 90s when their paths crossed. Wistful, honest and outrageous – it’s a conversation best served with a dollop of brown sauce. Just make sure the bread’s white and squishy
Feb 9, 2024 • 1min
Comfort Eating with Grace Dent is coming back for a brand new season
Season six of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent will kick off on Tuesday 13 February. Join Grace and her celebrity guests, including David Baddiel, Katie Price and Amol Rajan, as they delve into what they love to eat when nobody is watching
Nov 28, 2023 • 39min
S5 E10: Gregory Porter, singer-songwriter
Bringing lashings of comfort and joy to Grace’s house for the final episode of this season is the legendary jazz singer Gregory Porter. The multi-Grammy award-winner, known for his smooth, silky tones and iconic headgear, is gliding in on a wave of Californian soul to ease us into some truly mellow seasonal joy. Food and music has taken Gregory on a winding path, navigating student digs and kitchen jobs, ending decades later in global stardom and stadium gigs. Get comfy for this intimate audience of just you and Grace, with a few musical treats sprinkled through like baubles winking on a Christmas tree
Nov 21, 2023 • 45min
S5 E9: Tamsin Greig, actor
This week, Grace gets a visit from one of her heroes. It’s none other than Tamsin Greig, the small screen acting legend. After treating Grace to a two-course surprise snack, Tamsin talks about growing up with an older dad, her secret Friday Night Dinner food strategies and the strange moments of joy to be found within grief. And, of course, she reveals what she scoffs from the fridge after long days on set Follow Grace Dent as she enters the Australian jungle for the latest series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Nov 14, 2023 • 43min
S5 E8: Keith Brymer Jones, potter
The tables turn for Grace this week as – for once – a TV judge arrives to give her a critique. It’s Keith Brymer Jones, The Great Pottery Throw Down’s famously teary-eyed resident potter. After a quick round of feedback on Grace’s favourite horrible 80s mug, Keith talks her through his post-punk band days, discovering a love for clay and a childhood crammed with Welsh cakes. And, as always, he reveals the foods he turns to after a long day throwing down at the pottery wheel
Nov 7, 2023 • 39min
S5 E7: Adjoa Andoh, actress
Dropping into Grace’s living room for some prime time Comfort Eating is the actor Adjoa Andoh, best known for playing Lady Danbury in the Netflix hit Bridgerton. Sharing a platter of her tastiest morsels, Adjoa talks to Grace about jacking in a law degree, moving into a south London squat, joining a touring feminist theatre group while pregnant, the slog of serving up daily family meals and the joy of escaping it all on a secret Greek island where the only things to do are reading, swimming and scooping up mountains of hummus with fresh, warm bread Buy Grace’s new Comfort Eating book, inspired by the podcast, here. The book is a wonderfully scrumptious, life-affirming journey through the foods that really mean the most to us
Oct 31, 2023 • 38min
S5 E6: Mary McCartney, photographer
Joining Grace for some generous, multi-layered Comfort Eating is the photographer and TV chef, Mary McCartney. Hailing from one of the most famous families of 20th-century culture, Mary lets us into the culinary secrets of the McCartney family – from her dad Paul’s perfect mash to her mum Linda’s ice-cream cake – and the family trips to New York where they’d hit pizza restaurants in search of that perfect slice. Grace and Mary share their love of evenings on the sofa, scouse dads and how they coped after losing their mums to breast cancer. Buy Grace’s new Comfort Eating book, inspired by the podcast, here. The book is a wonderfully scrumptious, life-affirming journey through the foods that really mean the most to us. Mary McCartney’s new book Feeding Creativity is out now.
Oct 24, 2023 • 36min
S5 E5: Bridget Christie, comedian
Joining Grace for a leisurely afternoon chat this week is one of the queens of British comedy, Bridget Christie. Bridget is an award-winning standup comedian, actor and writer. After getting into comedy later than most, she won the Edinburgh comedy award for best show with A Bic for Her in 2013, and she recently dipped her toe into screenwriting, with the brilliant Channel 4 series The Change. She and Grace talk about big family dinners, motorcycle gangs, and eating habits during the menopause. And of course, a comforting snack is never too far away Buy Grace’s new Comfort Eating book, inspired by the podcast, here. The book is a wonderfully scrumptious, life-affirming journey through the foods that really mean the most to us
