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
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
Oct 17, 2023 • 40min
S5 E4: Jamie Demetriou, actor
Grace’s living room gets a professional appraisal this week from none other than Jamie Demetriou. Best known as the bumbling titular estate agent of Stath Lets Flats and long-toothed lover of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, Jamie’s arrived fresh off the Barbie set armed with his favourite comfort snacks. He and Grace talk about his teenage indie band, growing up in his dad’s greasy spoon and the dangers of dipping a McCoy’s. And, of course, all the comfort foods he turns to when nobody’s looking
Oct 10, 2023 • 37min
S5 E3: Jon Ronson, journalist
It’s time for another mystery snack at Grace’s dining room table, where she’s joined by writer, journalist and podcaster Jon Ronson. Jon’s best known for going on adventures with unlikely people, culminating in hit books such as The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Psychopath Test. This week, he tells Grace about his passion for TV dinners, his rivalry with Louis Theroux and his life as a failed band manager. And, of course, the comfort snacks he’s turned to along the way 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 3, 2023 • 45min
S5 E2: Shirley Ballas, dancer
Dance legend Shirley Ballas joins Grace to chat all things comfort eating. From wedding buffets to steamy backstage rendezvous, they reminisce about school dinners, favorite treats, and indulging in coffee cake. Shirley also shares stories about her upbringing, meeting Corky Ballas, and her happiness at her family's success.
Sep 26, 2023 • 35min
S5 E1: Nadiya Hussain, chef
Cosying up with Grace to launch a new season of Comfort Eating is none other than the queen of baking and all our hearts – Nadiya Hussain. The Bake Off star, whose triumph in the tent launched a TV, writing and culinary career of which dreams are made, is dropping by Grace’s home to share her loves, her hates and her strategies for managing a house of teenagers. Over a plate of something so comforting you could curl up in it, Grace and Nadiya get down to brass tacks. Family, husbands, school and crisps – all the main bases – and there’s no shame allowed. Just get those elbows out and dig in 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
Sep 19, 2023 • 2min
Comfort Eating with Grace Dent is coming back
Season five of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent will kick off on Tuesday, 26 September. Join Grace as she learns what her celebrity guests, such as Nadiya Hussain and Jon Ronson, love to eat when nobody is watching
