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
Aug 9, 2022 • 1h 4min
S3 special bonus episode: Jamie Laing, TV personality
As season three comes to an end, Grace brings you a special bonus episode, recorded live at the Podcast Festival in London, with the cheekiest chap from Chelsea, Jamie Laing. The pair discuss his childhood on a farm, boarding school canteen hierarchies, and how food-shame affects men. And Jamie recounts his first memories of moving to Leeds.
Aug 2, 2022 • 43min
S3 E12: Natalie Cassidy, actor
Season three is ending with a bang, as Eastenders actor and all-round hun Natalie Cassidy pops over for a chat. She and Grace remember the 90s London club scene, discuss the perils of having a fitness DVD, and how being part of a soap for 29 years shapes your identity. And, Natalie lets Grace in on the comfort foods that have seen her through it all
Jul 26, 2022 • 40min
S3 E11: Neneh Cherry, musician
Grace’s guest this week is the singer Neneh Cherry. She tells Grace about the perils of growing up with vegetarian parents, moving to London aged 16, and turning away from pop stardom at the height of her fame. And she reveals the comfort foods that have seen her through it all
Jul 19, 2022 • 45min
S3 E10: Greg Rutherford, Olympian
Next over to Grace’s house is the former long jumper Greg Rutherford, who’s won gold medals at Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth level. He tells Grace about growing up in a conservative religious household, being brought home by the police as a teen, and how he turned it round to become one of Britain’s most successful athletes of all time
Jul 12, 2022 • 38min
S3 E9: Goldie, music producer and DJ
The legendary drum’n’bass DJ Goldie has flown into London for summer performance dates, but first he stops by Grace’s living room. They discuss growing up in care, letting rave life get on top of you, and his new life with his wife and child in Thailand. And, as always, the comfort foods that have seen him through it all
Jul 5, 2022 • 40min
S3 E8: Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson
Grace meets former athlete and current House of Lords peer Tanni Grey-Thompson, who introduces her to a snack less highbrow than you might expect. They discuss how to blag the most from being a baroness, what it’s like to be ‘the greatest’ athlete in your field, and the surprising matching tattoos she shares with her husband. And, as usual, she reveals what comfort foods have seen her through it all
Jun 28, 2022 • 40min
S3 E7: Marian Keyes, author
In this conversation, Marian Keyes, an insightful Irish novelist, shares her journey through personal struggles and transformation. They reminisce about childhood trips to empty runways and the liberating feeling of going feral at home. Keyes talks about how baking became a refuge during her battle with depression and reveals her favorite comfort foods. The discussion humorously navigates the intersection of food, family, and identity, all while highlighting the healing power of simple rituals.
Jun 21, 2022 • 39min
S3 E6: Rufus Wainwright, musician
Grace has a call from across the pond as she and the legendary singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright talk all things Comfort Eating. He tells her about going to a preppy boarding school, becoming addicted to crystal meth, and having his daughter via surrogacy with his husband. And, as always, he reveals the comfort foods that have seen him through it all
Jun 14, 2022 • 42min
S3 E5: Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Derry Girls actor
Next round for a plate of comforting carbs is actor Saoirse-Monica Jackson. She tells Grace about secret drinking as a school student, living in a haunted hotel in Donegal, and her dad’s ‘awful’ cooking. And of course, she shares the comfort foods that have seen her through it all
Jun 7, 2022 • 41min
S3 E4: Big Zuu, rapper and TV personality
Double Bafta winner Big Zuu goes round to Grace’s house for a plate of his ultimate comfort food. They talk about his ‘scandalous’ mother, growing up between extreme wealth and poverty, and the wild success of his show Big Zuu’s Big Eats. And, of course, the comfort foods that have seen him through it all
