Desert Island Dishes

My guest today is Tessa Cook Tessa is the co founder of Olio the free food sharing app. Olio was launched back in February 2015 by Tessa and her co founder Sasha Celestial-One. The two founders met at business school in California. They launched the app just a few months after having the idea and gave themselves a year to make it work agreeing that if it hadn’t taken off by then they would go back to their day jobs. Tessa is a farmer’s daughter and grew up on farm where she learnt the value of food from a very young age and became passionate about food waste. Before launching Olio, Tessa worked in various managing director roles across retail, media and the financial services. The idea for Olio came to her in a moment of inspiration and was a genuine lightbulb moment. One of those moments most people only dream of, where the idea seems so obvious you cant believe it hasn’t been done before. After teaming up with her business partner Saasha, the two wasted very little time and launched the app just 4 months

My guest this week is Nadine Levy Redzepi. Nadine has just published her first cookbook called Downtime: Deliciousness At Home. Nadine knows a thing or two about amazing food, as she is married to Rene Redzepi, co founder and chef at Noma. Noma is thought by many to be the world's best restaurant and Rene is commonly referred to as the King of Food. She has lived in Portugal, France and England as a child before moving to Denmark with her mother which made me excited to hear her childhood food memories. She now lives with Rene and their three daughters in Copenhagen. Nadine has been inspired by a life long love of food and has created a very personal collection of recipes to inspire the every day. This is a book for everyone and through Nadine's reassuring and friendly way of writing she ensures that even the most timid cooks will be able to create sensational dishes without getting stressed. This is a genuinely lovely book written in such a friendly and reassuring way. The recipes are delicious but not daun

Margie’s castaway this week is Levi Roots. Levi was born Keith Valentine Graham in Jamaica. After his parents moved to the UK when he was 4, he was brought up by his grandparents until he eventually moved to Britain at the age of 11. He shot to fame in 2007 by appearing on Dragon’s Den with his famous Reggae Reggae sauce. He wowed the dragon’s and managed to secure a £50,000 investment from Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh. Within 4 weeks his Reggae Reggae sauces were outselling Heinze tomato ketchup in Sainsbury’s and since then his business has gone from strength to strength. He now has so many products ranging from sauces, to snacks, to seasonings and ready meals. He’s written 7 books, released 4 albums and opened a successful restaurant. He does a lot of work with the Prince’s Trust and is a key figure in the Brixton community. We recorded this at Levi’s restaurant in Westfield Stratford so you can hear a little of the hustle and bustle of the restaurant in the background which I kind of like. Levi ha

Margie’s castaway this week is Candice Brown. Before we go any further this is a very friendly, gentle nudge to say that if you haven’t already do remember to subscribe to this podcast and while you’re at it you may as well rate it and leave a review… hopefully a nice one. It’s honestly so helpful and helps other people to find the podcast, which is great! This is a lovely episode, chatting to the wonderful and impossibly glamorous Great British Bake Off winner Candice. It was yet another opportunity for me to obsess over all things Bake Off. Candice was the winner of The Great British Bake Off 2016. Born in North London, Candice grew up in the pub that her parents ran – the very pub that she sculpted out of gingerbread for her famous showstopper on the show. Taught to bake by her grandmother, Candice makes the kind of food you really want to eat. With her degree in Sport, PE and Community Studies, Candice was a secondary school teacher when she applied for GBBO and managed to juggle the two even during fil

My castaway today is Jasmine Hemsley Jasmine is a well being author and chef. She is one half of the hugely successful Hemlsey and Hemsley brand which she runs with her sister. Together they have amassed an army of loyal followers, they have a popular blog, a range of products, they’ve written 2 cookbooks, they have a café in Selfridges AND they even had their very own show on Channel 4. Last week Jasmines first solo cookbook, East by West came out which is all about Eastern wisdom for western wellbeing and is packed full of delicious looking recipes which all follow the Ancient holistic healing system of Ayuverda. I have to admit Ayuverda was all new to me but I definitely learnt some things and found some good food for thought in there which I hope you will too. There’s some really delicious food in today’s episode so I wouldn’t recommend listening on an empty stomach, but I mean, when is that a good idea?? I love the sound of the of the chicken soup for the soul. Chicken soup really is the remedy for eve

Today’s guest is Jenny Dawson Costa Jenny founded Rubies in the Rubble back in 2011 which started out as a stall in Borough Market and now her products are stocked in Waitrose, Selfridges, Harrods and many many more places. Jenny studied maths at university before working for a hedge fund in the City for two years. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her degree, but knew she wanted to start something of her own and do something she was passionate about. After coming across the fact that half of all the food we produce is never used and yet billions of people don’t have enough to eat, Rubies in the Rubble was born. Desert Island DishJapanese feast from Eat Tokyo Cheese Platter with condimentsAll sorts of ice cream I first came across Jenny and her amazing business years ago now and genuinely just thought it was the best idea ever for a business and it’s been so inspiring to see her go from strength to strength. I just love speaking to these amazing entrepreneurs and hearing how they got to where they

Margie's castaway today is Sophie Michelle. Sophie comes from a long lineage of avid foodies and professional cooks. She decided at the ago of 15 to pursue a career in cooking and at the age of just 19 she was crowned “Young chef of the year” Sophie has gone on to cook all over the world for a whole host of A list client including Claudia Schiffer and Leonardo Di Caprio, and both Princes William and Harry to name just a few. Sophie became the UK’s youngest female Executive chef taking over from Mark Hix at Belgraves Hotel in London. She has her own restaurants, and has also carved out a career as a successful TV presenter and food writer. She’s written 5 cook books, and She was part of Channel 4's smash hit show Cook Yourself Thin, and co-wrote the book of the same name that went on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies. Desert Island Dish:Starter: Chicken liver pateMain: Roast duckPudding: Big cheese board Luxury item: a truffle in her pocket and a case of vodka Thank you for listening, subscribing

Margie’s castaway is Rebekah Hall. She is the founder of Botanic Lab. Botanic Lab was one of the first juice companies in the UK and they make really delicious juices. Genuinely, really delicious. Rebekah is very impressive and I really like the ethos of the brand; they aren’t selling a dream and they don’t pretend their juices will transform you into a Victoria Secret’s model. They just make delicious, finctional drinks, which are both creative and delicious. In the world we live in selling the dream of quick fix weight loss and meal replacements would be the easy option and I admire that they actively stayed away from that. I found it so interesting that Rebekah is a food entrepreneur but is not really interested in cooking (by her own admission I might add). But she knows what she likes and with her friends and family keen to cook for her, it sounds like she has it pretty good. I love finding out how people got to where they are and I think Rebekah’s journey into becoming an entrepreneur is really inte

Margie’s castaway is Dhruv Baker. Dhruv not only took part in Masterchef back in 2010 but he went on to win the series and his career has gone from strength to strength since then. He’s published a cookbook, presented TV programmes and regularly writes recipes for magazines. Dhruv went to work in some of the UK’s top kitchens, including Le Gavroche with Michel Roux Jr and The Connaught before starting his catering company The Earlsfield Kitchen, which covered everything from fine dining to BBQs before eventually getting their own premises at the Jolly Gardeners in Earlsfield. To say that Dhruv is a great cook is an understatement. John Torode said Dhruv had a, "talent that very few people will ever have" whilst Greg Wallace added, "that Dhruv is probably one of the most amazing talents he’s ever seen. He has the palate of an angel." I recorded this episode last week at Dhruv’s beautiful home, but by the magical powers of the internet I will be on a little holiday in New York by the time you listen to this or

Margie’s guest this week is Georgie Coleridge Cole.  Georgie is the Founder and Editor of SheerLuxe, which she incredibly launched at the tender age of 25. Georgie studied French at university in Edinburgh and worked in beauty marketing before launching SheerLuxe. What started out as a directory for the best places to shop online has become a hugely popular digital magazine spanning fashion, beauty, health, food and careers for modern women.  She lives in south-west London with her husband and three children. Georgie has said: “Starting a business is not the easy option (especially as a mother) but I firmly believe you make your own luck and if you work hard enough good will prevail!” Now, whilst Georgie is super successful she says herself that she is not a great cook: or at least that she is not that interested in cooking. And she’s very apologetic – when there is absolutely no need to apologise! As a chef, I am clearly as huge fan of people who hire chefs! When I started Desert Island Dishes I was determin

This weeks castaway is Lily Simpson. Lily is the founder of The Detox Kitchen – which is a series of delicious deli’s and food deliveries. I was going to say that it’s a favourite with A listers, but it’s a favourite of anyone lucky enough to have eaten there! The food is really creative, and delicious and just great. Lily has written one best selling book – and another one is on the way next year which I know is going to be brilliant. Lily has basically built a food empire – and she’s done it on her own, off her own back and she’s just a bit of a superstar. Simply put, Lily is an inspiration and she also happens to be one of the world’s loveliest people. Now if Lily doesn’t inspire you to cracking on that thing you’ve always wanted to do – I don’t know what will! I’ve had a very productive week since seeing Lily – long may it continue! Lily kindly gave me lunch at the detox kitchen after our chat and it was so delicious – I can highly recommend. Just ask for one of everything. I love the sound of her final

Margie’s castaway this week is Tess Ward. Tess is a Cordon Bleu trained chef, food writer and model Tess has had a huge year career wise and it was exciting to hear all about some of the things she’s been up to including her biggest “pinch me” moment. Tess travels a lot for work and regularly eats in exciting new restaurants so it was brilliant to hear all about her recommendations and what she’s loving. Her book, the Naked diet, came out in 2015 and she’s been beavering away on a new one which sounds fab and she tells us about what we can expect from that. We made the mistake of recording this in the afternoon last Friday and I was so hungry by the end! Note to self, if I record in the afternoon – I must bring snacks. I’m definitely going to try making the grilled chilli pineapple which sounds brilliant and I also like the sound of that granola very much! Thank you so much for listening. You can find me on the internet at madebymargie.co.uk or on social media @ madebymargie Thank you! Hosted on Acast.

Margie’s castaway this week is Rosie Lovell. Rosie is a cooking superstar. She has set up not one but two fantastic delis. She’s a cookery author, a TV presenter and just generally cooks incredibly delicious things! She opened her first café at the age of just 23 which is so impressive and she just been killing it ever since basically. I love her Desert Island Dishes choices – and she lets us in on lots of her culinary secrets and some great places to eat. PLUS - we get an exclusive on how to make the perfect Portuguese custard tart – I’m winking at this point – only you cant see that because this is a podcast (if you’ve listened to this episode this joke will make sense.) For all my joking – Rosie is a fantastic cook – her food is genuinely delicious – I have eaten in her delis many times and can highly recommend popping to Peckham for a visit. I cant wait to experiment with Togarashi – sounds great and those sesame noodles sound fab, as does the pureed parsnips and that chicken dish. Generally just loads

Margie’s castaway this week is Alex Petrides. Alex is a seriously impressive guy – he was the first employee at Propercorn,the incredibly successful popcorn company and has now gone on to found a company with his brother, Johnathan. The company is called allplants. allplants is a plant based food delivery company which is growing quickly and going from strength to strength. I really enjoyed chatting to Alex – he’s a really natural entrepreneur. He also definitely taught me something about what it is to be a vegan because Alex is so right – being vegan has been so tied up with clean eating that its all got a bit confusing in peoples heads – well definitely in my head, as you will hear when I ask him about making vegan caramel and kind of forget how to make caramel (shocker). But I definitely got a better understanding speaking to Alex because eing vegan doesn’t mean you also have to be gluten free or sugar free or that you are completely virtuous – you can be vegan and indulge in creature comforts Also listen

Margie's castaway this week is Dolly Alderton. I went round to her gorgeous flat on a rainy Monday morning and we just had a really lovely chinwag. Dolly is friendly, funny and super successful but also charmingly self-deprecating. We discuss a mutual love of all things Nigella, butter, bread and the joy of having a side of carbs when you’re already having carbs. Dolly has a complicated relationship with shortbread, which we explore as well as the idea of using food to make friends. I know I am no Kirsty Young and that desert island dishes has a long way to go before we reach the starry heights of desert island discs but I’m so enjoying doing this podcast and I hope you are enjoying listening! If you are enjoying the podcast, please do leave a review and subscribe as it makes all the difference and really helps the podcast grow, which is brilliant! Come and find me on Instagram : @madebymargie and search for other episodes of the podcast at www.desertislanddishespodcast.com and tune in next week to hear a

Margie’s castaway this week is Pip McCormac. Pip is the Lifestyle Director for Red Magazine, he oversees all the food and interiors content in the best-selling women's monthly title in its field. He formerly worked as the Food and Interiors Editor at Sunday Times Style and he has also created a recognisable voice for himself with his popular recipe review blog Pip Cooks The Books. He has now published 2 beautiful books all about cooking with edible flowers and growing your own herbs. I wanted to catch up with Pip and find out the inspiration for the books, all about his glamourous job and of course pick his brains about the best places to eat in London. I don’t know about you but I need to make that delicious sounding 24 hours eating extravagnza in London happen immediately – sounds so good! What are we all thinking about the unusual combination of peanut butter, tomato, cucumber and mint? There is never any judgement on this podcast and I vow to keep an open mind until I try it! Thank you for listening and

Margie's castaway this week is Milli Taylor. Milli runs a hugely successful catering company called Milli’s Catering and she just makes the most dribble inducing food – that is to say it’s delicious and she’s ridiculously talented. From large weddings and cocktail parties to hosting small supperclubs in her home, she’s happiest when bringing people together through good food. Milli has cooked for numerous celebrities, from politicians to pop-stars, and has created show stopping cakes that have appeared in Hello and Grazia magazines. Simply put - Milli knows good food, and her approach to food and cooking is full of passion and flavour. I know Milli could put anything she cooked down infront of me and it would just be delicious. Milli gave me two slices of the most insanely perfect almond and greengage tart. I think she thought I would give the second slice to my boyfriend…I didn’t. By now you know what to do listen, subscribe and leave a review– so if you haven’t already subscribed please do – and if you fe

Margie's castaway this week is Frances Quinn. Frances is the winner of the Great British Bake Off Series 4. Now, like most people in the UK and probably the world – I am fairly obsessed with the Great British Bake Off, so to meet a winner was a dream come true. Frances is ridicously talented. She sees food in a way that most just don’t and yet it just comes so naturally to her. She makes the most incredible cakes that all look almost too good to eat. Almost. So it was generally just lovely to meet Fran and have a chat about all things bake off – I wanted all the goss, as well as all the amazing things shes been up to since the show. I can't stop thinking about her bourbon brownies and she’s also inspired me to cook up some flapjacks this weekend for sure. I might even, if I’m feeling brave give those edible white chocolate candles a go! Thank you so much for listening. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review in Itunes and I will see you next time! Margie Instagram: @madebymargiewebsite: www.desertislan

Margie’s castaway this week is Georgia Cummings. Georgia is the founder of Potage – the healthy home cooked food delivery service. Their goal is to make eating well easy and there’s an emphasis on fresh, quality ingredients. I went to the bustling kitchens of Potage to meet Georgia and she was so lovely. She is a great example of someone who has built something from the ground up with minimal funds but buckets of passion and hard work and now 5 years later she is running her own little empire and its very inspiring and impressive to see. So I looked it up and a loaded potato is very much a thing – so I definitely didn’t coin that phrase like I thought I did. More’s the pity. How great is Georgia? She’s so passionate about food and I am so impressed with how hard she worked during all university holidays and she set about getting as much experience as possible which just shows she was destined for big things. That Pret baguette holds a special place in my heart so that gets a big thumbs up from me plus I love

Margie's castaway this week is Giovanna Ryan. Giovanna was runner up on this years Masterchef. I am a HUGE fan of masterchef, I absolutely love it – so it was great to meet Giovanna and get some of the inside goss on behind the scenes on Masterchef. Since Masterchef Giovanna has set up a supper club and events company called Three Girls Cook with two other fellow contestants which is very cool. And it was generally just lovely to chat to her and hear all about her food filled adventurwes and her desert island dishes. I went on holiday to Spain last week to see my dad which was amazing but I came back with a cold which is very annoying. So apologies if I sound a bit bunged up, I promise I will have bounced back by next week! I don’t know about you but I am definitely going to try out a parmesan stock very soon and I cant stop thinking about that honey and Greek yogurt pannacotta with apricots – sounds so so good! Also – I cannot stop thinking about Christmas sandwiches – and that episode from Friends – one o