Harriet Kemsley tucks into a dish of golden aubergine, broccoli and honey baked feta

6:51He's signed with some cows. He's doing really badly. It was like a best pet competition. And I think he just won like purely like the kind of shock element because there weren't any, they never had a snail before, especially not one that I'd said was a giant West African snail that was clearly just a snail. Just a snail. Did you have pets

7:11Angela:when you were little because when I found out about your pet snail, I had everything, me.

7:16Nick:Oh, no, we used to have my gran's dog when she went on holiday, but we never had any pets. No, we didn't actually.

7:22Angela:Oh, I had the whole, I had like budgie. Goldfish and stuff. Spider, goldfish, stick insects. We had stick insects, yeah. Was that a thing you understand, do you think? I wanted a dog and my mum was very anti-dog, so I got everything but a dog.

7:36Nick:She got me a cat.

7:37Angela:I was like, that's the opposite.

7:38Nick:I think cats aren't very friendly. I think they're very solo creatures. No, it depends on the cat. Some of them are desperate for love. You've really got to get a desperate one. Desperate. And it's great, yeah. It's really good. So do you have, obviously, a snail no longer with us? A snail, unfortunately, yeah, no longer. Can you imagine, yeah? 40 years later, I was like, yeah, he's here today. What are you talking about? You never know. You have those tortoise tendencies that live forever. Yeah, no, now I've just got a dog. Oh. Yeah, and he's a sweetheart.

8:03Angela:Well, welcome and cheers. Thank you. We are starting with this. We've done a non-alcoholic cocktail because you wanted something that was, non-alcoholic but tasted maybe like it was alcohol yeah these ones that have this like bitter, I can trick myself yeah so we're having a Crodino non-alcoholic spritz to start have you had that before?

8:24Nick:I've had Crodino because it's an Italian thing so all the old ladies drink it about 11 o 'clock after they've had their coffees in the bars in Italy so like you know my mum will go I'll have a little Crodino you know they don't want to drink but they don't want to also be drinking water, they want to have something else and exactly like that, feels like that drink and you're not. And theirs is non-alcoholic as well. Yeah, exactly. I feel so classy now. I'm like an Italian lady. There you go. I can't believe it. Every fridge has them. I'm always like, what is this in the fridge every time I go back to Italy?

8:55Nick:It's constantly there. That's the bitterness. I like it. I've been trying to not drink too much because it can, you know, it just can, you know. We know what it can do. We know what it can happen. But I like the taste. and the ritual of it.

9:12Angela:Now, whilst we've not had you on Dish before, there are some great Dish connections. We had a really nice time with your friend, Lou Sanders. I loved Lou. She is fantastic, Lou. And we also have a connection because when you were on the wheel, there was a food question. And Dish was an option. And I got it right. And you got it right. Yes, I know. I was so pleased because I was so worried I was going to offend everybody. But yeah, I got it right for this late. I think she didn't win in the end, ultimately. Good for you, though. It's really high stakes, that show. It's crazy. It's emotionally taxing, I would say.

9:49Yeah, it's an upsetting show to take part in.

9:52Angela:You know, we got asked to go on it. Yes, I do. And, you know, Angela said, no. But they wanted us in the chair together. Yeah, I mean, that, yeah. The double.

10:03Nick:But like you said, I mean, sorry, I haven't ever watched it. I know what it is, but I've never watched it. But I could not do it. under the pressure of then someone asking me a question which I would know the answer to but then I'd just be flummoxed and it would be embarrassing. No, but we'd be together. Someone would say like, give me a tomato and I'd go, oh yeah, that potato or something. I mean, it would ruin my career overnight. It would just be all wrong. Wrong page news. Exactly, you know. She doesn't even know what a lamb is, you know. Why don't you think she doesn't know what a lamb is?

10:30Nick:She doesn't know what a lamb is.

10:33Angela:I'd love that if that was a question on a game show.

10:35Nick:What's a lamb?

10:37Angela:She's like,

10:38Nick:I just stopped.

10:39Angela:I don't know.

10:40Nick:No, the pressure. I don't know. Maybe when we've got a gap in our schedule, we'll go and do it together.

10:45Angela:And it's quite fun, the motion. It is quite fun. You do have to dance for a long time, though they get you dancing and that is like... Yeah, they wrestle that. I do love a dance.

10:54Nick:I do love a dance. Not necessarily on national TV, but anyway.

10:57Angela:We're going to get into like your likes and dislikes. We always like to start with likes and dislikes. But as we mentioned in the... As we were chatting before, like you, like Lou, are vegan. and when did your journey into vegetarianism and veganism begin?

11:13Nick:I'm just putting something in the oven. Excuse me one minute. No, you need to do that. Not allowed. Not allowed. She wouldn't know what that is. She couldn't if she wanted to. When I was eight, my pet chicken died and I made the connection with what it was. And so I mean, I was actually, the next day I was eating something which was made of a cow. What is that? Beef. I was eating beef. So sorry, go back, you had a pet chicken. I had a pet chicken, yeah, my pet chicken. Because you grew up on a farm? I grew up on a farm, yeah. Oh, excellent. And whiskey died and I was so upset. And then I went to tug into this dead cow and I suddenly had the connection.

11:52I just haven't been able to eat it since. And then I could manage the vegetarianism and not be vegan. And then I saw the film Wicked. Yeah. I haven't had a yogurt since. It's like absolute, it's ruined my life. What happened in the film? I can't remember that bit. I watched it November 2024. I came out and I was vegan. I don't know why. What? I mean, I haven't had an omelet. I haven't had a yogurt ever since because it's so sad. There's these goats and the goat talks. And the goat is played by Peter Dinklage, who's so talented. And he's so moving. And he plays this goat called Dr. Dillamond. And he talks about how animals used to speak, but then they lose their voices because of how humans treat them.

12:38And then at the end, he goes to speak, but then just a bleak comes out. And that was it. What does happen? No more yogurt.

12:44Angela:No.

12:48Angela:Can't do it. Can't do it. Wow. That's the power of cinema. It's ruined my life. Yes. Wow. That is a moving role.

12:57Nick:Yes. I love the fact we were literally thinking of a yogurt pot scene in Wichita. How was that? What's up here having a yogurt? What was she doing? What was she doing? What was she doing? I don't remember that. I don't remember the Oscar. I have to re-watch that. Yeah.

13:11Angela:And we should do your likes and dislikes. Yes. We have a few allergy points that we should go through as well. Do you want to share your allergies with the dish listeners? It's so embarrassing. This is, I mean, this is why being vegan is the dumbest choice ever because I'm allergic to raw fruit and raw vegetables. So making this choice is absurd. It doesn't make sense. And I'm also allergic to nuts. I can have cashews and I think I can have more nuts but it's just tricky to figure out which ones.

13:41Nick:It's not risky today. Anaphylactic shock. But it's bad to get tested. When you get tested at the hospital, you bring like a bag. They just say bring a bag full of like fruit and vegetables. So you bring your own bag and then they cut them up and then just put it on your skin. And then depending on how big the hive is that you get, you're like, they're like, yeah, you're allergic. Really? Is that how they do it? It's a mad system. Yeah, you'd think they'd be a bit more advanced.

14:05Angela:Was there any that were in particular like, oh, you definitely are enjoying a bit of celery? Yeah, I think things that are like very, well, I can have some things that are in like, oh God, this is so boring and dumb. Some that are in like a big casing I can have. So like... Like grapefruit? Actually not grapefruit.

14:24But passion fruit I can have. Okay, all right. Passion fruit I can have and I can have... Pomegranate? Yes, I can have pomegranate. Yes.

14:30Angela:I'm not you guessing. Yeah, let's just do this for an hour.

14:34Nick:Potato, I feel, is a thing, Cacin. Potato, I can't have it raw, but I can have it cooked. Okay. Yeah. So what is it in the rawness? So there's the protein that is on the outside of it. As it's cooked, it is destroyed. And that's what you're allergic to. That's what I'm allergic to. Okay, got it.

14:54Angela:And you were saying then, like, oh, it's so embarrassing. Because we talked about this before. I found out I can't have gluten. And there is something now when you're out where you're like, oh, I'm so sorry, it's so embarrassing. and I don't know why I don't know if everyone around the world does that or if this is a British thing where you're like embarrassed to tell the waiter I would not like to be poisoned No one in Italy has allergies You know what I mean? It's such an English thing down an allergy Yeah, it's so embarrassing Well, sometimes they put a flag in your food as well that says allergy like that's also Yeah, that's bad No, where does they do that?

15:24Yeah, they do that at Bill's Yeah, I'm calling you out Bill's

15:28Angela:Oh no, that is bad Allergy And it's a huge flagpole there's a man on the trumpet coming out with his whole thing but do you find it like that in a restaurant you're like oh I'm sorry I'm allergic yeah yeah and then they have to get they go well I can't serve you the manager has to come like it's a whole it's a whole thing and then they say well we can't guarantee and then you just have to say it's fine it's on me if I die don't worry about it it's a weird process no so we've got the allergies out of the way we've got them and just had them so we'll be fine today but this is my favourite Not an allergy, but just a hate for big tomatoes.

16:05Yeah. I just, I don't trust them. You know, like, what are they up to? There's just something I don't like.

16:10Nick:What movie have you seen with a big tomato now that's upsetting? Come on. We're kids. I like it when they're smooth. Like a smooth paste. I know, this is like, I just feel like a toddler when you're saying this, you can't help feeling like a toddler. But it's like, if they're big, I just, I'm not.

16:25Angela:How big? Like, so a cherry tomato? Yes. Actually any size, to be honest. Wow. Any size. Smooth is fine. Right. So what would you say, you mean pureed up? Yeah, yeah.

16:35Nick:Okay.

16:36Angela:Okay. And is it just like a revulsion to see in them? It's the mushy texture. Yeah, yeah. It's that feeling.

16:43Nick:So what would you do if I put tomato on a plate now? I would be so polite and I would hide it under something. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, I would say, thank you so much. This is amazing.

16:52Angela:There's certain things though that people hate because Mish, my boyfriend, can't with a pear. He can't see a pear. Interesting. Even in the supermarket, he's like, like, ah, baby sees a pear. And he's like, ah. Even like, and it's so weird. And he's had it since childhood. And someone in his family has it as well. Like one of his cousin or his uncle. Yeah. Something happened with a pear, do you think? I don't know. There's some kind of pear format. But it's also someone he not, he didn't like copy it. They didn't interact, like he didn't live here. They just know. It's a genetic pear. It's a genetic pear thing.

17:21Nick:Yeah. Someone came one time to the restaurant and we sent this fish out with some mushrooms in a mushroom sauce. And they sent it back. they said, no, we have a visual allergy. We'll have the sauce, but not the mushrooms. And I, well, you can imagine what I said. And I was like, are you?

17:37Angela:Anyway, and I was like, and I literally thought.

17:40Nick:What did you say? And I said to Charlotte. I'd love to know what you said. You are kidding me here. This is ridiculous now. Not a visual allergy. But that's what you have. No, but don't say it like that. Because I was like, and I thought, This can't be possible that people now have visual allergies, but they took the mushroom sauce without the mushrooms. Wow. So I was just thinking, is it a similar thing because you can't see a tomato? This is why I don't want to be saying this stuff in front of you because I just feel like this is, I'm that person. You know what I mean? Yeah, but I like you. Oh, thank you.

18:14I like that person as well.

18:16Angela:Yeah, but you would order a tomato salad and be like, oh my God, there's a tomato here.

18:20Nick:Yes, exactly. Yeah, that's the difference.

18:22Angela:That is so funny. Mushroom sauce. I don't want to see a mushroom. Oh, silly me. Let me do it again. Let's just do it again. Some of your likes that we heard was your friend Evelyn's vegan chocolate Guinness cake. Yeah, Evelyn Rock. She made me a vegan chocolate Guinness cake once and it was amazing. Why was it so good, do you think? What was it? Because chocolate Guinness cake is just the best. It's so moist, isn't it? It's so moist. And the buttercream is so good. It's just better than any cake. But you can't have it as a vegan. And so Evelyn went out of her way to make me a vegan.

18:52Nick:I did look that up, actually, after reading notes on you and stuff. And I thought I looked up the recipes. I was curious about how you make it. And it's quite easy to make. Oh, okay. She didn't know. Sorry, Evelyn.

19:02Angela:Not Evelyn catching strays.

19:04Nick:No.

19:05Angela:It's like, Evelyn's listening to Dish. Oh, my friend's on Dish.

19:08Nick:And you're like, hey. What I mean is, sometimes you think it's going to be more complicated and you've got to buy certain things. So I could do it myself, maybe. You could do it.

19:18Angela:I love Guinness cake. You love pasta and once had a great pasta at a place called Cafe Marano. I did. I did. It was really good. I went on a date there. We're not together anymore. But it was a really lovely date and it was really nice. Oh, good. It was really good. Yeah. This isn't a good way to describe it. It's like little kind of maggots, like the little tiny pasta. That's not a good phrase. I think you mean orichetti. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Maggots is what we write on the menu.

19:47Nick:Maggots with broccoli sauce. Yeah. It was really good. It was really good. I have a question for you about it, actually, because I walk past it, I do like my podcast near the one in London Bridge. I do my podcast near there. Okay, yeah. How would you feel about somebody going in in the evening? Because I was like, I have some work to do and I would love to go and get that pasta. But then I was like, how would you feel if I went in and that was on my laptop? Would you hate that? I wouldn't mind, no. You actually wouldn't mind? No, I wouldn't mind. Because I was like, I can't go in and then you'd be like, oh, you're that, when I turn up here, you're that woman that was on her laptop on Monday.

20:20Alan Sugar in the office.

20:21Nick:No, because it's got loads, it's got those, you look out into the street and sit like it's a bar thing and people sit there at lunch doing it. I love solo diners. I think when people do, you know, I think New York's really nailed it. We're much better now. But whenever I go to New York and I've gone to visit my brother, I've always gone out eating by myself. My brother rings me at 10 and he goes, where are you off to? I said, oh, I'm going to have a little lunch by myself. And they're so appreciative and they chuck away. So I think, no, go and test them out for me. Go and check them. Yeah, I will.

20:50Because I was like, it's the perfect place to do it. See what they say.

20:52Nick:Get a report. They told me to put the laptop away. Go. Oh, brilliant. Right, I'm going to go and get you some food. Okay, amazing.

20:59Angela:Didn't you have an allergic reaction on honeymoon? Yeah, I mean, we're now divorced, so this should have been a sign. Okay. Hey. Like an example of like, if you can't even get on your honeymoon. So yeah, I ate something at the airport and I think it must have had nuts in. And then I realised I was starting to have a reaction. So I went to Boots and then I got some Claritin, but it still like wasn't going down. and then Mike's husband, he's very sweet and he could tell something was going on, but I was a bit embarrassed about it. And he was like, you need your Ebby pen. And I said, no, we're going to go on honeymoon.

21:32It's all fine. It's fine, I'm fine. You're marrying a, yeah, don't worry. Yeah, his head's so big. You're swelling up. And so he started chasing me around the airport because I was like, no, don't do it. It was so embarrassing. And then he stabbed me with the Ebby pen and then we had to go to hospital and we missed the flight.

21:48Angela:No. And so, and then, but then we did make it, but then they lost all of his luggage and he had to go around for the honeymoon wearing t-shirts saying I heart Santorini because he didn't have any outfits. So yeah, but I think it was a sign. It was a sign. It was a sign, yeah.

22:03Nick:It was a sign, yeah. There you go. Oh, wow. That's for you. Oh, wow, there's little hushes to send in. The food has arrived, yeah. This is amazing.

22:17Angela:The food is here. The food has arrived. Wow, this looks good, Ange. What have we got here for Harriet today?

22:24Nick:So we have golden aubergine with purple sprouting broccoli, honey-baked feta and preserved lemon dressing.

22:31Angela:Oh, yes.

22:32Nick:So we haven't used honey, we've used agave, and we've got vegan feta in there. But you can have the pomegranate seeds, which is great. And just to say, this is a Diana Henry recipe. Oh, come on, Diana. We love Diana. She's brilliant. This is so good. How do you make stuff taste good? Like, I can't do this. I'm making things and I'm like, oh, this is so, there's like so much, there's like flavour and stuff. Yeah.

22:58Angela:How did you do that? How did you do that? Wow.

23:01Nick:No, but you saying, oh, it's so stupid about the cooked vegetables. It's amazing how many people don't cook a vegetable properly. And to get a vegetable to really taste nicely, you need to cook it. You know, I know everyone says, oh, crunch is better because it retains all the nutrients and all the rest of it. But you don't want a crunchy squeaky bean. You want a cooked bean.

23:21Angela:You do. Yeah.

23:22Nick:Neil and I are constantly moaning about squeaky beans. You don't want a squeaky bean. I will not shut up about a squeaky bean. You don't want a squeaky bean. So I am with you, Harriet. Don't be put off by that. No, you don't want a squeaky bean.

23:33Angela:Tell us, that broccoli actually is so perfect, Ange. Yeah. So tell us how you'd made this so delicious.

23:39Nick:I can't believe the flavours. So you take your feta, and on top of your feta, you've got some chopped thyme leaves, some fennel seeds, chili flakes and then you make a little dressing with some honey some olive oil and lemon juice and lemon rind and you put that all on top of the feta cheese and then bake that in the oven for about 15-20 minutes just until it starts to soften but not melt you know you want it

24:03Angela:to hold its shape um and i don't think it would take 15 minutes it can have it yeah 15 minutes

24:09Nick:yeah hot oven and then while that's happening slice your aubergines and char grill them on a in a pan or on a grill if you've got one of those grills. Quick question, what does chargrill mean? So basically, you see where they're all blackened, that's where it's chargrill. So it's got that sort of blackened sort of colour on it and that smoky flavour to it.

24:27Angela:And do you just do that slice? Because sometimes when I read a recipe, it talks about salting them.

24:32Nick:I don't salt them. Not these days. I think aubergines these days aren't so bitter, so you don't need to salt them.

24:37Angela:So you just need to slice them and get them on.

24:38Nick:Get them on into, I could put a little, tiny little bit of oil, but you can do them with no oil and then get them nicely cooked. And what you want is them not spongy. So you want them sort of as if they're really, really cooked. Because I think if they're not cooked at all, they just don't taste nice aubergine. They've got to taste cooked. So go on. Sorry, Harriet. I was going to say, how do you get it so thin? I know I sound like an ass. Just with the knife? Sorry. I know I sound awful saying that. But a sharp knife, honestly. Have you thought of going to teaching? you know aubergine you need a sharp knife it's really and if it's hard I cut them lengthways but that's hard sometimes because you know it can hold it steady so just cut it into rounds into rounds yeah that's easy just cut it down so a super sharp knife

25:24Angela:could you you couldn't it's too smushy to guillotine is it yeah I don't think you want to do it on a guillotine

25:29Nick:you can do it mandolin yeah mandolin but you can cut them a little I like the thinner but you can cut them a little bit thicker so super sharp knife nice and good pan in there touch of olive oil season them really cook them so they're nicely charred and roasted. Then put them to one side. While they're cooking, you blanch your broccoli and cook it in boiling salted water.

25:47Angela:Just straight in the hot water? Yeah, straight.

25:49Nick:Probably for about three, four minutes until it's soft. You know, when you can put a knife through the roots really easily. Drain that well and then put that in the same pan you've done the aubergines to char them. And then it's putting it all together and you finish it with a dressing which is with some preserved lemons really finely chopped, some olive oil, some balsamic condiment, a little bit of seasoning, and that goes on all the vegetables. So good. Finish with the cheese on top. When I was pregnant, vegan cheese, the smell of it, I couldn't eat it. Put you off. And you've maybe changed.

26:23Angela:Oh, wow. I haven't tasted vegan cheese that tastes like this. Oh, wow. Okay, that's good. Oh, good. This is really good.

26:29Nick:This is available in Waitrose, Harriet. There you go. Oh, my God. And you can taste it. I think because it's got a little bit of chilli in there, that's good. Yeah, and I think it's the lemon, maybe. and the preserved lemon and the sweetness yeah so what's the preserved lemon in again that's in the dressing in the dressing yeah and it's a time you can buy them in the shops these tiny little lemons like this that they're preserved and then you just chop up the rind just get rid of the centre and chop the rind up and they're great I think for especially in vegan cooking something like that just enhances a dish it brings lovely citrus to it

27:00Angela:there is a wine pairing which is an Eminence de Bichu which is a rosé it's been called a big fat rosé. Oh, no, it's not. Big juicy rosé.

27:12Nick:Sorry. A big fat rosé. You're giving the rosé some complexes there. A big juicy rosé, which will be nice

27:19Angela:with the nice cut vegetables, the feta, saltiness of that. And if you want to get the wine or you want to get the recipe, all the ingredients, waitrust.com forward slash dish recipes is all on there. This is really good. This is my best day out. Thank you so much. This is so nice. That's good.

27:37Nick:Well, there's tons for you to take home. Yeah. Oh, oh. For anything you don't eat, you can take home. That was up for me. And there is tons. There is as well.

27:44Angela:So what do you like making at home, Harriet, if you were to have, well, you probably will next week, have Angela Hartner around for your tea.

27:49Nick:Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I couldn't. It would be the pressure. It's too much. Yeah, it's too much.

27:55Angela:You would not crumble. What do you like? You like roasting veg? I like roasting veg. I like roasting veg. I do. I like roasting veg, but it's never like this. I don't know. Mine's too thick, maybe. The chopping is the problem and the flavours. Got a sharp knife. Yeah, I need a sharp knife. I've got one of those ones that's got the blunt edge because I got paranoid with my toddler. I cut myself with it all the time.

28:19Nick:Because it's blunt, you're putting so much pressure. That's it, and it cuts a bit of my finger out. Yeah, exactly. So if it's sharp, it would be really easy to cut things. Yeah, yeah. Go pop by the French house. Don't look at the menu or go near the kitchen. But go and see my husband because there's a lot of meat in there. but he'll sharpen your knife for you. Take it in one day and say, Angela sent me and he'll come and sharpen it for you.

28:41Angela:Please do that.

28:41Nick:I would really like to do that. Please do that. No, no, it'll be fine. Imagine if I go to the wrong place. Angela sent me. No, I'm rubbish at sharpening knives, otherwise I would volunteer.

28:56Angela:I need to go.

29:00Angela:I wanted to ask you about something that I heard you say, which I loved, was that you do like a brunch. But not a bottomless brunch. You actually prefer it to have a bottom. I think the bottomless is too dangerous. It's hysterical. I can't control myself. It becomes a challenge and it gets out of hand and then your whole day is just f***ing. Because you're just completely drunk in the afternoon and you're hungover by dinner. It's a mess. It's a mess. And so I can't have unlimited anything. I'm not to be trusted with unlimited. You need to limit.

29:32Nick:So you were just saying now about you rise to the challenge. you know but that was like you on last one laughing you know i mean i just thought how how you did what how as far as you got as you did was incredible because i would have just laughed the moment i walked in there it was so hard i just take things so seriously yeah and i was like oh you can't laugh and then i nearly died from the stress from the stress of not laughing and trying to contain it it was um impossible but i was like you can't the whole thing is you can't laughs, you mustn't laugh. But then I was like, I don't know how not to laugh.

30:04Like, I'm laughing all the time. Yeah, of course. And then suddenly you have to be a different person. And incredibly, incredibly stressful.

30:10Nick:Well, it's your job as well. You know, but you would just walk off. I mean, that's what I would do. I would just cover my face, but you weren't allowed to do that. No. But you would, like that the whole time. Yeah, when Lou would approach, usually she'd be my comfort. And then I was like, get the f*** away from me. Don't even come there. Well, she'd be your weakness probably. Yeah, but you also can't relax for a minute. You just cannot, you have to be constantly on guard against anything because the moment that you slip, it's over. And I was like, I want to be here with all these amazing people.

30:40This is so exciting, but I don't know how to do it. It was crazy.

30:45Angela:Where did it all begin? When did you know that you were funny? When did you know that you had it in you? Oh my God, I don't know. I think I just, my mum always said that just like, like unfortunate things happened to me. and there would always be like kind of like funny stories afterwards. But it was just more like out of my embarrassment. I think like my embarrassment was really fun for other people. Like I never would have thought about doing stand-up. Like it felt like such an arrogant thing to be like, oh, I think that I can tell jokes in a way that people will find funny. And then my parents were watching live at the Apollo and they were like, we think you have like just mad things happen and we think you could do it and tell these stories.

31:26And so I was like, they were like, don't tell anyone. So I kept it secret and I went and I did it. And it was just like this amazing, I was just like, oh, this is what I love. Like I was quite shy, but it was like a way of connecting with people. 23. I love the fact your parents say, get up to yourself. No other comedian I know. Everyone else is like, you should be a doctor. I don't know, comic, we can't think of anything else. I mean, what else should she do? I love that.

31:54Angela:And did you love it when you started out? Yeah, I did. Yeah, it was like this mad. So I had this day job where I had to be at my desk at like 6am. So I was like loose because I was getting no sleep. And then I was like mad with adrenaline. And when I finally told my work what I was doing, like six months later, they were like, oh my God, thank God we thought you had a terrible drug problem. So I was just going to the toilet and like talking to myself. And I was so tired and I just looked mad all the time because it just overtakes your whole life. we should talk about your upcoming tour which is gonna be uh happening in october and november it's called floozy yes that's a great name it is a good name thank you for saying that some people are a bit like what i think that's a great name i like it i wanted to ask you about two things that were mentioned in like the the press line for the show they said mushrooms will be mentioned.

32:48Angela:Is that a cooking mushroom? I guess you can cook with, you could cook with it, but yeah, I meant party mushrooms. Yeah, party mushrooms. Okay. It would be mad if I was just talking about regular mushrooms. What about bird mushrooms? Yeah. You'd like it? Like it? The guy with the visual allergy was like, this is the worst show of my life. Two stars. Terrible. And also he says you're going to be talking about dating a lot. Dating is such a great source for comedy and storytelling. Do you, I mean, when you're sharing these stories, do you ever, you know, tell the person? Do you ever ask the person?

33:30Angela:Do you mind if I just tell this horrible story as part of my life show? I think the thing is the joke is usually on them. It's always on them. I'm perfect. No, it's always on me. Like, I've always done something like embarrassing. Or it's like on the whole experience and like if I was to talk about somebody I think they probably wouldn't be like recognizable I'm not like um uh John Bannister did this but that was the maddest name to come up with but it's never like anyone like specific it's more like the experience of it like I do um I do a podcast we talk about dating quite a lot and then you are a bit like oh my god like what have I said but it is kind of it's I don't know there's something so nice about sharing it like it can I feel like such a lonely kind of thing.

34:17What is mad? We've been doing the podcast now for like nearly two years and everyone at the beginning was like, oh, you know, like it's going to, you guys are going to meet somewhere. How is it going to run? And we're on the third series and there's no end in sight.

34:31Angela:We're just doing six more series. How is dating then in 2026? Do you like dating? Do you like going on a date? Yeah, I think it's just before you go, you feel like you're going to be sick and that you never want to do this ever again. But I think that it's, for me, it's been quite nice because I didn't have the dating apps to begin with. Right, okay. And so I miss them. And so now it's like a new thing and it is quite absurd. I think the problem is the lack of choice. Yeah. Like it's, that's maybe an issue. It's what's out there is maybe. That's not the issue yet. No one's attracted to dating, Ange.

35:11Nick:Yeah, I didn't mind dating. I didn't think, we've never quite nailed it like the New Yorkers and stuff, where it's Friday, Saturday, you go on a date and that's sort of expected. I think we're too romantic because I'd go on dates and then I'm thinking, is this marriage? You know, I think it's far too early to be thinking that. But you start, and then you're overanalyzing it. But that's it, that's how I go. Because I've come from a marriage, I'm going in with like, I see where things go. It's like, you know, I can see signs. It's like if they don't have sheets, I'm like, they're not going to have a pension.

35:39I can see the journey that they've gone on.

35:42Nick:but it's true you look you do think you think oh yeah I went on a date and the guy put pineapple on his pizza I said that you know it's never going to work

35:56that would be some day

35:59Angela:well they are shit like you know

36:05Angela:oh god anyway either of those wouldn't have worked either way either way Actually, pizza's probably more offensive to you. Yeah, it was very offensive. Penis fine, pizza no.

36:17Nick:I'd be allergic, of course. Yeah, raw.

36:25Nick:Right, me just fine.

36:28Angela:So you can get tickets to Floozy now. Yes. You can. Yes, you can. Okay, wonderful. And the podcast is called Single Ladies in Your Area. Now we're going to do a dessert. We say make a dessert. We're going to make you a Coke float. Now, why a Coke float? Do tell. I used to have, there was this place in Canterbury where I grew up and it had Coke floats and they were so, it was so exciting. I think it's maybe that kind of like American diner kind of thing. It feels now quite a childish thing to say. But like, have you had one before?

37:02Nick:No, never. Never. No, never at all. Wow.

37:04Angela:I never drink fizzy drinks and stuff. We've talked about this before on Dish, where like American food felt really glamorous and exciting. A Coke float. It's ice cream in a Coke. It's disgusting. But I will take one. But when you're a kid, you're like, wow, America. Yeah. Good food. Fine dining.

37:25Nick:Yeah, yeah, yeah.

37:26Angela:What are we going to do one? Do you want me to let you know my recipe?

37:28Nick:Yeah, go on. Three parts Coke.

37:31Angela:No, we've done Coke ice cubes.

37:33Nick:Yeah.

37:33Angela:So you're not watering it down. Oh, wow. Very good. Coke ice cubes. With a little bit of Coke. Yep. Put the ice cream in. Wow. This is my kind of recipe. Write it down there, yeah. Let's get it up there for everyone. And we're going to do vegan ice cream for you. Yeah. I believe you want it to salted caramel. Yeah. Yeah. So we're going to do that. Amazing. And we're going to, well, maybe we'll have that as well.

37:53Nick:Maybe, yeah. Let's just do it. Easy.

37:55Angela:I'm off to the kitchen. Get my chef whites on.

38:00Angela:Okay, so our Coke floats have arrived. They look gorgeous. So you're meant to smush the ice cream up? You had to smush it a bit. Well, I think it's nice to let the guest smush, wouldn't you say, Harriet? Yes. Well, you've done a very big ice cream as well. Oh, really? Oh, was it yes? No, I mean, I don't know what's right. Sorry. No, no. Like a fizzy milkshake.

38:27Nick:What do you think? Well, I don't like, I'm not a sugar person, so for me, it's so sweet.

38:33Angela:I like it.

38:34Nick:But I like the nutsiness. I like it as well, yeah. I like the nuts coming through. Yeah. I think it's actually very sophisticated, really. Don't chef the coke flow.

38:44Angela:I'm getting the nuts, yeah. You're getting the nuts? Yeah, I'm getting the nuts. Isn't it a nut ice cream? I'm getting the nut ice cream. I'm getting the nut ice cream. Yeah, there's an aftertaste of black currants. That's not funny.

38:58Nick:But isn't there nuts in it? Is she nuts? Yes. I'm going to flip this over your black jumper in a minute.

39:06Angela:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like it. It's hard to drink. Harriet, should we do your fast food quiz? Yes. Okay. Harriet's vegan. No eggs. Okay. What is... I do like eggs. You do? Well, my mum has chickens, so I'll eat their eggs because I know that they're happy chickens. If I know the chicken, I'll eat their eggs. So if you know your personal... If I have a personal relationship with the chicken, I'll eat their eggs. Fine, yeah. Okay, so say you have a personal relationship with a chicken. What is your favorite way to eat that chicken's eggs? Poached. Poached. Okay, nice. What's your favorite sandwich filling?

39:41Oh no, this is like the enemy. I can't say. They had one at M &S years ago. Boom! That's all right, but what's the filling? It was like a roasted vegetable with, I mean, I can have this now, but like a tzatziki kind of thing. It was so good. All right, sounds good.

40:00Angela:Do you have a favourite herb? I've never been asked that before, but I recently discovered sage. Oh, yeah. It's my opener. We love sage. Yeah. I didn't know. It's nice, isn't it? If you sprinkle it in the roasting tin. Very nice. We love it. Is cinnamon a herb? Spice, really. Okay, well, sage. Sage. We'll take the spice. We'll take the spice. Harriet, what's the best crisp? I mean, it's salt and vinegar. Yeah. Correct. Thank you. Okay. It is a test. Yes? How am I going to be marked on this? Yeah. Do you have a favourite chocolate bar? The vegan options are a bit bleak, I will say. But it used to be mini eggs.

40:41They were my... Oh, like Cadbury's cream egg. Yeah. Cream eggs and mini eggs, both of them. Any of the Easter ones. I mean, they're so good.

40:49Nick:Oh, both mini eggs are fantastic. Oh, yeah. Do you do Sunday roast? Well, you wouldn't really. I would love to do a... I love the vegan Sunday roast, and I would love to be able to cook one, and it's a lifelong goal. Okay. To have people around and cook a Sunday roast. Yeah, you could do a vegan one. I like a nut roast, yeah. I can't have a nut roast. Oh, yeah, come on, nut. But you could have some sort of like vegetable terrine or something. Thank you, yes. You could do that. And what would be your favourite vegetables on a roast? I mean, I love, it's a Yorkshire pudding. That's not a vegetable, is it?

41:24Should be. As I said it, I realised, yeah, a Yorkshire pudding. So that's my number one.

41:29Angela:Harriet, what's your favorite kitchen utensil? Spatula. Oh, you love that. It's fun. I mean, it's just, it's a bit of fun. It's a bit of fun.

41:41Nick:Next question, what do you do with your spatula? That's private. Thank you.

41:48Angela:We come to the end of the show question, Harriet. For your chance to win this Waitrose goodie bag, all you've got to do is answer the question in this envelope. Very sticky envelope. Hi, Harriet. Tell us the one change you would make in the world of dating that would drastically improve the lives of single ladies everywhere. I think men. Right.

42:13Angela:That's all I have. I've been told that's actually the correct answer. It's a good idea.

42:20Nick:Thank you. Thank you. There's absolutely no hesitation. Men. Yeah, done.

42:26Angela:Man. Harriet, thank you so much for coming to see us. That was so fun. You can see Harriet on tour in the autumn time. So make sure you go see Flusi. A round of applause for Harriet, everybody. Thank you. Massive thank you to Harriet for coming in. I really like her. I really, really enjoyed spending time with her.

42:49Nick:She was very easy and natural and chatty. Yeah, she was fantastic, actually. I liked her a lot.

42:54Angela:Hey, we've got a comment from Instagram that I wanted to share with you because this actually works really well after what Harriet was saying. This came in, it was a while back after Tim Key's episode. And it was a bit of a fan favorite anyway. People love Tim Key. But we posted Tim's fast food quiz. And we got this response from someone called Cali Keller on Instagram. They said about Tim Key, Great guest, but why do so many people not know what a herb is?

43:25Nick:Which ones are herbs? Is that the same as spices? No, so rosemary, basil. Yeah, rosemary, basil, yeah.

43:34Angela:Well, we had that today with Harriet. I know, she said with cinnamon. With cinnamon. I've not noticed that.

43:39Nick:Yeah, I haven't.

43:40Angela:But people apparently are perplexed at herbs. I mean, it's not a question you're asked on them. Probably ever been asked.

43:47Nick:And they get it muddled up, yeah, with spices. but maybe because a lot of people probably maybe have herbs in all those little jars where you have all the spices and they sort of put it together. Because actually dried herbs are great for lots of things like dried oregano, dried rosemary. You know, you can use it if you haven't got fresh herbs. So we shouldn't diss a dried herb. They're always good.

44:06Angela:No, maybe that's the connection. That's why people are, because you have all those little pots

44:10Nick:and, you know, people put them together.

44:12Angela:I think my favourite answer to the herb fast food quiz question was Peri Edwards when she said... Yeah, I'll just go for mixed herbs. Mixed herbs. Yes, that was brilliant. Mixed herbs.

44:24Nick:And actually, not a bad answer.

44:26Angela:Great answer. No herb offence to anyone. Exactly, yeah. No herb offence. But if you do want more herb education, then you can email us if you want, dish at waitrose.co.uk. And yeah, get in touch with us. It doesn't have to be about herbs, but if you ever want to, please feel free to get in touch with us. Yeah. Well, thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. and we'll see you next week. We will. If that episode has left you wanting more, find us on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Just search Dish.

44:55Nick:If you want to make any of the meals I cook on Dish, head to waitrose.com forward slash dish recipes for all the ingredients and the recipes. Dish from Waitrose is a cold glass production.

45:08Angela:Waitrose, the home of food lovers.