Jennifer Garner joins us for the ultimate Mother's Day roast beef

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0:42Hello, welcome to Dish from Waitrose. I'm Nick Grimshaw. And I'm Angela Hartnett. And welcome to today's episode, which is going to be a Mother's Day special of sorts. Not Mother's Day today. No, obviously. Mother's Day. But we're early. We're early. We're prepping. Think of this time of the year as like the advent of Mother's Day. You know, everyone will be opening their Mother's Day calendars each morning. Exactly, yeah. Oh, what forgot? Oh, potpourri. All the mum things. Hey, speaking of mums, my mum was here the other day. And when we left, she was like, I can't go over Angela. She's gorgeous.

1:22Oh, bless Eileen. She was like, she's gorgeous. And then when I got over me, she was like, she is gorgeous. I was like, relax, everyone. what about my new glasses that's what you were saying what about me oh my god me she's like very attractive woman very attractive my mum was like very attractive but she had a nice time here she had a good time she enjoyed it yeah yeah she did yeah she got into it didn't she we fed her we gave her we gave her yeah I was making Neil laugh I said you've got to admire Eileen she's 82 she got off that train straight in there cup of tea next minute glass of rose she went And when my mum was there, I said, do you want tea?

2:02Do you want coffee? Do you want wine? She went, oh, I shouldn't have wine because no one else is having it. I said, do you not want wine? She said, no, I'll have it. I just said, you shouldn't. I said, once you're 82, get on it. I've just been away with my mum for a few days. And she was like saying, oh, I've not SPFed my face. And she was like, who cares? She was like, f*** it. And she was like, I'm 83 soon. We went for a walk around. We went to Marrakesh and we were walking around like the main. soup and she's like a mad experience of a market with like you know people flying past on motorbikes and people selling stuff and like donkeys and people on a horse it's like full-on stressful situation especially if you're in your 80s yes and my mum was like i can't wait to get back to hotel she need a brandy and a fag she said i've never smoked but i could start and then the other thing she said was she went i might get a tattoo this year oh wow yeah so maybe we could get a Mother's Day tattoo for Aileen.

3:00Do you go big on Mother's Day? I would go down to see, Mum. We'll go out for the day or I'll cook or something. She'll come up and see and we'll get her brother and sister over. What, your brother would come from America for Mother's Day? No, her brother and sister. So what we tend to do, if there's an occasion, we invite everyone because then it's easy to have it in one house rather than everyone sort of go and, you know, and then you sort of tick all the boxes. And we all go on the WhatsApp, that's done for another month. We've seen everyone, all exchanged our news, although you do that on a daily basis.

3:28To the point some of us have WhatsApp outside the family WhatsApp where we're going. Did you see that on the family WhatsApp? Oh, do you? Now I've given the secrets away. Yeah, all us cousins have another WhatsApp outside the uncles and aunts. No, we don't. I'm joking. No, she doesn't. She definitely doesn't. Well, today we're going to do Mother's Day celebration. So if you are thinking you should do something for Mother's Day, maybe a big get-together or maybe just making your mum, not just, but making your mum a nice special dinner, that's what we're going to do today. We're going to have today a really nice roast beef with Hasselbeck potatoes.

4:02Yes. With a chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri sauce, yeah. Which I'm so ready for. And we're going to give it to Jennifer Garner. I know. Who's our guest today. She's a huge superstar. Yeah. And also we're going to give her Yorkshire puddings as well. Oh, really? Yeah, with some gravy, a little bit of Englishness in there, a little bit of horseradish on the side, which I know you're a fan of. So she's got everything. So today with Jennifer, there's a lot to talk about. We're going to talk about Mother's Day, of course. She's also a really keen cook. She posts a lot. On her Instagram, doesn't she?

4:33Yeah, so we need to talk about that. She's also got a brand new series of The Last Thing You Told Me. So lots to talk about, but yeah, keen, great cook. And it's not Mother's Day in America, I don't think, till May. Yeah. So slightly hysterical for the American listeners. Yes. But get into it. Why not have two months prep? Take two months to figure out how to do these potatoes. Tell me about it. Do you know what I mean? We have Jennifer Garner joining us in a second. But before we do, I would like to talk to you about hake. Oh, would you? Yeah. What do you know about hake? They have it more in chippies now.

5:06Well done on reading your cards. Rubber card. There's something about a date. What's it similar to? What type of other fish? Hake. It's like a white coddy friend. Yeah, exactly. There you go. It's quite a white flake. It's much softer than cod, not as firm. Used a lot in Spain. I mean, the Spanish are the biggest eaters of hake all over, especially in blazes have you been to San Sebastian yet?

5:28Jennifer Garner:I have not well when I take you you'll see Haik is on every menu and one of the things they do is they have these little Haik cheeks it's a real delicacy you might have had our friend Thomas who runs Bratton Mountain he sometimes puts them on because his restaurants very much feel that sort of Spanish vibe and they have them in like a butter sauce or slightly pickled and oh shoot that's the beef for Jennifer just going to check that in a minute Jennifer's beef alarm Jennifer's beef alarm And so it's a really, you know, it's beautiful in Spain. They use every element of it. So we're using it a lot more in fish and chips now.

6:02You see it a lot more in our chippies. But it's a beautiful fish. You can use it like cod. You can steam it in the oven. It takes lots of nice spice. Sometimes we do it with a nice little hazelnut pesto on top. Lovely with a green sauce as well. So you want pan-fryer, Hank? My mum actually said the other day, she said, I meant to ask Angela about white fish. Yeah, you can pan-fry it, but always skin-side down first. and the way I sort of think to do it is put it in a pan that can go in the oven so a nice bit of olive oil, nice and hot skin side down, let it sort of firm up and crisp up before you start moving it and then finish it, then turn it and then finish it in the oven but your mum won't believe me so I'll have to show her one day a piece of hay, you know your standard sort of you know whatever, 150 grams, 130 grams that will take about 5-6 minutes to cook I know Eileen will want to put it in for half an hour but it's great, it takes It's like, you know, tree, so it's lovely with spices, all those sort of things.

6:55I think it's really great. We love a puttanesca sauce, but if you made a really loose puttanesca sauce with hake, it really goes well. And it's easy. It's a lovely fish. We should eat more hake. Okay, well, thank you, Angela, for the hake news. Let's get in our guest, Jennifer Garner.

7:13Jennifer Garner:Hi. Welcome. How are you? I'm good. How are you? Are you okay? Yeah, I am. I'm so excited. Everybody, all during my press, people have been so excited for me that I get to do this podcast. Oh, that's fantastic. So happy to be with you. Oh my God, thank you for being here. Well, we've been dead excited you were coming. You sit, Jen, down and I'll get you a drink. Come this way, Jen. We're going to have a little non-alcoholic, it's like a sparkling tea. All you prefer. How's all your press going? Busy, busy? It's been great. Have you been doing like a junket situation? I've done some junkets. Oh, you've done a junket?

7:50Joining us on Dish today, we have a Golden Globe winning actor who could also make pasta from scratch. They have a pretend cooking show, but today they're on our very real one. Please, a round of applause for Jennifer Garner, everybody. Hello.

8:07Jennifer Garner:Hello. Well, thank you for coming to see us at Dish. Yes, I'm so happy to be here. Oh, my God, we're so happy you're here. How is life for you at the moment? How is everything going? Oh, really? Oh, my gosh. It's been kind of rocket ship-y, but great, lovely. Kind of a lot of things happening at the same time. And is that a good thing? I mean, it's chaos of my own design. So yes, it is a very nice thing and it will calm down. Okay, good. That's good to know. And you're here to talk about your brand new series of your new show. Yes. Which we will talk about in a little bit. How has it come into the UK and doing the whole press situation?

8:44Do you get time off or are you just sort of, you know, shift into rooms with the likes of us?

8:49Jennifer Garner:In this case, I have not had any time off really. Well, I did. That's not true. I did have, I had tea. I had high tea at Claridge's. Oh, yes. And here's something you will appreciate. So we had high tea and we had the sandwiches and the scones. We ate it all. We drank it all. We did it all. And then we walked straight from there to dinner. Wow. And had two pastas and fish and two salads. And that was a bit much. Yeah, that's quite a lot. No, you soldier on. Yeah, you did it. You have to be brave sometimes. And we did. And we ate it all. Thank you for being brave. And they said, oh, are you done with this pasta?

9:28Jennifer Garner:We were like, no. No. Put it back, please. I'm not. Thank you so much. Don't take it. I love afternoon tea. And I love that that's like a thing people do when they come to the UK. Because I can't remember the last time I had an afternoon tea. Yeah. But wouldn't you list it like that? Like cakes, scones? Ange, do you have anything? Because Angela's brother lives in New York. So you'll go to New York by that. Is there anything that you have that's like quintessentially American when you go to the States where you're like, how they do that good? Well, I do love a slice. I love going downtown, you know, into sort of, you know.

9:59Jennifer Garner:Is it like Joe's? Yeah, one of the old, or even now in Brooklyn, there's some of those amazing sort of, you know. Oh, of course, the one that starts with G. Oh, yeah, I can't remember. I just asked my nephews. I'm like, come on, where's the next slice? And they know because they eat all of that. And bagels. Exactly. When I lived in New York and I worked at a restaurant, part of my job for Sunday brunch was I would stop. I'd get to ride a cab. They paid for my cab. Oh, wow. And I would stop at H &H Bagels and pick up like several dozen bagels for the brunch. And they would, while I was waiting, while they bagged them up, they would give me whatever was hot out of the oven.

10:32Jennifer Garner:Oh, nice. And I still remember just standing there and like, just like I'd have one after the other. I do love, no, but I love the bakeries. I like Sullivan Street Bakery. Oh, yeah. And then we go down to Clinton Street. Yes, yes, yes. I mean, I'm never queue for anything in this country. But for some reason in New York, I'm happily queue. Well, it's become quite normal to, yeah. When I was a hostess, back then, you know, you didn't have, people now take reservations very seriously. But I would have a full set of reservations for 6.30. And if you walked in at 6.15 and there was one table available, I would give it to you.

11:04Jennifer Garner:And just, I'd keep everyone waiting. Wow. Isn't that awful? I mean, I was told to do that. It wasn't like masochistic. And I would just say, oh, let me show them. To get that sort of vibe. Yeah, they wanted everyone, you know. And I had to merchandise the restaurant. I had to put the beautiful people in one area. Oh, yeah, I've heard that. Yes. Really? Yes, it's a nice country. Excuse me. What happens here? So they put the hot people by the front? Yes, you put the beautiful people in certain tables. You put celebrities in certain tables. and if somebody even mildly famous walked in, I would basically just take, well, somebody actually very famous used to come in all the time.

11:45Jennifer Garner:Steve Martin would come in and he had a table that he liked. It was table five. And I would have to go to those people and say, I am moving you to the bar and I'm going to buy you some calamari and that's going to be on me. And I was 22. I was like 22 just like, and I'm going to, people are like, wait, I'm in the middle of a date. You're moving me? Yes, I am. But they always call it certain restaurants, big restaurants, they call it Siberia because they have the real inner area that they sit everyone that wants to be seen. And then if you're sat outside that, you're basically sat in Siberia. Okay, for us, it was if you were a circle.

12:21Jennifer Garner:So as we were writing people's names down, if we put a circle next to them, they got seated in Siberia. I am desperate. I'm going to rethink every restaurant I've ever been in. Yeah, sorry, you're ugly at the back. Hey, I've spoken to actors before who said that they found working in restaurants and working with people really helpful. It is so helpful. Just in life, it's helpful. Yeah, because you're just learning about people, right? Yeah, of course. Well, and it also, it's just you're part of a team. Anytime you are part of a team, because you become, if you are lucky enough to be in the position as an actor that you're being interviewed, then you are kind of the tip of a spear, right?

13:01Jennifer Garner:But if you see yourself that way instead of just in the muck of the team, I think you've screwed up somewhere along the way. Yeah. Good, great research. I love that. And also you're getting your real confidence there. I think anyone who does weight in at any stage in their life, especially when they're younger, really gets their confidence going because you have to make eye contact with people. You have to have a conversation. You know, I think it's brilliant for building that for girls and stuff. I've had more nightmares about my days as a hostess, more work nightmares than I have had actors' nightmares.

13:34Jennifer Garner:And I've had a lot of actors' nightmares, but I will still just be like, there's an hour and a half wait and I mean, you know, and everyone's mad. I can still have that dream. We always have at Christmas because we don't, Marana, we don't really have a big bar area. And Laura, who was the manager at the time with Drami, actually was right, you've got to come and perform. I said, what? She's got to come and talk to these people. I've got to move them off that table. Or if people are at the bar waiting, she goes, go and talk to them. They've been waiting 20 minutes, we need to keep them nice and happy, you know, or she'd bring them in the kitchen, that sort of thing.

14:02Jennifer Garner:Oh, if you had me, I would just move them. Out. Well, you actually could be great use to, Angela, because not only could you get people off of tables, but as we said at the start of the show, you're a great cook. You love to cook. I'm not a great cook. I'm not, but I'm a mom cook. And I do, I can do mom food in a way that makes my kids happy. So that to me is as good as I need to be. Yeah. But I feel like recently you did something like crispy chicken, lemon, orzo, something delicious. I was like, that feels like you can cook. Oh no, I can cook. No, I can cook. I can follow a recipe and I will own your cookbooks immediately.

14:41Jennifer Garner:I love people always say, oh, you should write a cookbook. And it's, I'm such a fan of cookbooks. I don't want to sully that. I understand how much work must go into all of the testing. I just want to celebrate cookbooks and cooks. And that's why I have my little pretend cooking show. Not because I think I should be writing a cookbook. Yeah, you're like a fan. And have you always loved cooking? Or was there something that made you... Well, my mom made every meal. So yes, I have. I mean, I remember when I was very first starting out, my first job job, I was living, I was working at a theater in a strip mall in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

15:19Jennifer Garner:and I didn't have any. I was making$200 a week and they didn't have to put me up. And so in exchange for sharing an apartment with another actress who was a big Broadway star, I did all the wardrobe. So I did all the dry cleaning. I washed and ironed 35 shirts between every performance. Anyway, during that time, I learned to cook and I cooked for, and everyone was so patient for me, but I was so determined to learn. And I would call my mom, how do you make gravy? How do you do that? So anyway. Because you always wanted to perform, did you, from a young age? I was always a performer. Yeah, I was always a performer.

15:58Jennifer Garner:I didn't even think you could do it for a job, really. But yeah. Was there something that you saw on TV or in a film, like a moment that was the moment where you were like, I want to do this? No, it's all been on stage. I mean, for me, it was just like, you know when you're with a baby and they're learning, they're just about ready to eat and they follow. every bite to the parents' mouth. And you think, oh, this kid needs to eat. That's how I was. Like, I would watch people on stage. And my parents said they took me to something at the Kennedy Center. Right. The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

16:32At what age did you go to the Kennedy Center?

16:34Jennifer Garner:Oh, I guess I was, I mean, my little sister. I must have been six. I mean, that's like going to the Royal Albert Hall, isn't it? Yeah. But it was flowers for Algernon. And at the end of it, I got up on top of the chair and I clapped over my head because I loved it so much. And that is how I still, I'm really fed by seeing things. Yeah, yeah. And when you went on stage, were you quite happy up there? Or was there initial nerves? Was there fear? I'm truly delighted on stage. I'm so happy. I'm too, I really should be a children's performer because I'm way too, I get too overexcited. I have to like calm down.

17:11And no nerves. Do you get nervous?

17:13Jennifer Garner:I get more nervous in a way now than I used to. Like now if I'm like presenting at the Oscars or something, which I've done for 20 whatever years, something like that. And I'll go out there and I'll think, oh my gosh, the people in the front can see that my knees are literally knocking together. And I think, stop it, knees, stop. And then I bend and I try to like root down into the ground because I just don't want the first few people in the audience to be like, look at this poor girl. me they're laughing at me Jennifer we always like to go through our guests food likes and dislikes as we begin yours are quite fantastic you love pizza, bread and cheeses doesn't need a pastry rather have a roll we weren't 100 % sure what you meant by that but I like how it rolled off the tongue doesn't need a pastry rather have a roll yeah like that I love that it was directly translated to you like that but that is exactly how I said I don't need a pastry I don't need a pastry.

18:12Jennifer Garner:I mean, look, there's a pastry there and I'm here. I may get into it, but I don't need to have a pastry. You don't need one. I need a piece of pizza. And I don't care if it's bad pizza, good pizza. I will have it. But a nice fresh roll. Lovely. I would like that. Yeah, you would like that. You've also said that you love a salad. I do like a salad. Isn't that Californian of me? Well, I was going to say a Californian salad is something spectacular. that is a full substantial meal I have to say we do it better what's like your go to Jennifer Garner salad rocket yes arugula and I'll have something delicious like a little brown rice in there and I'll have some nuts and or cheeses so lots of things that are tasty in there and then a protein like a salmon or chicken or whatever is lying around or if we've made crispy chicken you know like basically grown-up chicken fingers.

19:09Jennifer Garner:Yeah. I'll have that. Get that in. Get that in there. And then whatever veggies are out of the garden. I like to use broccoli florets or something for a little crunch. And then really basic olive oil and a good balsamic. Yeah. I like a nice dressing, but we're lazy. That's a good sign. When you say out the gun, you grow your own vegetables and stuff? Oh, fantastic. And that's all year round you've got all that coming out. I do. I mean, that's part of this. That's why I do it, because I moved to California and was just like, do you guys get that you can grow anything here at all times? Yeah. Wow, that's so fun to do.

19:44That's a bit of a dream. I'm going to go and get you some veg. Okay. It won't be as good as your gardener, but it will be delicious. Yeah, not unfortunately grown in the garden, yeah. You also love a roast chicken. We love a roast chicken. Salmon and a great steak as well. This we loved so much. You said all potatoes.

20:04Jennifer Garner:Any potato. Any potato? All potatoes are my friend. All potatoes. Do you have one that you particularly love to make? Like a roast potato mash? Is there a favorite that you excel at? I'll do a mashed potato for sure. And then I do a roast potato. I specifically do Emily Blunt's potatoes that Ina Garten put in her book, Modern Comfort Food. And so yes, I do whatever version Emily Blunt's mother has food. Oh, okay. I love that. So you do Emily Blunt's Mother's Potatoes? Yes. Okay, great. I've never told this to Emily, although she may have heard this, but that is my family's favorite potato. Okay, shout out Emily Blunt's Mother.

20:47What's so different about them? Yeah, what's so good about them? Why? What's Emily's mom's process?

20:50Jennifer Garner:Okay, so you peel and boil them, and then you shake them, of course, and to get them roughed up. And then you let them dry on top of the thing on top of the cookie sheet, So there's air that's going around, so they dry out a bit. And then you put the pan, your cookie pans or your big skillet, whatever you use, into the oven to get really, really hot. And then you put oil in there and the oil gets really, really hot. And then you put the potatoes into the very hot oil and then you turn them after a while and that's... Any rosemary or anything like that? Well, I add a bit of rosemary, but Emily Blunt's mother did not.