Keira Knightley and James Righton

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0:30with kids, pets, or anyone who loves an easy-to-clean, spotless sofa. With a modular design and changeable slipcovers, you can customize your sofa to fit any space and style. Whether you need a single chair, loveseat, or a luxuriously large sectional, Anabay has you covered. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your home. Right now, you can shop up to 60 % off store-wide with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Shop now at washablesofas.com. Add a little to your life. Offers are subject to change, and certain restrictions may apply. You are listening to Ruthie's Table 4 in partnership with Montclair.

1:09One of the many things I love about cooking is collaboration. Sourcing, prepping, presenting, delighting, and healing each other with the food we choose to eat or to cook. Ask any of the friends of Keira Knightley and James Ryden, as I did, or people who have worked with them, as I did, and they talk of them as almost one person. How they parent their children, Edie and Delilah, bringing music and acting into their home, immersing themselves in the communities they live in, and most appealing to me, investing a large amount of time in deciding what and where they're all going to eat. Kira and James love, and they are loved.

1:50We've seen Kira's jewels, Bendy Like Beckham, Elizabeth Bennett, Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenna, Collette. We've listened to James as a keyboardist of indie rave sensation, The Klaxons. He's now a solo artist working in TV, film, theater, recently helping Benny and Bjorn create ABBA Voyage. Two worlds joining together, music and theater. I last saw Kira and James a few months ago in the River Cafe with our close friends Erdem and Joseph. After an evening of nonstop talking, how to raise children in a tumultuous world, the movies we'd been watching and above all where and what we'd been eating.

2:28We vowed to meet soon. Schedules, families, work and travel got in the way. But here we are on a Monday morning in the River Cafe, three friends together. Now that's the best collaboration. Oh, good. I mean, how do we speak after that? So we do talk a lot about food, but you did choose of all the recipes in all 12 cookbooks. Spaghetti a la vongole. And Imogen is here to bring us the recipe. Did you make it, Imogen? Do you want to just tell us about this? What do we have here? We've got fresh taglarini, which has just been made now with eggs and flour and semolina. And the clams, the vongole is from Cornwall.

3:12Very fresh. And this is one of my absolute favorite dishes. It's finished off with butter and our lovely olive oil. and it's got a little bit of lemon and it's cooked with fiano white wine. Yum. Now, can I ask everybody, how would you, if you've got the vongole, you're the professional, do you use the shell to take the clams out? Or do you just get it with the fork? Yeah, I mean, they normally sort of fall out as you cook them. That's delicious. Wow. They're so sweet, the clams. Yeah, they're gorgeous, aren't they? Initially, we cooked them with fresh chilli, parsley stalks which are really sweet and then you once you've got them coated in the lovely olive oil yeah we finish it with the white fiano white wine and just let them steam open they always say in italy you know take take the pasta out of the cupboard and then decide what sauce you're going to have with it because they're very clear about different sauces and and also it works so well and and then we just love it with the tag and the ring and so we've broken the rules a few times.

4:17There's so many rules to break. But it's not actually, then you find out it's not breaking a rule. You know, because spaghetti vangole comes from the south, and so, you know, butter is really, no, it's the north. So, you know, but it just makes that sauce a bit richer, doesn't it? All right, let's read the recipe then. So we have the recipe. No, I'm going to do the list of things. And then you're going to read the difficult bit. I find recipes one of the most, with dyslexia, that it all bounces. That's why I don't cook. OK. Spaghetti ala vongole for six. 75 grams butter. Extra virgin olive oil.

4:54Two garlic cloves, peeled and chopped. One dried red chilli, crushed. One kilogram, small clams, washed. Half a bunch, fresh, flat leaf parsley, picked and chopped. 250 millilitres, vermentino wine, 400 grams, dried spaghetti. check over the clams and discard any that are not closed place half the butter in a wide pan with two tablespoons of olive oil the garlic and chili season with salt and freshly ground pepper fry for a minute and add the clams and parsley and toss over the heat add the wine and cover with a lid cook for about five minutes shaking the pan from time to time cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling water until al dente.

5:40When the clams are open, discard any that remain closed. Mix them with the drained spaghetti and toss in the remaining butter. Serve. There you go. Beautifully read. Just like that. So, growing up in your house, what was food like? Did you sit down? She was. Yes. Was she a full-time mother? No, she's a writer. Yeah. So she's a writer. My dad's an actor. But my mum was the cook. and it was very 70s. We were not allowed sugar. It was very, like, brown ricey, but it was very, very good. Mum's bastard pasta sauce, he was very... When he's gone for his, like, you go for your purest moments and you go very anti my mother's bastard pasta sauce.

6:24It's delicious. But it's delicious. It's delicious. Yeah, yeah. It's delicious. What do you love about it? What is it? It's everything that I wouldn't do. That's why I love it. Onions and garlic. What's in it? Yeah, what's in it? Like, literally everything. Me and my brother ate everything. there were roast chickens, there was fish, there was fish cakes, there was, I remember she made a green sauce with fish cakes. But we had a very tiny kitchen, so you could never cook with her. But it meant that I think for her, the private time was the cooking time. So I never learnt to cook from her, because you couldn't both be in the kitchen cooking.

6:55Did you cook with Europe? No, no, I was a different kind of, I grew up with my dad, who had a little kind of business that he ran at the same time. And so I grew up on, you'll probably kill me for saying this, but it was Marks and Spencer's Carbonara ready meals in the microwave. Fair enough. Which is, you know... But I have to say, he makes one of the best shepherd's pie. Incredible shepherd's pie. Every time we go back, I ask for his shepherd's pie because it's sensational. It's really good. It's really great. But my nan would cook for me. She was kind of a real old school, lots of lard, I imagine.

7:22Was she the mother of your father? No, no, my mother's mother. Your mother's mother. But it was a lot of kind of sausage rolls and that kind of British kind of pastry. Where were they from? What area? Stratford-upon-Avon. Right. And so was this a kind of cooking that she'd grown up with, do you think? I think so, yeah. Lots of pastries, lots of... I was looking back at cakes, sausage rolls, cheese on toast was the big thing. Cutting the crust off the cheese on toast. The whitest of white bread with cheddar. It was amazing, though. I still kind of feel... I still miss that. I still don't know how she made that cheese on toast taste.

7:52Did she ever let you go in the kitchen? Yeah, we could just hang out there, but she's great. I have to say, when we first met you, you've always made an amazing roast. Oh. And that was her. She made amazing roast dinners, Yorkshire puddings, you know, classic. They were always incredible. And I had a job where I worked on a boat on the River Avon, so I'd be a boat boy. And these mini cruise ships that do these half-hour tours of the River Avon. And every time I'd always go under a bridge, she'd be at the top with these sausage rolls in a little kind of Tupperware, and she'd drop them, and I'd have to catch them.

8:28And with my mum, I just remember being this kind of, I mean, she's amazing, my mum. But a lot of my food phobias stem from kind of her slightly chaotic, but wonderful kind of kitchen. What was it like? There were a lot of kind of jars of things, like Hellman's-y jars that were kind of oozing. He has condiment issues. Oh, yeah, massive condiment issues. This is one of the main reasons I like the River Cafe, is there's no condiments. In America, being American, I don't think I heard the word condiments. Well, we just had probably ketchup and mustard were just big horses. They're out. They're condiments.

9:05They would be condiments that are out. Anything, condiments, mayonnaise, any A's. So mayonnaise, mayonnaise. So you don't like. Anything with A's at the end of it. Mustard, can't stand it. Ketchup, butter. Butter? There was a what? No, butter you'll have when it's melted, but not if it's a solid form. Which makes sense because it can't get you. When did you begin having condiment issues? Like I said, I think it was maybe because I don't want to blame my mum for it. Did she have a refrigerator? Yeah, but it was just... Did she put it in the refrigerator? Yeah, but I don't, you know, it was kind of like that Hellmansey mustard thing and it was oozing out.

9:41Hellmansey, it's mayonnaise. Yeah, mayonnaise, that one. That one. It's all the same. I band them all together in this. But so this was when we first got together and I really found out about the issues and I knew that it was serious when he very seriously turned around to me and said, you know, if you want to keep mayonnaise in the fridge, you can. And I was like, wow. You knew it was the one. Wow, that was it. Yeah, I let it. I get it with the mayonnaise and the ketchup and the mustard and all that. But it's interesting that you have butter. It is a shame. Yeah, but this is it as well. A ketchup.

10:19You know when you see on a table mayonnaise that's had some ketchup in it and it's that swirl of like... No, but this is your dad. Your dad, you've got a big, there's a butter and jam issue, which I found out again when I stayed with his dad. And like you must, now maybe you agree with this, but you must never use the same knife. The butter and the jam must never meet. Oh, yeah, probably. I'd say that's logical. Yeah, logical. You see, I don't have my issue. Thank you. I don't have the issue. You don't have an issue with that. I never noticed. I'm like, I've got one knife, maybe I can't, I don't know.

10:50I would never be disapproving of it at all. You can do anything you want. Well, no, I've now got big. I now really am very careful about the separate marriage. Do you think you could ever fall in love with somebody who didn't care about food? No. No. No. And did you ever go out to restaurants? Yeah, we did. I remember one of my best, my favourite Christmases was dad took us to the local Chinese for Christmas dinner. And it was just dark. Did you go out to restaurants as a child? We had the local Indian restaurant, which I loved, and then the local Chinese restaurant, which I remember the name of it.

11:24It was called Walk This Way. Oh, I thought it was brilliant. Yeah. Good. That was amazing. Well done, bye. So we do, I mean, it was definitely like treats. But we'd go, no, we'd go once a week to the Indian restaurant, which I loved. It's still a family thing, isn't it? I mean, you guys, whenever I'm there. It's an Indian takeaway all the way. Is it? Yeah, yeah, 100%. Yeah. So nice. And I remember I have a love of spicy food, a deep love of spicy food, but it was all from being 10 and being there with my brother who is five years older and his friend and them daring me to eat a spicy curry. And me just like being, I'm going to eat this.

11:56And just sweating, but eating it. And every week after that, I'd go for the spiciest thing. You still do? I mean, I love it. It's like the crazy spice. I do love it. You do love it? I do love it.

12:14The River Cafe Cafe, steps away from our restaurant, is now open. In the morning, an Italian breakfast with Cornetti, Ciambela, and Crostata from our pastry kitchen. In the afternoon, ice cream coupes and River Cafe classic desserts. Come in the evening for cocktails with our resident pianist in the bar. No need to book. See you here.

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13:25Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your home. Right now, you can shop up to 60 % off store-wide with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Shop now at washablesofas.com. Add a little to your life. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Parking shouldn't slow you down. ParkWiz gives every driver a shortcut. Book ahead, save up to 50 % and skip the hassle of circling the block. Park smarter, park faster. ParkWiz. Download the ParkWiz app today and save every time you park. What was it like when you left? How old were you when you left home? By the time I was 16, I was working away a lot.

14:07And then 18, I was properly out. Did you know that you wanted to act? I'd wanted to act from the age of three. And my mom and dad had not let me because they did not want a child actress in the family. But they involved in theater. Yeah. So one's a writer, one's an actor. And they didn't, you know, they didn't want me doing it at all because they wanted me to be a kid. You know, I think. But I was absolutely desperate. and then finally the school said, well, look, she can't read at all and we need a carrot to dangle in front of us, so do you know, is there something that she wants? And they said, well, she wants an agent.

14:39They said, no, I want an agent because they always had agents calling and I remember answering things, you know, we had a landlord and it would be, it's your mum's agent, can I speak to her? So I think it was like, well, if you've got an agent, why don't I have an agent, this is so unfair. But also I'd be with them, you know, a lot backstage at theatres. So my dad, if they didn't have any childcare, care then I'd be sitting in his dressing room and he'd go on stage you know I mean and it was that was how it was so I wanted to be a part of that anyway so they said right there's your carrot and it was always if you read if your grades go up you're allowed to keep on acting but if they go down then it stops it did go up it was a carrot yeah it worked you memorized it didn't you memorize a lot of well yeah this is the thing so it's still sight reading I find really hard it really bounces but I listen to it again.

15:27I mean, basically I record it and listen to it and listen to it and listen to it and that's how I learn it. But now we have a dyslexic kid and she's doing the same thing. Her memory is absolutely amazing. She'll look at books. She'll have memorised the book, basically. Yeah. Yeah, it's amazing. So you left home at what age then to be an actor? Well, 16. So were you living at home? So Bend It Like Beckham I did at 16 but I was living at home. But I really remember on that one because we had a lot of Indian actors and their families would come and they brought food. Wow. And I remember Gurinder Chadha's family, she was the director, bringing this amazing Indian food.

16:03Did you have your own apartment? When did you have your own apartment? 18, I had my own apartment. What was that like? You know, I was doing quite well, so it was very nice. Yeah, yeah. A really nice apartment. Yeah, and I lived with my brother and his then girlfriend, and she was a great cook, and we had a lot of Indian takeaways. Yeah. Back to the Indian takeaways. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Would you entertain? Would you have friends over? We would. We had a lot because at that point I was ridiculously famous and I couldn't get outside. And so the only way to see people was to have them around at my apartment.

16:35So we had big, yeah, big parties were always around at mine. When did you leave? So at 18 I went to uni in Cardiff. And then I spent a year in Madrid, which was a kind of fun year. After graduation. Yeah. And then I moved to London. Well, tell me about Madrid. What was that like? What was food like in Madrid? For me, it was like, I get this beer and then I get free food with it. This is amazing. I'm just going to go where that is. Cheese and ham as well. Cheese and ham. Cheese and ham. That's what you like. You know, pretty minimal condiments, you know. I can deal with this. So I went there for a year and taught English, which was really fun.

17:11And just ate. Were you playing music at that point? Played music since I was a kid. I think I was 10 or 11 at primary school. There was this band at primary school, like the other kids in my year, who were the coolest kids. They were just amazing. They were into Nirvana. This was just, at the time, I think Kirk Mayne just died, basically. And my dad is a brilliant musician. Oh, I see. Yeah, he studied, got a scholarship at Durham, clarinet, piano, guitar. He just plays everything. So you had a lot of music in the house. Yeah, always. Yeah. And I remember, like, in the house, like, being in my dad's car, just listening to, like, The Stranglers and, like, Golden Brown.

17:44And it was just music, always. And so then I was away, you know. And then at uni in Madrid, I just kind of made music on my own. But yeah, it was just always something I wanted to do. So Madrid was exposure to food, to tapas, to... Yeah. Did you ever live in a foreign country? Were you... Not for as long as a year. We were always on set. I mean, I was always on set. So it's sort of... But like early on, Rome and, I mean, America a lot and the Caribbean a lot. I think catering on film sets is the hardest thing to do because you've got to be there so insanely early. And then often we do these things called running lunches, which basically means that you have to have all the food ready for like this three-hour period where it just sits there and you grab it.

18:25You know, so it's an incredibly difficult kind of thing. But I don't think that you get a love of food from it. Although there was the amazing guy, do you remember? Oh, run it through the garden. Run it through the garden. This guy is great. In America, they famously have much better catering. You know, there's just more. So they always had like a guy that would do like an omelette stand or something. You know, like he'd be the guy making the omelette. And he had this thing, if you wanted like vegetables in it, and he'd say, do you want it run through the garden? That was his thing, his line. I always remember that.

18:52That was the best line. Do you want it run through the garden? Yeah, run it through the garden. But it's really hard. And then you go back. You go back. And you're always slower when you go back. Are you? Yeah, yeah, much slower. That's the way that music, you shouldn't do a take. You should always do it on an empty stomach. What? A vocal take, any takes as a band. Yeah, yeah. You don't want to eat and then do a gig. You know what I mean? You'd be full. No one likes burping on the mic. I mean, no one's going to appreciate that. So you were in Madrid and then UK. And then I started this, I was in this band.

19:23Oh, yeah, let's talk about that. So we did that for, I started that in 2005. And you were touring a lot. Touring a lot for 10 years. All over. Everywhere. Asia. Asia, everywhere. Australia. And what did that feel like food-wise? Unbelievable. That was my favourite bit about touring, was to go to, you know. He's an amazing traveller. Like, it's, no, but you are. I do love it, yeah. Like, it's a skill that, and you have, like, so when, he used to be in the band, and we'd get on the tour bus. So you'd only ever have, what, a couple of hours in each place to do things. And everybody else would sort of stay and they'd be on their computers or they'd be watching a film.

19:55And he has researched the top things to do in the city and the top places to eat in the city. And he's like, right, in three hours, we can hit this and we can get that and we can get that. Yeah, it was amazing. And his band called it Fear Tours because you never quite knew if you were going to die. We almost did die in Buenos Aires. I didn't know this, but I was told there's a really good steak place in this, near La Boca in Buenos Aires. So I convinced the band to all follow me on this like magical mystery tour to the restaurant. I didn't know La Boca is quite a heavy area of Buenos Aires. We were all dressed like Duran Duran or something with our cameras out, you know, and then from out of nowhere, some guy came over and whacked our drummer with something and his camera went flying.

20:39And we ended up in a police car going around. Actually a police escort to the restaurant. I've got a lot with him. You do end up in police cars. He's had our two-year-old in a police car as well. What happened five minutes before you went into the police car with your two-year-old? Well, he's quite embarrassing this one. But I was in... Can I just say, I was working in Boston. He's looking at the six-year-old we put in school. It was COVID. It wasn't the best. But anyway, so he's with the two-year-old. Winter in Boston. Winter in Boston. Very cold. Yeah, cold. I'm on set and all I get is I get an assistant coming in going, don't worry but James and Delilah are in a police car and I was like why why are James and Delilah in a police car we were fine we were all good well basically I'd heard in Boston that there was this place that did pizza pizza that it opens at like 8am and the minute it sells out of the pizza but it sells out by 10am but by 10am so I was like okay Delilah our youngest who's then one I said you know today the daddy adventure we're going to go You get pizza.

21:43So we drive at like 7 a.m. in the snow to this Italian district of Boston. It's minus 20. Wrap her up. We get out the car. It's like a blizzard. Storm into this pizza place. Order a couple of slices of cheese pizza. We sit there. We have a lovely slice of pizza. For breakfast. For breakfast. Then I get out the restaurant or the pizza place. And I walk down left. Like this. Walk down. There's no car. Okay. Walk down the other way. back the other there's no car there okay go back into the restaurant but what I love is what he leaves out he's very vocal right so there wouldn't have just been oh I'm chilled out because I can't find the car it was it's more like I'm with my two year old somebody's taken our car somebody's taken our car oh you drove there in your car yeah and then and then you know the police came I went out I saw a policeman I said look I've had my car stolen I said alright get in the car so get in this car and it's like plastic seats with the one-year-old and we just, you know, so then, and they've got the Boston accent, the thick Irish, you know, and we drive out and we drive a little bit round the corner, just walk a little bit and they've got the key and they're pressing, I didn't know you can press a button on a car remote and hear the beep.

22:56It was there, it hadn't been stolen. But our now four-year-old still goes, Dad, I do remember when we were in the back of the police car in Boston. Yeah, I was like, yes, yes. It was really fun.

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24:33Can I just very simply ask you how you met? Where did we meet? We met at Dean Street Townhouse in London, which was, okay, so that week my agent said to me, I've had this dream, I was single, I've had a dream that you're meeting your future husband this week. And I was like, oh, that's exciting. So I got invited out to loads of things. And I have to say I'd met a load of people that week. And I was like, sorry, this isn't happening. Anyway, so the end of the week was an Oscar viewing party. Anyway, so I was like, really didn't want to go. It was a Sunday night. I was in the theatre. I couldn't be bothered to go.