Will Poulter

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1:36Hello and welcome to Table Manners. It is the hottest day of the year. Ever. We are schvitzing. You will hear some fans going off. And Lenny has demanded Jamie, our lovely producer for the day, to have fans on. It's not going to be allowed. I know. So let's put them away for a second and do the intro. I can turn it down really quiet. No, it's just not going to happen. No, it can. It's almost silent. I thought yesterday was hot. Really? Yeah, it was hot. But this is hotter. Schvitzing, yeah. So you've been on cooking duty. Thank you, Mum. Now, when do you look cool? I'm definitely not cool. I've got a lovely dress on that has, I have the boob, the boob silicon things.

2:18I just went and did a vocal for my record in Brixton. And I said to him, I was like, just, I'm sweating so much. And then I did a big, big chorus and I saw one of the bloody nipple things on the floor. One of the silicons I'd done such a powerful performance and I was so sweaty. It slid off. It fell off. Slid away. Yeah, it's hot. But we're very excited about the guest. And we're having someone's very hot tonight. Oh, well, yes. Everyone's talking about this actor. He has been recently in the Haim video. Yeah. Along with two other very dashing men. So Will Poulter's coming on. He's an actor who has been acting from a young age.

3:03He won the BAFTA Rising Star Award. What was that for? He'd done this programme called School of Comedy, which was like a sketch show when he was a teenager. And he was in this big film with Jennifer Anstom called We're the Millers. I love that film. Did you watch it? Yeah. It's like about a drug. Yeah, they were kind of money laundering. Yes. And they had two teenage children and they moved. But they weren't really their children, were they? No. Because he had a snog with Jennifer Anstom. They pretended they were their children. Right. Did you enjoy it? I thought it was really good. Well, the world loved it.

3:34He even won Best Kiss, which was actually a threesome with Emma Roberts and Jennifer Aniston. So, yeah. Was Emma Roberts his sister? Yes. But so he's been in Marvel. He's in Guardians of the Galaxy. He's been in Black Mirror. He is in The Bear. He was in season two as a chef, a pastry chef, I think he was. He was a friend of Calmy's. They'd worked together. And he's in the new season, which just started a couple of weeks ago. We like this because Will's coming on his own. and he hasn't got any entourage. Oh, thank God. He isn't promoting anything, really, I don't think. So he's literally just coming for a dinner.

4:10Well, I hope you've all got big appetites, because I've made enough for 12 people. Well, he does say that he's a professional eater. Oh, OK. Which we love. I hope he likes this. So, Mum, before Will rings the doorbell, because he is going to be early, he's also an early guest. We love that, too. He's essentially a perfect guest thus far. For Jessie. For me. Yeah. What have you made? I've made chicken marinated in fenugreek and ginger and lime. Oh, yum. Yeah. And then I marinated it overnight and cream. And any turmeric? Turmeric, cumin, coriander. That's kind of like, what's it called? Everything.

4:47Methymerc, like, is it methymerc? I don't know. Anyway, I've done that. I've done your favourite, wedding rice. Yum. Because you love it. Tell the listeners what wedding rice has in it. Wedding rice has cardamom, cinnamon, onion. It's got bay leaves and it's got butter and golden raisins. What's the recipe that's for the chicken? It's not a lenghi. Oh, it's going to be fab then. I hope so. And then we've got some salads to go over there. Yeah. And then what are you doing for Pud? Middle Eastern eaten mess. What makes it Middle Eastern? Don't tell me some more rose water. Yeah, there's a little rose water.

5:24And there's a little pomegranate molasses. Okay. There's pomegranate, pistachios, strawberries, raspberries, creme fraiche and mascarpone. So no cream? I did put cream in as well. Wow. And meringue. And I'm going to put the pistachio. Yeah. Pistachio, yeah. God, Lenny, you're really on your Middle Eastern flex right now. I feel like I'm in the Middle Eastern. Will Poulter coming up on Table Manners.

5:57How do you pronounce your surname? Poulter. Poulter. A little bit like Poultry. Oh. Ironically, yeah. Did you? Spacey, my name's Mr Chicken. I didn't need to say that. Yeah, yeah. Mr Chicken, welcome. Thank you. It's good to be here. Will Poultry. No, Will Poulter. Poulter. Thank you very much for joining us at Table Manners. You were early. We love an early guest. So yeah, Will, we just feed you and we chat. It's really straightforward. Sounds ideal. Well, I hope so. It's my favourite thing to do. Apparently you're a professional eater, aren't you? Yeah, it's my biggest talent, is eating food.

6:30Eating, not cooking. No, no, I wish I could say that's my big... I'm better at eating than I am. I bet you did cook a meal, and you gave the recipe for some charitable thing. I, um, yeah, do you know what's so... You're doing a collab. Darling, there's water. Oh, thank you so much. Yeah, would you like some water? Yeah, I think I would. So glad I bought ice. Oh, yeah, that's a really good coffee. I know. I've got another bag. Thanks, love. Got another... William, he's toasting us. Another kilo of ice. on this boy man thank you it was a pleasure yeah do you know what so this is where my imposter syndrome is sort of 11 out of 10 i'm really fortunate at the moment i am collaborating with a restaurant called side hustle they're based in the nomad hotel and for the next few months they're doing a series called tacos with friends and every month they're bringing in more often not a real actual chef but occasionally a sort of friend in the public eye to design a taco and the proceeds of that taco go towards City Harvest.

7:28City Harvest are an amazing organisation that makes sure that any food surplus basically goes towards folks experiencing food insecurity. So I designed a taco that was kind of inspired a little bit by my part on the bear and mainly by my market. A Danish taco. It's actually not a Danish taco. Our episode was called Honeydew. So it has pickled honeydew melon on the taco. That's nice. I know that sounds a bit, but... No, I like the idea of it. If I can say this, it's working. People are digging it. And what's with the connoisseur melon? So it's a pork carnitas taco. Yum. A little bit of fresh avocado.

8:06So instead of the pineapple... Not pineapple, pineapple. No, melon and prosciutto. Yes. A little bit of a play on that. Yes, mum, but yes, I think I got it. And that thing that I think exists in a lot of different cuisines where you have kind of fatty meat with sweet fruit. Yes. You know, so whether it's pork and apple, whether it's duck and plum prosciutto and melon so like it actually kind of works if I'm allowed to say that so getting the part in the bear when you did your audition did they ask you about food as well I mean you're an actor so you can just pretend that you would do it but you seem to be passionate about food and eating do you feel like that played a part in you getting the role not just because you're talented at acting that's sweet yeah I'm like I can accept the compliment about being talented at eating that's sweet of you I don't know it's interesting I mean, I think that, quite honestly, I've always been such an admirer of the hospitality industry and people who work in, you know, kind of the service industry.

9:01And my mum is such a good cook. Is she? And went to culinary school, yeah. Ditch, oh God. I was like very spoiled. Feeling anxious now. As a kid. Oh my gosh, don't be silly. I knew when I walked in here it was going to taste good. I could smell it. You don't know. As soon as the door opened. You know, my mum was a really good cook and I always like, I always kind of formed this association between food and love. Like, I really did. It was the way that my mum expressed it. It was the way that our family sort of came about and sort of showed love to one another. It was literally around the dinner table.

9:30So we always had that association. Can you tell us about who was around the dinner table when you were a child? And what was something that your mum was dishing out for dinner? It's a good question. Yeah, Sunday lunch was like a massive thing. Right. It was like stipulated actually by my dad that everyone had to be there for Sunday lunch. I've got quite a big family. I've got half brothers and sisters who are my whole brothers and sisters but you know how many of you we grew up separately in some respects so I've got two sisters and an older brother right and you know the kind of unofficial rule of Sunday lunch like you had to be there and you can kind of bring like whoever you want to bring and it was really lovely I was really lucky to sort of grow up that that way and my mum would do all the cooking and do it so brilliantly well my dad was born and raised in Yorkshire so invariably it was Sunday roast with a Yorkshire pudding more often than not it was beef that was like he allows that and he's a cardiovascular surgeon yeah you've definitely done your research yeah he did yeah sundays there was an exception and would you would he still want the york shirt even if you were doing chicken that's a very good question no he got a bit traditionalist about that yeah so okay so it was a roast dinner on a sunday would you always bring your mates you know what it was such a like sacred event that like the focus was just the food and my family so like more often than not I wasn't necessarily bringing someone I remember like that was how I'd meet like a lot of my older siblings like boyfriends and girlfriends that was kind of like what I seem to remember it was amazing and and yeah we'd nearly always have the Yorkshire pudding with beef and it was nearly always beef for that reason so I think the Yorkshire pudding was as important how good is your mum's roast potatoes elite to the point where it's really hard for me to go to a pub and have a roast and not feel disappointed because my mom's potatoes are just they're next level i i had speaking of roasts at pubs we had tommy banks on who's an incredible chef yeah yeah and i said i just don't think that roasts are ever as good as when you're in the house and he was like i beg to differ and he's invited us down and we absolutely should i do have to say i had probably the best roast i've ever had in a Bristol pub, a new pub.

11:39It was stunning. You went to Bristol Uni, didn't you? I did, yeah. Did you eat well there? I went to Bristol Uni. I ate like a student at Bristol Uni would. I think probably not a picture of health if you took a look at what I was ingesting. What were you studying? I was studying drama. Oh, it's a good place to do it, right? It's a good place to do it. So you quit, I presume, because you were already booked and busy, baby. Well, I got really fortunate in that I was sort of auditioning. I'd shot something in America kind of just before I left for uni, I believe, if I'm not mistaken. The timeline's a bit fuzzy, but I was sort of auditioning for stuff in my first year.

12:17It was one of those things where I was like, they just tripled the uni fees, having said they wouldn't. And I didn't have a student loan. I was kind of like paying my way through uni and I was like doing the sort of cost benefit analysis. And I was like, I've been offered a job. This is really expensive. I kind of have to take it. Which job was that? I did the Maze Runner, the first Maze Runner film. Which was a huge breakout thing for you, right? Yeah, it was a big opportunity for me and really special. And in a way, socially, like in some ways, it was sort of an extension of my kind of college years, my university experience, if you like.

12:48It was like a continuation of the fun I was having at uni because we were sort of all like 18 to sort of 25 at that time. And in the same breath, an amazing professional opportunity as well. And I got really lucky. Also, I shot it in Louisiana and looked no further than great food. Great food. Okay, tell me what some of the memorable meals were. New Orleans is... Yeah, everyone's served. It's this unbelievable kind of melting pot of different cultures and cuisines and, you know, the blend of, like, comfort food and, like, Creole culture and what that does, whether it's, you know, jambalaya or gumbo or the best fried chicken you've ever had.

13:26And beignets. Beignets, that's how you say it. Which is crazy. Just a fancy French donut. It's like a donut. Yeah, but they're... But they're long. They sometimes are, I think. They're kind of lighter as well, I felt like. Lighter, a lot of powdered sugar. What's that thing that Randy Jackson talked about? Bean casserole. Green bean casserole. Green bean casserole, that's a thing too, yeah. And good sloppy... Was it Sloppy Joe? No, what were the sandwiches that they do? Oh, Poe Boys? Poe Boys. Poe Boys are amazing. What are they? Well, you explain. they they tend to be so the the origins of them are that like oysters used to be these kind of like gross things that people didn't sort of like really respect right i don't respect me still listen are you an oyster boy each their own i actually am i've conveniently like blocked out the fact that someone said it looks like a giant's bogey i've kind of blocked that out of my mind so that i can enjoy them but an oyster and a martini is a great combination but they used to be very very cheap and so more often than not you know folks in the south who couldn't necessarily afford to eat the kind of finer things the lobsters for example whatever else would eat oysters and to make them go a little bit further they'd fry them and put them in a sandwich and that was the original like oyster po 'boy and it was called a po 'boy because it's like in the southern vernacular it's the pronunciation of poor boy if you like so it was for the kind of working class the lower You've had a po' boy.

14:49Yeah, but I haven't had an oyster one. I think I've had like... Shrimp maybe? Maybe, yeah. And like there's these really beautiful... I mean, the thing about New Orleans is like some of these places that you eat, they're so decadent, but they're kind of, you know, they're working cafes. Like it's amazing, mum. I'd love to. On Frenchman Street, it's just amazing. So all of a sudden... Because Hannah lived there when she was doing that. And she was... What TV show was she doing? The first, yeah. Yeah, with Sean Penn. Yeah. Hannah's an actress and she lives in LA and she's seen you at one of her acting classes.

15:21That's my sister. No way. I wonder if you've done scenes. I went to audit my friend Chris Sheffield. So funnily enough, Chris Sheffield, who is one of my best friends who I met on Maze Runner, he goes to the acting class. And I would have seen her and she's fantastic. I mean, everyone in there was fantastic. But she says what's so amazing is that there's really established actors that go there and make it going. They're just not working at that time, yeah. Just to practice, really. Keep the tools sharp. Yeah. I really respect it I think it's amazing yeah speaking of tools did your mum no mum I was actually going to speak about fucking cooking actually thank you yeah tools eating tools Christ not even drunk I'm getting very personal are we not drinking because I feel like are you definitely not drinking the only reason I'm not drinking is I just got back from Glaston yeah but so did I we've got champagne pink wine white wine do it do it no you don't have to no I really should I really should abstain but thank you all the same but please you get involved what were you drinking well too much i drank too much who was your favorite doji well that's why you missed me because we were on at the same time is that that's my excuse don't she was supposed to be insane i have to be honest it's the best live performance of anything i've ever seen and and who is don't don't she's this incredible rapper oh she's just insane she's from florida she's amazing it was 45 minutes and And I think it was headliner and everyone's a bit like, oh, 45 minutes.

16:45But apparently she blew, like, it was incredible. Packed it out. Do you want some pink wine? I'll take anything at the moment. Or white wine? Yeah, I'll have white. Is this rude to be drinking with Will when he's not drinking? Absolutely not, it isn't. When were you going to bed at Glastonbury, Will? I was going to bed quite, I mean, definitely past my usual bedtime. I'm quite a old man. And I'm actually like mocked within some of my like, within my friendship group for sort of being a bit of an old man and not necessarily like being able to hack it and stay out that late. But I bought that friend.

17:17Well, you made it to NYC Downloads. I made it to NYC Download a couple of times. That was super fun. So fun. Whilst mum sorts out the dinner, I'm going to get you started to think about your last supper. Yeah. Start a main pud, drink of choice. I've thought about this and I appreciate this isn't necessarily traditional in terms of when you might have this or how you might have this but I would love to start with an assortment of dim sum Yum yum I would really love that Where do you go for your dim sum? So there's some amazing places obviously in Chinatown in London which I absolutely love and there are a number of different places and I kind of like to like wander around and sort of do a bit of like pick and choosing Are you going to be protective of those places?

18:02Oh, no. What, as in gatekeep? Yeah. As they say on the internet. No, no, no, no. I just actually can't remember any of the names right now. Okay. So what's going to be in your dim sum? So in my dim sum. Your lazy Susan, what's going to be on it? Yes, with all the like baskets. I definitely want some shumai. Tell everyone what that is. I believe that is a blend of pork and prawn. And I just love them. Is it in like a wonton dumpling? Is it a soup dumpling? Or is it like a bun? No, it's a wonton. It's a wonton wrapper. but oh my gosh, that looks banging. It might not be, no, my God. Mum's worried about this.

18:35It's not telenghi, so it should be all right. It smells incredible. Thank you. So yeah, it's in a wonton. It's kind of open-faced, if you like, and they're absolutely delicious. Okay, so you're going to have them? Going to have them. I will probably butcher the pronunciation. Is it xiao long bao? Xiao long bao? You're looking at me. I'm a fucking Jew. Which is a soup dumpling. Right. My favourite are the soup dumplings. I love them. My kids love them. Unbelievable. Babe, it's you do frozen ones. They're not fab, but they're doable for the freezer. That's really good tonight. good to know if you want on your next stocado order i love that love a soup dumpling love a soup dumpling i'd love also hargao which i believe is scallop i could be wrong about that right yeah those do some and i really want that with chinese black vinegar with the thinly sliced ginger a nice little hot sauce as well because i think if you get like a fermented red chili sauce that goes really well with the hargao right and then soy as well so this is your starter that's just my starter.

19:28Love it. We just started. Can you help yourself, Daryl? It all looks great. Thank you so much, my God, happily. It's such a pleasure. Are you going to put some rice? Put some rice on your plate? I'd love some. This looks so good. Thank you, lovely. Thank you. Wow, this is nice. So, Mum, this looks delicious. You're amazing. Thank you. Looks just so good. So, what did you have for lunch, Will? Today. Oh, today I had... A salad? I had brown... Fuck, I am such a wanker. I had brown rice sushi. Oh my god! Which I don't think is remotely traditional, is it? Where's Bombay? There's a thing called Corner Shop that just opened on 180 Strand.

20:07Oh, the deli! It looks amazing! Yeah, no, thank you. I was going to say to you, Jessie, do you want some of this? Yeah, please. Two pieces? Yes, please. Do you want some juice on that as well? Here, yeah. Thank you, doll. I can spoon it. Jessie, do you want me to put some of this on? Oh my god, why are you so sweet? Yeah, I do. Thank you. Perfectly well brought up. Thank you. This is a... Not sure that the sauce is that great. Thank you, that's amazing. Do you want me to do yours? No, I'm fine. Are you sure? I think I am. The sauce is great. I don't know it at all. It's a very nice one. Is it?

20:38It's a bit bitter, but it's nice. It is a bit bitter. I don't get it. I'm going to like this. So whilst we tuck in main, where are we going on the main? The main course is based on a dish I had, it basically is the dish that I had in Jamaica. curry shrimp with rice cabbage what like a coleslaw no like a sort of um like a kind of it's like semi-steamed maybe a little bit kind of like sauteed a little bit probably with some oil and it's probably like thyme and a little bit of scotch bonnet in there scotch bonnet are you a hot person i do love i do love my spice that's why you eat hot sauce and then served on the side festival which is this like delicious oh best of yeah i know i love it So good.

21:23And my drink of choice with that would be a Red Sorrel Red Stripe. Okay. So it's a Red Stripe with, like, the flavour of sorrel in it, and it kind of gives me, like, Shandy vibes. Ooh, yum. Shandy Rattlers, which is kind of how I... That's probably, like, the first drink I ever had, I think, as a Shandy. I had a Shandy on Sunday night at the Maccabees at Glastonbury. Oh. It was delicious. That's a great move. And by the way, this is delicious. This is a really nice one. Like, genuinely so... This is, like, my mum's cooking. This is amazing. Thank you so much. This was amazing. Thank you. When were you in Jamaica?

21:55I was in Jamaica, oh my gosh. This was pre-pandemic. I hate to use that as a... It was for holiday. It was for holiday. And I remember you kayaked out to this little island and there were two restaurants on this island. Oh. And you just posted the kayak up and got out, had this meal. It was kind of like one of the most satisfying plates of food I've ever had. really vibrant as well and went so well with several sorrel red stripes and then kayaked back then you eat it in seconds yeah no I like really took my time with that and it was it was amazing so you like going to the West Indies and Caribbean on holiday yeah I do and I love Caribbean food and obviously you know thanks to the Windrush generation like our food scene in London has been so enriched by you know Caribbean culture it was you that said because I've read your Wikipedia page that you said Caribbean chefs are overlooked no it wasn't African chefs or African chefs are overlooked right you're right though yeah chefs from you know the African diaspora and the continent they go on MasterChef the professionals and win nothing and it's it's wild and like you know you think about I mean you can't go anywhere in the world and like going back to you know Louisiana being a prime example anywhere in the world where like Africa hasn't you know influenced the food in some way and yet it's often I think African cuisine is often like overlooked in various conversations, especially when it comes to like, you know, fine dining or awards and this sort of thing, which isn't obviously the measure of what makes food great.

23:28Like I think people know that, but still it deserves to be given the same level of attention. So come on, give some shout outs now of where people should be eating. Have you got any outside London? I need Brixton. Oh my gosh. Oh, Chishuru is it? Chishuru's amazing. Brilliant. And Brixton Market, it's fantastic. Yeah, absolutely. And it's the first time that a black woman has been awarded a Michelin star in the UK. Oh, wow. Yeah, which is amazing. So yes, that place is unbelievable. Do you live south? I do. I live in South London. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I love it in South. Hence Brixton. Hence Brixton.

24:04So yeah, and in Brixton, fish wings and tings is great. And then for African food, Tisserie is unbelievable. I think Acra and Okoko were both part of the same team. a cocoa being fine dining and west african where's that really really amazing that's in fitzrovia okay so those are both really really good aqua being like they're more like casual fine dining um concept in london bridge i believe london bridge borough okay and then if you are in london there's a directory and company called black eats london and they have a full list of all the kind of like best back-owned um restaurants and food businesses in the capital and that's Really worth following.

24:44I mean, there's so many, but those are definitely some that stick out. That's great. Yeah. Now, before we go into the bear, your pudding. Yeah. You have a sweet tooth, don't you? I really do. Your vice. It's kind of my vice. And I try to sort of steer clear day-to-day of desserts and sweets because I don't really have an off switch. It's quite dangerous. If I start, it's hard to start. Do you like chocolate as well? I love chocolate what sort of chocolate do you eat? kind of all chocolate I've just started getting into dark chocolate which is how I know I'm at least attempting to be an adult but what's this milky bar pie thing that you talk about?

25:25so that's it sounds disgusting it used to be called crack pie and they've adapted the name oh the mamafuku one it's the mamafuku pie and it was like a happy cooking accident from a woman called Christina Tosi who's actually become a friend since the bear yeah because we were in an episode together and she's just amazing. The one where they're saying goodbye to the brilliant restaurant and all the big chefs are there. Yes, yes. That was great. Yeah, exactly. So she's amazing. But yeah, Mama Fuku Pai was definitely, I mean, it's high up on my list. It's still in my top five. And I have to say when it came to, you know, starter and main course, there were some honorable mentions.

26:03Like I wanted to say almost my mom's Sunday roast for my main, you know. I think there are like some other main courses or some other starters that could have got a look in. Dessert is really, really tough. Right. Are we going to have, like, a trio dessert? Chocolate dessert. I would love a trio, but is that allowed? Yeah. Listen, if you're offering me a trio, I'm not going to turn it down. Fine, do it. And that's really made me quite happy. Do you want more chicken, darling? I do, Mum. I'm starving. That's so good. OK, go on, hit me. I mean, it's a heavy trio, but hey. You want another bit of chicken, Will?

26:34I would love it. I'm definitely not going to say no. Thank you. It's so delicious. And there's more rice here. Thank you, thank you. I do love that rice. I love that rice too. Oh, good. Wedding rice. Is that what it's called? Yeah, I love it. I love that. So I would say that I would love a cheesecake, like a Basque cheesecake. Oh, Jessie made that last week. Yeah. Oh, good. It's hard to make really well, to be honest. And I'll say this, and this is slightly biased because I did work at the restaurant in preparation for the bear, but... Oh, did you? Which one? No, it's not Brat, actually, although I do love Thomas Perry.

27:06Yes, me too. And these restaurants are amazing. I worked at a restaurant in Santa Monica called Pajoli. The head chef there is called Dave Berron. Pajoli? Pajoli, yeah. It's kind of an amalgam of, like, two French words. Yeah, not pretty. Yeah, or, yeah. Pajoli means not pretty. I guess it does, yeah, and he sort of stuck them together to make one word that doesn't really exist in French, but I quite like it. I've never heard of it. Yeah. Not pretty. No, the restaurant. No, I know, but would it mean, like, not pretty? Pajoli means not pretty. Oh. I guess, and ironically, it's a very pretty restaurant and the food's amazing.

27:42So he and his team did a research trip in San Sebastian. And they went and tried bass cheesecake at the place that is sort of adorned as being kind of the best place. I'm going there this summer and I'm going to have to go to this place. You're going to have to do it. And it's amazing. And they are obviously like really incredible craftspeople and doing amazing job. So can you make it now? I have made it in the restaurant. And? I wouldn't necessarily back myself to make it at home. but I did make it in the restaurant with far better equipment than I have. But this cheesecake, I was lucky enough to have in San Sebastian.

28:15I went for my 30th birthday to go to San Sebastian. That was my birthday. You're such a foodie. I do love my food. I do love my food. But I will say this. The Basque cheesecake at Pajoli in Santa Monica is the best in the world. If that one in the Basque country, if the one in San Sebastian is the best, the found better at Pajoli. It's really unbelievable. If you're in Santa Monica, you have to get a slice of that. And you can order whole ones as well. Yeah. Why are you looking unsweaty and we're dying? I'm so sweaty. Are you joking? We're actually dying. Thank you so much. It's just, it's like chicken juice and fenugreek coming out of me.

28:55I know. But it's amazing. So cold. Not complaining. Thank you so much. Oh my God. And I feel like I should get you back. No. I don't have that. I don't have that. I've got that. Thank you. Okay, so we're having the bass cheesecake from Pajoli. The Bass Cheesecake is in there. The other thing, and I know that this is like... This is kind of more of a traditional one, and this is like a bit of a shout-out to St John, because I think the dessert... I think the desserts at St John... God, I don't even know them. St John? I don't know the desserts, darling. Right, OK. I think it's like the best... Definitely the best kind of like traditional British desserts they're going to get.

29:29OK. What is it? Treacle, sticky, toffee pudding? They're sticky... I think they call it a sticky date pudding, I think, or something like that or date cake but treacle tart to me vanilla ice cream is just and it's not too dissimilar from a mama fuku pie it's kind of this like culinary accident of a dish oh thank you but um but yeah i would say a slice of treacle tart with really cold amazing like cornish vanilla ice cream would be my like you know my be my dream okay this is also very rich I wasn't expecting to have all three. I don't really have any, like, anything acidic or fruity, but anyway.

30:10That's fine. Maybe there's a little compote somewhere with the cheesecake. I'm going for my last thing, an ice cream cookie sandwich. Oh. Where from? I'm ideally getting it from Chin Chin Labs in Soho. Fucking hell, you know everywhere.

30:54We'll be right back. Call 1-800-GRANGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by. Grainger, for the ones who get it done.

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32:10Okay, so that is very sweet. That is a good last supper. I'm into it. It's intense, isn't it? I'm into it. Now let's talk about the there like right your character in it has worked with carmy yeah and marcus goes over is he lovely jeremy yeah so lovely i just think he's very sexy okay marcus comes over to copenhagen to work with you and you're um kind of showing him the ropes with pastry because that's his passion do you know what i was really lucky for season two which was my first involvement um my first episode plus the only episode that season was called honeydew I trained for that solely in London I worked at three amazing places St John I did a shift at St John which was very cool was Fergus there?

32:55Fergus was there I didn't get to meet him at that point Mr St John Fergus Henderson he's like yeah he's kind of the person who is credited with celebrating and elevating nose to tail cooking what does that mean? offal he'll do like farrow eating every part of the and like old school things like Trotter. Oh, God almighty. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not going there. He's a legend. But he's a legend. And so, yeah, to even be in the building at St. John, and listen, I didn't do much. I, you know, they knew well how inexperienced I was. They weren't going to let me near anything too important. But I did a shift there.

33:34And then I did a shift in the pastry section as well. So I got to work with the amazing head of pastry there, a chef called Rose. She was amazing. And like all desserts were incredible. So St. John, Trulo, Chef Conor Gad there Crikey O 'Reilly, you've been everywhere I worked very, very briefly at Trulo But that was really good fun And Conor Gad's a great guy And then where I spent most of my time Was at Black Axe Mangal, Lee Tiernan's restaurant How was he to work with? Absolutely amazing Lee's become a friend And I think Black Axe Mangal is What is Black, it's Turkish It's really quite, it's kind of very exciting Turkish food but he like is he Turkish?

34:17no yeah Black Axe Mangal is sort of Turkish inspired but there's also kind of like Chinese and Szechuan influences and he takes inspiration from America one of his signature dishes is a a squid ink flatbread with a cured egg yolk and taram salata and it's like don't you fancy that mum? it's amazing I will say I think Black Axe Mangal offers probably the most unique meal you can have in London and it's really small unassuming no signage hybrid islington it's really it's really amazing and i can't recommend going enough it's really really great so those are the three places oh yeah eat your dinner oh no not at all no no eat your dinner because i'm asking you questions i've got no problem eating this dinner it's so good it's really nice mom it was thank you because actually the sweetness and like delicacy of the wedding rice it worked it worked okay great but we haven't done chocolate for pudding?

35:11No, that's absolutely fine. Which chocolate? If you eat chocolate, which one do you eat? So, I mean, gun to my head, milk chocolate. Yeah, me too. But I love white chocolate too. Wow, you are sweet. Oh, I've got white in the fridge. Why have you got white chocolate in your fridge? For a recipe, because I was going to make Dubai chocolate. Were you? Yeah. What, for tonight? And I bought... What is that? What? I know, I don't know what that is. Have you been living under a rock? Oh, what? No, I don't know what Dubai chocolate. What do you fuck, Will? What is it here? What is it? It's pistachio cream with katafi pastry, but you can use shudder.

35:52And then like chocolate. Chocolate around it. So you crunch into it. If you buy a bar, but I don't know where you live, but Cozy Corner, eight pounds a bar. That's cheap, mum. That's cheap. It's usually 14 pounds. Jonathan Ross brought us one, and I swear that was about 100 quid. That's wild. I get upset. You've never heard of it. I'm still upset by the fact that Freddo's are now like 25p or something, and I grew up with it being 10p. I love Freddo Frost. £8 for a bar of chocolate is a lot, isn't it? I feel like you need to try it and let us know what you think. Okay, it's worth every penny. Do buy chocolate, it's called.

36:25So I was going to make some, and you put white chocolate in. The Guardian have got the recipe. Wow. Plenty. Too hot today. But you can use shredded wheat instead of Gaddafi pastry. That's a good little half. And you don't have to cook the pastry. Like your brown rice sushi will. That'll suit you, babe. Exactly. That sounds great. I'm going to ask you more questions. I mean, the new season has just come out. Yes. You were a perfect choice for the bear. Oh, well. Because you know so much about food. I just, it's kind of like they let a fanboy on set. They let like a real geek on set. It's such a good program as well.

36:58Oh, thanks. I love it. I really, it was like my favorite show on TV. You know. Got to be in it. Wow, and then you get the call. It was crazy. In fact, I called them. You must be happy. Did you? I like basically begged for her role. Did you? I asked to meet the creator and he very kindly met with me. Oh, funny. And what did you say? And I fanned out on him like he wouldn't like. Yeah, fuck yeah. I fanned out. Jesse, why don't you try? I think I'll give you a song. I don't think they need me. No, that would be amazing. Oh my God. If you can think that there's a way that they need a singer. Yes. In the fifth season, let me know.

37:33Yes, if I'm involved. Or I'd just be a sous chef. Rami he directed your first episode right? Rami Youssef directed Did he? The bear? Yeah I love Rami I love Rami too He's fab He's amazing Good to work with Good director I mean really I was a fan of Rami as an actor and writer obviously I love his stand up amazing to see how well he took to directing something that wasn't his own thing you know like he just did it seamlessly Yeah and he was wonderful to work with loved working with Rami Did you ever get to Chicago? Yes, I did. Such great food. Yeah, and actually in season four, I shot nearly all my stuff in Chicago.

38:14Well, that gives something away if you say that. No, because actually, even in season two, when the kitchen that I worked in was set in Copenhagen, I still shot that in Chicago. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I actually shot that in the basement of a kitchen called Ever, which is Chef Kurt's Duffy's restaurant. That's a big restaurant there. It's amazing. It's like a two Michelin star kitchen. So it was crazy to even be in. Can't get in. It's really tough to get a table. Yeah. And the chefs that work in the sort of kitchen that is attached to the bar, which is called After, Ever After. Chef Joe there was like amazing and was like a big inspiration for the scene that was Honeydew and kind of gave his sort of affirmation of the scene in terms of how Rami, myself and Marcus were doing it.

38:59and that meant a lot to get that from someone who actually worked in that space and has been in the industry for so long. Where did you eat in Chicago that you loved? Because I think the food is fantastic there. The food's so good, yeah. There's so many amazing... Did you go to any of the Girl and the Goats? Oh, I love Girl and the Goats. Me too. I love that restaurant. Me too. I think it's so good and she's got several different spots now. She had this really dirty diner that was quite near... It was like in that Loop at West Loop area. Oh yeah, West Loop, yeah. But I think it's closed down. It was like Little Goat Diner or something like that.

39:32Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right. It was delicious. Yeah, really good. Now, let's just talk about this spaghetti bolognese bread thing. Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because this became like, it was something, you used to go to school with a spaghetti bolognese sandwich, is that right? You were called the bolognese boy? Imagine I'd just have a full-on panic attack. No, they happen. No, what we would do is my mum would make an amazing spaghetti bolognese, as I think a lot of like British mums would. What's her like secret ingredient? My mum's secret ingredient, I'm trying to think what would go into hers.

40:07Generous with the red wine. Okay. She kind of always put mushrooms in there. Sometimes like the parmesan rind goes in. Yeah. Extra flavour, you know, and then like fished out at the end. I don't know if she would deviate all that much. Fine. From like the British mum's interpretation of, you know, bolognese. But yeah, what would happen is me and my sister didn't ever really eat traditional breakfasts. So we'd always just eat the leftovers from the night before, which really freaks people out. Because if we had... So you had pizza? Pizza, or if we had Thai green chicken curry the night before, that's what we were having for breakfast.

40:40Why was that? Because you just love your mum's food so much that scrambled eggs felt quite boring. Felt boring, was never really that into cereal. I've clearly over-catered. Oh my gosh, that looks amazing. Oh, that looks gorgeous, mum. Help yourself. Wow, thank you so much. Please help yourself, help yourself. Oh, God. Oh, God. Lee Schmokes. What is this? It's kind of Middle Eastern eating mess. Please have a lot. Can I take a photo of this? Yeah, but please have a lot, darling. Sorry, because that is... She's going to give you Tupperware, Will. And you can have it in the morning for breakfast.

41:14Yeah. I mean... Just have a lot. This looks insane. Please have a lot. Okay, so you'd have like... At least four spoonfuls. You'd have leftovers in the morning. Yeah. Yeah, we'd have leftovers in the morning, which I think freaks a lot of people out. No. Are you sure I can't dish this out? No, keep going. Okay. Because I'm very happy. This is, okay, thank you. Of course I've got cream, sweat. Incredible. Thank you so much. Actually, I've kind of given up with how I look. No, Mark, it's schvitzing in here. It is absolutely beyond belief. It's gone so hot. I actually don't know what to do. It's quite warm.

41:48Do you want me to fan you for a while? No, you're so... While you spoon. You are very sweet. No, and then keep the mess cold as well. I'm not even doing it. You're getting nothing. We'll keep the mess. Oh, yeah. Oh, my God.

42:01Oh, my God. Yeah? He's happy, Mum. He's happy. Good. That's the rose water in there. Yeah. Do you like that, though? I actually really do. Thank you. It's actually really... Sorry. That's really good. Have it before it melts. Jesse, I don't think I've ever been this hot. Actually, I think we're all going to pass out. Has the weather turned Middle Eastern? Is that what's happened with this dessert? Yeah, it's true. Yeah. We're actually in the Middle East. Oh, yeah, very. This is trans-forsitant. It's actually unbearable. It's delicious, this, Mum. I like this. Do you like it? Yeah. Please eat lots now.

42:37I'm appreciating the pistachio. Are you? Yeah. Really, really good. We have seconds, Will. Yes. And so did we. You know you have to. Fucking Ed Sheeran did Paul helping, so, you know. If you want to be on Mum's best book. Shit. I do. I really do. I like good eaters. Okay. Okay. I'm on it. So what else is on the cards? Are you going into something now? I mean, obviously you've just had like a weekend away. You were working on the Friday, but you've just had Glastonbury. You're kindly doing this, but I'm sure you're busy. Not kindly. I mean, this is a dreamy way to recover from Glastonbury. Thank you.

43:14Yeah, I just finished filming something in Ohio recently. That was a really amazing experience. How was the food there? I had some absolutely amazing Somalian food. I discovered this place called Hoyo's Kitchen, which is based in, I think it's Northern Market in Columbus, Ohio. And they ended up coming in catering for us on the last day, which was really... Was that because you made friends with them? I did make friends with them, yeah. And I just wanted to eat their food at work. I'm not force-feeding, but please eat them. Oh, thank you so much. It's just got bigger. I'm not... Did you have that grow?

43:46I didn't put it all out of the bowl. Oh, my God. And Luca has. That is twice the size I'm so sorry I overdid it Why are you so sorry? Well it's a bit too much food No I'm good thank you With the old lactose Are you watching your body At all? Well I mean I wasn't If you're marvels of the galaxy Guardians of the marvels Or whatever it is Do you have to wear skin tight things To those things? Again not anymore I will be wearing the antithesis of that because if I can come round and eat here again, which I would rather do, then... You can come round and promote any old shit. Thank you so much. With a whole fucking food chat.

44:32You're welcome again, Will. It is hot, isn't it? It's really hot. Is it just me? It isn't just me. Mum, this is when you were going through the menopause. That's what we used to say. Is it just me or is it hot? Tully's fanning and he's not menopausal. Then we know we're in trouble. You won't eat that, Mum. Oh, my God. Okay, so what have you got going on? You've just filmed something in Ohio. So yeah, I just finished a film in Ohio, which was a really great experience. That comes out, I assume, next year, but we're kind of maybe going to like a festival situation with that. So waiting to find out.

45:02Season four of The Bear just came out. Oh, are you in that? I've only, we've not seen you yet. No. Three episodes in, I am. Okay, coming a little bit later. But that is just always the most. Do they get the start? Mum, stop. Don't ruin it for people. I can't say. I can't say. And then I worked with Boots Riley on his next film. And that film's called I Love Boosters. That's with Naomi. I Love Who? It's called I Love Boosters. Okay. And boosters being, I believe, an American term for shoplifters. Oh, is it? Yeah, I think so. Were you a shoplifter? I don't play a shoplifter in it, actually. So you didn't have to do method shoplifting?

45:40I didn't have to do method shoplifting. Would you regard yourself like Jeremy Strong, like a method actor? I think you're going to ask me if I've got myself a shoplifter. I've just, I've nicked several things over the course of this interview, by the way. I just haven't done anything. You know, the method thing, I don't think I could even necessarily claim to be a method actor because I haven't done formal training, really, and I don't even really know what the method is. My perception of it, though, is I think method is an odd word only because I feel like every actor has a method. and so the implication that someone is a method actor kind of implies that that way of doing it is the only way or is the sort of best way or the most committed way or the most sort of the fullest version of it and I don't always necessarily think that.

46:27Will before we let you go what is a nostalgic taste or scent that can transport you back somewhere? Really good question I think my mum's gravy is sort of the essence of Sunday lunch and why I fell in love with food. And it speaks to what my mum kind of cooked and did for our family, you know, with her food. But also it's part of my dad's upbringing, being from Yorkshire. Yorkshire boys love gravy. yeah that smell of my mum making gravy was just like okay we're also not that far away from all like now sitting down and enjoying the meal so that that that brings me right back to my mum's my mum's kind of kitchen table when's your next roast with your mum what date is it i might even be able to get one in this weekend i think you need to might even be this sunday in fact i might now we're talking about it i might ask my mum if she'll do one i think i think do it i'm like salivating it won't be that hot this weekend I think it may rain which would be perfect and on that note Will Poulter Poulter Poulter but you can don't be silly it's one of those names I'm going to call it Chicken Man is fine Chicken Man is absolutely fine with me Chicken Man thank you so much for coming on and just being gloriously invested in food yeah and loves food you're the best foodie we've had that is so sweet you say that don't you think yes you're the most foodie we've ever had on I'm just quite greedy and I appreciate you, like, feeding me.

47:57Thank God. Do you want to take some home, darling? Kind of. Okay, great. No, no, no, no, I shouldn't. I shouldn't. Why? I'm so happy. Oh, you're happy. Okay, then I should. Then I shouldn't. No, don't do it to make me happy. Well, fuck. It's okay. Fuck, I should now. Don't do it to make me happy. No. No, fuck you take it. No, fuck you take it. Well, you have to take it now. Fuck. But then what? No, he won't eat it. Oh, wait, wait. You mean the dessert? Yeah. Or you mean the... Well, because I'm able to travel with that that morning. No, I don't think it's that great. It's only more chicken left.

48:24There's two pieces of chicken if you want. Yeah, you can have the chicken in the morning. I don't want to take it off you. Of course you can have it. Yeah, you can have chicken and rice in the morning. I'd love chicken and rice for breakfast. Thank you so much. That would be amazing. Thank you so much for having me on. You may just get salmonella on the way home. And then I'll make sure you come back because you have to return my Tupperware. That's genius. That's genius. Oh my God. Fucking Kathy Bates, Missouri. Run, Will. Run.

49:03I'm so sorry. Firstly, we are so sorry that there was a lot of faming going on. It is the hottest day. Dear Joe is plugging in the fan. There will be more faming now. It is unbearable in this house. so sorry if it was a bit flappy and fanny fanny can't really flappy and fanny

49:28oh god mum's away from listening thanks so much to Will Poulter for coming on and flapping our fans for us it was really fab to have him he is such a foodie what a gorgeous guest I'm telling you now Now, Will Poulter's allowed to come on again for every season he wants. And I'm sure he would give us even more food stories. A brilliant guest. He was just fabulous. I loved him. I'm about to try all his recommendations. Of course you are, darling. And I'm very excited. Kindred spirit. Really? Yes. Yeah. Loved chatting to him. The food was delish, mum. He did forget his Tupperware. Bless him after all that drama.

50:10He was probably just too hot. but he put it down so it wasn't in the photo and he's left it here. Bless him. But a really, really lovely night even though it is so hot. It's the hottest I've ever been I think for a long time. Thank you for listening and you can watch Will in the new season of The Bear which is out now and you can watch him in many other things but he was fab. He's in lots of things. Everything. Everything. We'll see you next week.

51:02We'll see you next time.

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