The Cutlery Club Conversations: Recent Episodes
Isobel Cripps
The Cutlery Club host a series of supper club salons throughout the year, each featuring a guest speaker - often ordinary people doing some extraordinary things. This podcast is me, Isobel Cripps, founder of the Salons, in conversation with those speakers and guests, getting to know them a little bit better, whilst giving you, the listener, an insight into the kind of people this exclusive Supper Club hosts.
We’ll be digging in to 3 courses of satisfying conversation with the occasional 'food fight' to finish off!
In this November 2023 episode of The Cutlery Club Conversations I am chatting with the delightful food and drink writer, Andy Clarke.
Andy is also well known as a Television Producer, having worked on some brilliant programmes like Saturday Kitchen and one of my absolute faves, Gordon, Gino and Fred. He also presents the summer day festivals, Pub in the Park so rubbing shoulders with top celebs is second nature to him. Thankfully, he remains as down to earth as ever and was still happy to hang out with little ole me in his favourite Bristol restaurant, Little French owned by one of his close friends, Freddy Bird.
A first for Andy in April 2024 is a place on the judging panel - alongside the eminent Ken Hom - of the Golden Chopsticks Awards, co-founded by Gok Wan and now considered one of the food industry’s hottest tickets. The 2024 awards will take place at Royal Lancaster London on Monday 29th April 2024. It's the most fabulous night out so book your tickets and rub shoulders with some of the most exciting people in the food and drink industry, including this gorgeous man, who is always happy to say 'hi' and have a selfie with everyone.
You can often catch him on the Alan Titchmarsh show, Love your Weekend, effortlessly knocking up delicious cocktails and advising us on all the top tipples. His recent Cocktail book, Home Bar was a triumph, so naturally the follow up House of Gin is much anticipated, so keep your eyes peeled for that in May.
We eat, drink, chat and giggle, whilst talking food, wine, music, tv, fave celebrity friends from Angela Hartnett to Ken Hom; before moving on to the secrets to a good marriage. It’s all in there, so dive in folks!
I can't imagine anyone not enjoying the bubblicious energy of Andy Clarke. He is a joy to be around. Genuine, kind, funny and honest. I do hope you enjoy listening.
[A quick heads up, there’s background noise aplenty – it’s a busy restaurant after all – you may feel it adds to the ambience, or it might drive you nuts – let’s hope it’s the former!]
Here, we go off on a detour and chat domestics. To clean, or not to clean, that is the question. And that's it in a nutshell really.
The 3rd and final Course. The Rose is finished and we are on to the G&T's - it's a tad noisy, I'll say no more!
Part 2 - The Main Course, where we ditch the small talk, fill the glass with Rose and things get a little deeper.
We talk about the woman behind the character and how being a soap star ingratiates you with the public in ways that other roles can't. Diane shares some invaluable advice for young aspiring actors and talks about the diversity of the roles she undertook before joining Eastenders. We touch on the importance of family, bucket lists and the challenges of being a black woman in the world of entertainment.
So, here I am, once again, enjoying another conversation with one of the special guests from a Cutlery Club Salon, my dear friend, Diane Parish, best known for her character as Denise in the award-winning British soap opera, Eastenders.
Diane hosted a Cutlery Club dinner earlier this year to celebrate International Women’s Day, alongside the brilliantly funny author and stand-up comedian, Rosie Wilby. They were such a superb combination, entertaining the 30 female guests with their funny stories and sharing some really personal nuanced views on love, life and femininity. Itwas quite special.
What you’ll hear in this episode is just two good friends enjoying some girlie banter with a big helping of cackling laughter along the way (I warn you, there was wine and gin involved!) One for the girls, maybe!
This episode, Part 1, aka 'The First Course' is all about food, cooking, kitchens, general small talk really …but we settle down in Part 2 for some more meaningful stuff about values, and career choices. There’s some solid advice thrown in there too for any aspiring young thespians; so take note as it’s invaluable stuff coming from someone with such a wealth of experience and knowledge of the entertainment industry.
And finally we end on more light-hearted stuff; the gin kicks in, the volume notches up and Idris Elba is being recruited for some potential match-making support!
The Outtakes were a conversational detour on Domesticity - or cleaning and cleaners, to be more precise. Whether it will inspire you to pick up a duster or employ a cleaner remains to be seen, but...you've been warned.
So, hold on to your seats folks, it’s an ear burner at times as we are a rather obstreperous pair! But ultimately, it’s the real Diane Parish, a truly beautiful, sensitive and kind soul, in her most natural habitat – the garden, drinking wine!
I really hope you enjoy listening.
In this episode of The Cutlery Club Conversations I talk to my lovely friend and very talented artist, David Gwinnutt. It's a very chilled conversation between two friends - me sipping tea on my sofa, David nursing a tequila hangover with a big glass of water! You'll get a sense of who he is from our banter and hopefully enjoy the light-heartedness of it all. Apologies for any sound discrepancies at the beginning - I'm a novice at this and am trying to embrace the imperfectness of all I do!
He was an incredible guest speaker at one of the salons and I felt really fortunate to have him hosting with me, sharing the most amazing stories of all the iconic queer people he has photographed over the past few decades and how those opportunities came about. Those stories and anecdotes can also be found in his fabulous book, The White Camera Diaries, which has a permanent place on my coffee table at home.
He has achieved many great things, from having his work featured in the National Portrait Gallery - and more recently, The Photographers Gallery in Romilly Street, London W1 - to creating the iconic Pink Jack flag which represents the LGBT community and symbolises inclusivity.
If you'd like to know more about this brilliant man and his amazing work, check out his website - www.davidgwinnutt.com
I really hope you enjoy. Do let me know your thoughts and feedback. Constructive ones only please!
In this final part of my conversation with Bob we talk more on love, family, friendship, Pina Coladas, cricket, toast......we really cover some ground!
This conversation may have ended here, but I am thrilled to say we have forged the most wonderful friendship as a result of this time together. We are kindred spirits when it comes to our love of music and nature and I am now blessed to call him a friend and enjoy many more chats with him, week on week.
If you have enjoyed listening to us chatting, please leave a comment and share with other Bob fans.
Thanks for listening.
Love,
Isobel
After nipping off for a delicious lunch at The White Hart in Fyfield, one of Bob's favourite gastro pubs, we head back to his home studio where we continue our lovely conversation.
I delve a little deeper into the man behind the voice and Bob, as relaxed and generous as ever, shares his thoughts and feelings, in the most natural and unguarded way - on his health, the break up of his third marriage, and near death experience when he suffered an aortic dissection.
And as always, he throws in a couple of fab stories along the way. I'm sure Bob fans will love this!
I hope you enjoy.
Isobel
In this episode of The Cutlery Club Conversations, I get to chat with music broadcasting legend, Bob Harris OBE. And what a sweet and kind soul he is. We were so thrilled to have him guest host one of The Cutlery Club Salons earlier this year at Wilton's Music hall, so it was a HUGE bonus when he also agreed to record the podcast with me. Nerve wrecking for me, but thrilling all the same.
You'll discover in this first episode, it's impossible to ask Bob a question without getting a story in response. I think he should be re-named 'The Story Teller' as his memory is quite remarkable and his stories totally beguiling. Is there anyone in the music industry he hasn't met, interviewed or hung out with? I doubt it! So this was an incredible moment for me and a huge privilege to spend time with him, in his home studio, chatting away like old friends.
And why would I try and condense this podcast episode to 30/45 minutes when I am lucky enough to have had this time with Bob, and him being so forthcoming and generous with his time. So, here's the First Course. Get tucked in and let's hope it whet's your appetite for the Main Course, coming soon!
Isobel | The Cutlery Club Founder & Curator
This podcast episode was recorded in July 2022 following the Cutlery Club salon in the St Pancras clock tower, King's Cross, London when Claire Fox was my chosen guest of honour. Claire is now a non-affiliated member of the House of Lords, a controversial undertaking and one that has brought her heavy criticism, due to her previous calls for its abolishment. She founded the Academy of Ideas and Battle of Ideas annual festival and has more recently written a book, I Find That Offensive about the demise of free speech.
I first met Claire nearly 20 years ago when she founded The Academy of Ideas, a platform for open debate and free speech. Once I had got past the initial feeling of intimidation, I warmed to her honesty and genuine interest in people.
So for me she was a natural choice to host a Cutlery Club salon and her straight talking, honesty and openness made her a superb choice; the guests got to see the real person behind the formidable, no-nonsense public persona.
We talk about the controversy surrounding her decision to accept a position in the Lords, the pressures of public life and social media, cancel culture, her fantasy dinner party guests and dead heading flowers! There's loads more actually, from food favourites to guilty pleasures; she's as down-to-earth as they come, always speaking from the heart and completely transparent.
Now, remember, I’m a complete novice at this podcasting malarkey so it's not surprising that it didn’t go strictly to plan! So, I’m asking up front for your understanding and tolerance of the varying recording tones and patchy editing (I'm still learning!) Some of it was recorded in Claire’s office at the House of Lords, and some of it was re-recorded on the phone the following Sunday morning, and subsequently, the recording you are hearing is a mash up of both! I won’t bore you with why, but needless to say, there were lessons learned about checking your equipment and knowing your platform limitations!!
So, here we are; me, a bit nervous (nothing to do with Claire, just this whole podcasting thing!) trying to scratch beneath the surface a little bit more, and Claire, just being totally Claire. A brilliant woman who I feel very lucky to know. I hope you enjoy.
clairefox #battleofideas #academyofideas #baronessofbuckley #brexitparty #houseoflords #ifindthatoffensive #freespeech #cancelculture #buckley #snowflakegeneration
In this second episode I'm in conversation with talented Interior Designer, my naughty neighbour and great friend, Maggie Greening. We sip Buck’s Fizz in Maggie's charming and quintessentially English ‘country’ garden - except it’s suburban London….the sirens and helicopter are a bit of a give-away.
We talk about the inspiration behind her styling of the first Cutlery Club Supper Salon of 2020 and where her passion for Interiors comes from.
We move on to the hospitality industry and who gets it right (The Pig is unsurpassed!) when it comes to combining style and substance; and why it's so important to create space that doesn't intimidate your guests, but elevates mood and enhances the whole dining experience, whether it’s an intimate Supper Club or dinner party, or swanky London hotel restaurant.
Then we wrap things up with a food fight!
For more details on Maggie’s work, visit her website www.mginteriordesign.co.uk or follow her on Instagram: @maggiegengland and @mginteriordesignuk
In this first episode, I talk to the inspiring and ethical entrepreneur, Matt Phelan about his farming background, his love of tech, his inclusive attitude to leading and why he believes everyone should have a coach!
During our 3 course conversation, we discuss the need for tech discipline, looking after our mental fitness and showing vulnerability. Then we find out how he rates himself in the kitchen before wrapping things up with a food fight!
Want to know more? Then listen in.
Notes.
This episode was recorded on my phone in Matt's work studio at the bottom of his garden. It was very experimental and always intended to be a learning curve. It was never going to be perfect, but that was ok. Matt is an incredible young man who encourages everyone to 'just do it' - so we did! And I hope you'll reserve a little judgement for this first-time attempt, and enjoy it, warts and all, for what it is.