The Guardian Podcast: Comfort Eating with Grace Dent
Welcome to Comfort Eating with Grace Dent, the food podcast from The Guardian that we’re proud to sponsor.
Comfort Eating is a weekly podcast where our favourite food critic and writer, Grace Dent interviews celebrities on all things food, food memories, and meaning. As a food critic, Grace is famous for her refined palate, but at home, she can often be found with a plate of oven chips, gravy, and mint sauce. However, she suspects, she is not the only one. And she’s right – talking about people’s guilty pleasures and food memories leads to some really insightful and entertaining chat. We really love this show and think you will too. But be warned, it might make you hungry, so have some snacks to hand.
You can listen to the podcast here on the blog, and each week we will upload the next episode for you, so you can listen back whenever you please. Enjoy!
Season 2
Episode 12 with Guy Garvey
Grace’s final guest for season two of Comfort Eating is the Elbow frontman Guy Garvey. He tells Grace about growing up as one of seven, coping with stage fright through booze, learning to be comfortable in restaurants in his 40s, and the comfort foods that have seen him through it all.
Episode 11 with Dave Myers
Grace’s first fellow Cumbrian guest on Comfort Eating comes in the form of TV cook and hairy biker Dave Myers. He tells Grace about – ironically – losing all his hair aged eight, his years as a makeup artist, working in the steelyards of Barrow-in-Furness, and the comfort foods that have seen him through it all.
Episode 10 with Jo Brand
Jo Brand is next round for Comfort Eating, and she brings a snack with her that Grace ‘devours like a wild animal’. She tells Grace about her rebellious years after being kicked out by her parents, the fun of the 1980s comedy scene, and the comfort foods that have seen her through it all.
Episode 9 with Craig David
Grace’s guest on this festive edition of Comfort Eating is the musician Craig David. He talks about his favourite Christmas presents, the magic of childhood Blockbuster trips, his strange times in Miami, and the comfort foods that have seen him through.
Episode 8 with Fern Brady
Grace’s Comfort Eating guest this week is the comedian Fern Brady. She tells Grace about growing up in a strict Catholic household, working in a strip club, being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and the comfort foods that have seen her through.
Episode 7 with Bernardine Evaristo
Next over to Grace’s is award-winning author Bernardine Evaristo. She talks about being fed as one of eight children, her bohemian years filled with art and sex, and the comfort foods that have seen her through. She also reveals what she ate to celebrate Girl, Woman, Other winning the Booker prize, and it’s not as fancy as you might expect.
Episode 6 with Tom Watson
Grace’s Comfort Eating guest this week is the former politician Tom Watson. The pair talk about his life – after she has to run to the kitchen to spit out the food he brought round. They talk about growing up on cheese toasties, the Jeremy Corbyn years, and how Watson, at the age of 54, realised he has an eating disorder.
Episode 5 with Rosie Jones
Grace’s Comfort Eating guest is comedian Rosie Jones. She and Grace sit down to talk family, friends and the comfort foods that have seen them through. Rosie tells Grace about sausage rolls, and what it’s like to be disabled – and constantly hungover – at university.
Episode 4 with Laura Whitmore
Grace’s Comfort Eating guest this week is TV presenter Laura Whitmore. She tells Grace about eating Chinese takeaway in the bath, her ‘fancy’ Indian meals with her dad and her love of Irish roast potatoes. They also discuss reality TV, the UK’s paparazzi problem and the death of Caroline Flack.
Episode 3 with Desiree Burch
Grace’s guest this week is the comedian Desiree Burch. They discuss attuning American tastebuds to British comfort foods, the joy of post-church fried chicken, and what to eat while wearing a dominatrix corset.
Episode 2 with Russel Tovey
Next round to Grace’s dining room is the actor Russell Tovey. Over a bowl of his favourite childhood treat, he tells Grace about his upbringing in Essex, embarrassing acting scenes, reconnecting with his husband – and the comfort foods that have seen him through.
Episode 1 with Stephen Fry
Grace’s first guest on season two of Comfort Eating – recorded at Grace’s house – is Stephen Fry. They talk about his childhood, memories of prison, cooking for his husband – and the comfort foods that have seen him through.
Episode 12 with Deborah Meaden
Grace’s guest on the season finale of Comfort Eating is the Dragons’ Den star and business owner Deborah Meaden. She tells Grace about her lifelong love of stodgy food, questionable sandwiches and life with her husband, Paul.
Episode 11 with Munya Chawawa
Grace Dent’s guest this week is the satirist, comedian and presenter Munya Chawawa. He tells Grace about growing up in Zimbabwe, his now-infamous takes on the week’s news and the comfort foods that have seen him through tough times.
Episode 10 with Aisling Bea
Grace’s Dent’s guest this week is actor, comedian and star of This Way Up – Aisling Bea. She tells Grace about her childhood in an Irish horsing community, being raised almost entirely by women, becoming successful later in life – and the comfort foods that have seen her through. She also turns the tables on Grace, subjecting the host’s fridge to a Ready Steady Cook challenge.
Episode 9 with Krishnan Guru-Murthy
Grace’s guest on Comfort Eating this week is one of the most famous faces on Channel 4 News for more than 20 years, Krishnan Guru-Murthy. He talks about some of the most important moments in his life – and the comfort food that has seen him through them. They discuss food before marriage, dancing to Jamiroquai and annoying Hollywood stars.
Episode 8 with Candice Carty-Williams
Grace’s guest on Comfort Eating this week is the author Candice Carty-Williams. They talk about star signs, being the ‘naughty’ kid at school and how a fridge full of someone else’s food helped Candice write the first draft of her debut novel, Queenie.
Episode 7 with Lawrence Chaney
Grace’s guest on Comfort Eating this week is drag superstar Lawrence Chaney. He joins Grace over video and presents her with her favourite snack of the series so far. They bond over a mutual love of Joan Collins, the fun and fast food on offer in late-night Glasgow, and discuss what winning Ru Paul’s Drag Race means to someone who’s experienced bullying all their life.
Episode 6 with Siobhán McSweeney
This week, Grace Dent sits down with the star of Derry Girls, the actor and TV presenter Siobhán McSweeney, who reminisces about the golden years of Cork’s rave scene, onstage laughing fits and what happened after her life literally burned to the ground. And, as always, she reveals the comfort foods that saw her through each of these moments.
Episode 5 with Scarlett Moffatt
his week on Comfort Eating, Grace Dent is joined by TV personality Scarlett Moffatt. She tells Grace about being a ‘peculiar’ child in County Durham, navigating accidental celebrity, and the comfort foods that have seen her through it all. And, Grace gives her ‘most judge-y face’ of the series so far in response to one of. Scarlett’s comfort foods…
Episode 4 with Mae Martin
In episode four of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent, Mae Martin tells Grace about some of the most important moments in their life – and the comfort food that has seen them through them. Mae tells Grace about the childhood joy of a freshly made souvlaki, the role cooking played in their recovery from drug addiction, and their Netflix series Feel Good.
Episode 3 with Rafe Spall
In episode three of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent, Rafe joins Grace for a sit down over his favourite sofa snack. They drink martinis and talk about their Indian takeaway order, the bizarre memories he has of school lunches, and the pressure he feels as a male actor to be a certain body size.
Episode 2 with Nish Kumar
Comedian Nish Kumar sits down with Grace Dent, over a polystyrene carton of his favourite dirty comfort food. Nish laments the ‘golden age’ of Pizza Hut, his childhood between Croydon and Leicester, and tells Grace how it feels to be pelted with a bread roll for his views on Brexit
Episode 1 with Russell T. Davies
In this first episode, award-winning screenwriter Russell T. Davies introduces Grace to a bowl of his surprisingly delicious comfort food invention. The pair discuss television, childhoods in rugby clubs, love at first sight and recent loss. But be warned, it might make you hungry, so have some snacks to hand. Click the play button below to listen now!