Zak is a singer, songwriter and musician. He wrote his first song, Haze, at age 14, and began posting his music online soon after. This led to a record deal and the release of his first record in 2015 and his debut album, in 2017. He has gone on to write for artists like Paloma Faith and John Legend. Before he found music, his life was all about table tennis - by the age of 11 he was ranked No 1 in England in his age group, competing abroad and winning the 2009 cadet boys’ national...

Introducing our new mini episode...it's a little after dinner something to keep you going through the week. It's The Dream Dinner Party. It's short and sweet, just one simple question. Each week we will have a different guest guiding us through their Dream Dinner Party. They are allowed 4 guests, they can be dead or alive and of course we want to know why they will be invited. They're going to be talking us through their dream dinner party menu, what will their dream guests be feasting on...

Twiggy is one of those rare celebrities known by a single name. She was the girl from Neasden, north London who became the face of the swinging sixties. With her petite frame at just 5ft 6 Twiggy smashed the stereotypes of what it meant to be a supermodel. Her pixie hair cut and wide eyes will forever be iconic.  As the model of her age she was propelled into the glamorous world of fashion and photography and later she found success as a singer, dancer and actress. She starred in Ken...

Max is a champion of the low waste and sustainable lifestyle. He’s a chef, presenter and award-winning author and has been described as a bona fide millennial heartthrob. His recipe content and food shows have been seen by over 1 billion people. He talks to Margie about why the best sandwich are painful to eat and his choice of his last supper might surprise you! What would you pick? I know it's a very hard question to answer but it's also impossible not to think about your own choices. Max...

Annoushka's mother had a business selling fish to all the top restaurants in London and it was this business that accidentally set Annoushka onto the path to become one of the most successful jewellers in the UK. Annoushka does not believe she's a good cook but you really wouldn't know that from her delicious choices of dishes. Annoushka Ducas MBE is a jewellery designer, creative director and entrepreneur who founded British jewellery companies Links of London and Annoushka Jewellery. After...

Jessie is a French biochemist, bestselling author, and founder of the Glucose Goddess movement.  She's helped millions of people improve their health by making cutting-edge science accessible. Her whole philosophy is one that focuses on the idea of adding things to your life and not taking them away. She’s very clear that she doesn’t advocate a certain type of diet, her whole focus is on the science and that actually the biggest benefit can be found in changing the order in which we eat.  Her...

Sophie Ellis-Bexter is a double platinum selling artist.   She started out as the lead singer of indie band the audience at the age of 17. She shot to fame with her single with Groovejet which earned her her first number 1.   Since then she’s gone on to release 6 studio and 2 compilation albums, written a memoir, went on Strictly come dancing, appeared in Game of Thrones, launched her own podcast, wrote a cookbook with her husband and Kept everyone dancing during lockdown with weekly discos...

Shelina describes herself as a cook, an author and restaurateur. She grew up in Southampton with her Mauritian parents and siblings. It was only in 2011 that she decided to follow her heart and gave up a career in diversity and equality to enter the MasterChef competition. Over 6.5 million viewers watched Shelina triumph in the MasterChef final: with her instinctive spicing and intense flavours, she brought Mauritian food to TV for the first time, inspiring legions of home cooks to try out...

Dan is an award winning wine writer, magazine editor and restaurateur He is the Co founder of Noble Rot named for the fungus that shrivels and sweeten grapes which began life as a cult food, wine and popular culture magazine. The magazine created a space that is as informative as it is witty and serves up wine with alongside sides of life and culture. The brand has since expanded to two award winning restaurants  and a wine shop Shrine to the Vine. Dan has won numerous awards for his writing...

Shivi has been dubbed by The Guardian as the “Caribbean Food Supremo”, and it has been said she is the "Queen of Contemporary Caribbean Cooking". She is a food writer, cookbook author, TV chef and presenter. She was born in Trinidad but was brought up between there, New York, the English countryside and London. This diverse upbringing has really influenced her style of cooking. She says her culinary mission is to twist classic Caribbean dishes and make them into her own vibrant, fresh and...

Jesse, known online as ADIP has taken the food world by storm with his cinematic cooking videos which have been wracking up millions of views. Despite only starting his social media last year he has already amassed several hundreds of thousands of avid fans and followers.  Jesse grew up in LA combining working in a professional kitchen with life as a sponsored skateboarder. He then came to the UK and spent a very successful decade working as a fashion photographer and director, shooting...

Singer and songwriter Jack Savoretti is described in pretty much every interview I came across as both extremely talented and also very charming perhaps it is this combination that has led to Jack’s stellar career. He tells us of his idyllic childhood Summers spent in the Italian Riviera, why he's grateful that his success didn't happen overnight and reveals a surprising yet delicious final desert island dish. Jack's one of the most successful singer / songwriters in the UK and has...

Dawn O'Porter is an author, broadcaster, writer, podcaster and journalist.  Having trained at drama school, Dawn become a TV presenter, rising to fame with her critically acclaimed BBC documentary Super Slim Me. Many more TV shows followed and in 2013 began a new passion for Dawn as she began writing more seriously and started a new chapter of her career. She released her first novel which got shortlisted for the Waterstone’s children book prize, more books followed - she’s now written 7 and...

Julius Roberts is a first generation millennial farmer and rising star of the food scene.  In 2016 he gave up working at the acclaimed restaurant Noble Rot in London - and swapped the rat race for an idyllic life of pigs, goats and chickens instead. His first foray into farming was a small-holding in rural Suffolk and then last year he moved with his family to a farm in Dorset.  His charm and humble approach to life on the farm have seen him amass an army of followers online as he shares the...

Hello! We are very nearly back with our new season! Currently recording the next season as we speak so in anticipation of our imminent return I thought it would be fun to release a few golden oldies from the archives for you to enjoy. This week is with the wonderful Dolly Alderton. If you've ever enjoyed an episode of Desert Island Dishes and you're glad we are returning, can I ask you to share it with your friends? This podcast has grown in the way it has all through word of mouth and I'm...

Hello lovely listeners! We are back! Well, nearly back! Currently recording the next season as we speak so in anticipation of our imminent return I thought it would be fun to release a few golden oldies from the archives for you to enjoy. Thank you for sticking with me during my quiet season, but promise we are back for good and really really excited for all that’s in store for Desert Island Dishes. You are a big reason for the success of this podcast and every time you share it on social...

My guest today is Sally Clarke Sally has been described as the unsung hero of British food, and her cooking a masterclass in simplicity. She was just 14 when she envisaged the restaurant that she would one day open and this year Clarkes celebrates it’s 37th year.   Despite the prevailing fad for Nouvelle Cuisine at the time she opened in December 1984 , she never waivered in her mission to showcase fresh and seasonal ingredients, cooked simply and in her trademark unpretentious style. It’s no...

My guest today is Ravneet Gill Ravneet is fast becoming one of the best known pastry chefs of her generation. After completing a psychology degree, she studied at Le Cordon Bleu before working her way up the ranks in different pastry sections at some of the best restaurants in London - most notably, St. John, Llewelyn's, and Wild by Tart.   Ravneet published her first cookbook - in April 2020 entitled 'The Pastry Chef's Guide: The Secret to successful baking every time' as a handbook to...

 My guest today is Daphne Oz. Daphne is an Emmy Award-winning television host, New York Times best selling author, chef, and entrepreneur focused on the worlds of food, beauty, wellness, fashion and media. She also happens to be the mother of four children proving that you can have a very successful career and be a present mother.     Daphne is the eldest daughter of the one and only Doctor Oz – possibly the most famous Doctor in America. But Daphne is a veteran TV personality herself, she...

My guest today is Ella Risbridger Author, writer and cook , in her own words: sometimes a journalist and other things too Described by The Times as "the most talented new cookbook writer of a generation", Her debut, Midnight Chicken (& Other Recipes Worth Living For), was published by Bloomsbury in January 2019 and won praise from Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater and Diana Henry.   A cookbook which starts with Ella trying to take her own life. A cookbook about mental health, cookbook about...

My guest today is Giles Coren Giles is a food writer and TV presenter.   He has been a restaurant critic and columnist for the Times newspaper for the last 17 years.  He has been Described as Britains Most Powerful Food Critic.   His career has been rich and illustrious. He has written books, presented TV series, written columns and hosted radio shows.   Most recently alongside chef Monica Galetti he is the presenter of Amazing Hotels Life Beyond the Lobby - a BBC series that sees him travel...

Hello! We are back with a brand new season! I missed you all! My guest today is Pierre Koffman. Often described as one of the greatest chefs of all time. A living legend. He has been a chef for over 50 years. His list of achievements are basically too long to mention. Born in the South West of France in 1948 he didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a chef and yet he has become the “chef of chefs, the chef all other chefs look up to”. Combining a rustic gutsiness with haute cuisine, Pierre...

Hello! We are back with another BONUS episode for you! My guest today is Surprise! We are back with another BONUS episode for you! My guest today is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.  Hugh is a chef, broadcaster, food writer and campaigner.  The nation first got to know Hugh in 1997 with his TV show “A Cook on the Wild Side” in which he ate roadkill and all that the countryside’s hedgerows had to offer. And then a year later through his River Cottage series and books filmed at the river cottage...

Surprise! We are back with another BONUS episode for you! My guest today is Tom Gozney. Tom is an entrepreneur and designer, he is the founder of Gozney. Gozney for those who don’t know, make incredible outdoor ovens and the business really is taking the world by storm. Tom started out designing a brick pizza oven for his back garden in 2008, and by 2014 was supplying professional ovens to some of the UK’s leading restaurants including Chewton Glen, River Cottage and pizza chain Franco Manca....