Interviews

In their home kitchens, people talk about food and other important matters – and cook us a favourite meal

Jess Murphy – The chef-owner at Kai cooks an extravagant dinner of mussels, dauphinoise and a rib of beef, extols the virtues of Irish produce and explains her problems with peach skin

Mitch Tonks – Over lunch at his Dartmouth restaurant, the seafood maestro talks about jellied eels with his granny, his morning grappa routine and why the British are scared of cooking fish

Louise McGuane – The owner of Chapel Gate whiskey makes bacon and cabbage with a twist, illuminates the lost art of whiskey bonding and outlines the perils of having 24,000 litres of alcohol in her shed

Gill Meller – The chef and author roasts chicken with wild garlic and beetroot in his outdoor oven while discussing his fascination with home kitchens, daily eating habits and the rise of veganism

Elisabeth Luard – Over a lunch of potato salad and pimientos, the revered food writer talks about hallucinogenic tea in Uruguay, the importance of Spanish cuisine and why painting is the key to her writing

Sam Gleeson & Niamh Fox – At their idyllic home in West Clare, the furniture maker and chef cook meat from their own pigs, recall very different childhood meals and explain why food tastes better in a van

Rachel Roddy – Over a long lunch at her home in Testaccio, the food writer recalls her early days in Italy, names the authors who inspire her, and describes her daily food rituals in fine detail

Takashi Miyazaki – The chef-owner of Miyazaki in Cork makes a succession of extraordinary dishes for lunch, recalls his days as a teppanyaki chef to the stars, and explains why Japanese food is like a treasure box

Gwen McGrath & Ken Doherty – In the calm before a hurricane, the owners of Assassination Custard invite us over for lunch and talk about their travels, the joys of tripe, and why the best food is always the simplest

Tim Hayward – The energetic food writer and broadcaster makes us a hearty lunch of salsiccia and lentils, professes his great love of American diners and explains how an English spy novelist got him into cooking

Rory O’Connell – The co-founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School whips up an effortless three-course lunch, defends the use of recipes, and recalls how his mother made the best plum pudding bar none

Shaul Ben-Aderet – The Blue Rooster chef cooks green shakshuka for lunch, recalls childhood visits to the market with his grandmother, and describes his very favourite meal of the day

Rosamund Young – The farmer and author makes roast beef and a mulberry flan for lunch, reflects on her desire for self-sufficiency and takes us to meet her famous herd of cows

Tom Jaine – The food writer and publisher assembles lunch at his Devon smallholding, recalls his upbringing at a revolutionary restaurant and admits to his 12-a-day instant coffee habit

Alison Roman – Over a long summer lunch at her Brooklyn apartment, the food writer and ex-pastry chef trades dinner-party tactics, reveals her biggest food heroes and explains why recipes exist to be subverted

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