Adam Gopnik, author and writer for The New Yorker magazine, came to London for the UK launch of his new book. He credits Fergus Henderson for unwittingly giving him the title, The Table Comes First, and the two of them met up at St. John Hotel where the conversation ran from subjects as diverse as farting cows and the worrying proliferation of square plates in France...

In the often depressingly formulaic world of food publishing one name stands out as a beacon of individuality. The idiosyncratic publishing house Grub Street publishes books on two subjects: military history and food. The food side is run by the feisty and single-minded Anne Dolamore.

The late, charismatic and much loved Antonio Carluccio could not easily be pigeon-holed. Not a chef, yet so much more than a cook; not a businessman by his own admission, yet he was the originator of the highly successful Carluccio's brand.

Television chefs extol the virtues of using extra virgin olive oil and are there on the supermarket shelves promoting their brand-named oils. But how much do we ever think about the qualities, flavours and varieties of olive oil or whether the colour matters? How much do most of us really know about olive oil? Anne Dolamore talks to Charles Carey.

“She’s magical … she’s a doyenne … she’s the absolute first and last word on Middle Eastern, and indeed on Mediterranean cookery … and I don’t know any of the top chefs who she hasn’t touched.” So says Allegra McEvedy, herself a top chef, broadcaster and writer. And who is she talking about? Claudia Roden.

Elisabeth Luard is a much acclaimed food writer with a long list of books, memoirs and journal articles, and a former Trustee Director of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery. In 2016 she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Guild of Food Writers. Elizabeth started life as a natural history artist. Her interest in landscape and its influence on the cuisine of the area led to the writing of her first book, European Peasant Cookery.

At a relatively early age Fuchsia Dunlop became hooked on China.  She decided to learn Mandarin at evening classes and eventually won a scholarship to study in Chengdu, Sichuan. It was there that she trained as a chef, the first westerner to attend the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. As a result she is now one of the foremost experts on Chinese cuisine and has built up a large and devoted following across the world.

Food journalist, Andy Lynes, talks to Gerald Röser, Head Chef of the Mirabelle at the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne, and Chairman of Master Chefs of Great Britain.  Topics include the excellence of Sussex produce, how to find the best suppliers and ingredients and foraging in the wild, something Gerald has been doing quietly for decades.