Table Talk: Jun Tanaka
Best of the Spectator
The Spectator
4.4 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2025
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jun Tanaka is a Japanese-British chef with over 30 years’ experience in some of London’s most famous restaurants, including La Gavroche, Restaurant Marco Pierre White and The Square. In 2016 he opened the Ninth, which was awarded a Michelin star two years later.
On the podcast, Jun tells Lara why the smell of baking brings back early food memories, how Japanese packed lunch is superior to English packed lunch, and why, in his view, you still can’t get a good ramen in London.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Spectator magazine is home to wonderful writing, insightful analysis and unrivaled books and arts reviews. |
| 0:06.4 | Subscribe today for just £12 and receive a 12-week subscription in print and online, |
| 0:11.7 | along with a free £20 £10 £10 or Waitrose voucher. |
| 0:15.3 | Go to spectator.com.uk forward slash voucher. |
| 0:31.9 | Hello and welcome to Table Talk, the Spectator's Food and Drink Podcast. |
| 0:36.6 | I'm Laura Prendergast and today I'm delighted to be joined by Jun Tanaka. |
| 0:41.2 | Jun is a Japanese, British chef who has over 30 years experience working in some of London's most iconic restaurants including La Gavroche, |
| 0:46.0 | the restaurant Marco Pier White and the Square. |
| 0:49.3 | In 2015 he opened the 9th and was awarded a Michelin star in 2017. |
| 0:56.4 | Jun is a familiar face on television, as well as an ambassador for L'Anson Champagne. |
| 1:01.5 | June, welcome to Table Talk. |
| 1:03.3 | Thank you very much. It's great to be here. |
| 1:04.8 | We always start at the beginning. |
| 1:06.6 | What are your earliest memories of food? |
| 1:09.2 | My earliest memories of food is the smell of baking. |
| 1:13.6 | When we used to live in Japan, I was around six years old. |
| 1:16.9 | My mum, she was a housewife. |
| 1:19.0 | And she used to teach the local housewives baking. |
| 1:23.4 | Really basic stuff. |
| 1:24.7 | Cupcakes, chiffron cakes, banana cakes. And then the classes were held in our kitchen. |
| 1:32.3 | And then I used to sit underneath the kitchen table waiting for the treat, which was the whisk |
| 1:39.5 | they use to cream the butter and sugar, which is the base of all the sponges. And then I would wait there |
... |
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