The Coolest Lady In Food, Ruthie Rogers Of The River Cafe In London

Radio Cherry Bombe

The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network

Restaurants, 591312, Business, Arts, Food Radio, Interviews, Kerry Diamond, Female Chefs, Radio Cherry Bombe, Entrepreneurs, Society & Culture, Women, Careers, Women In Food, Food, Cherry Bombe Magazine, Talk Radio, Chefs, Restaurateurs

4.6 • 592 Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2026

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s guest is Ruthie Rogers, the legendary chef and restaurateur behind The River Cafe in London, and she joins host Kerry Diamond to talk about her latest book, “Table 4 at The River Cafe.” Inspired by her popular podcast, “Ruthie’s Table 4,” the book features conversations with the likes of Nigella Lawson, Tina Fey, Greta Gerwig, Alice Waters, Tracey Emin, and dozens of other forces from the worlds of art, music, film, and food. Ruthie shares the story of how The River Cafe began as a humble sandwich shop and evolved into a global culinary institution, the lessons she’s learned from nearly 40 years of running a restaurant, and why curiosity and kindness matter when hiring and mentoring the next generation of cooks. She also reflects on the power of food memories, what she’s discovered after more than 200 podcast interviews, and why so many people talk about their grandmothers when discussing the meals that shaped them. Plus, Ruthie reveals her comfort food (spoiler: it involves tomatoes, pasta, and butter), the River Cafe dishes that will never leave the menu, and the food world hero she’d want with her on a desert island. Click here for the Rigatoni With Cavolo Nero & Olive Oil recipe from The River Cafe London. Thank you to Peter Som’s “Family Style” cookbook for supporting our show. This interview was recorded at Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center. Cherry Bombe on Substack The Jubilee Business Owners Pass application Our new Mom’s the Bombe issue Visit cherrybombe.com for subscriptions, tickets to upcoming events, and more. More on Ruthie: Instagram, The River Cafe, “Table 4 at The River Cafe” book More on Kerry: Instagram, “So You Want To Open A Restaurant” Substack series

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, everybody. You're listening to Radio Cherrybaum, and I'm your host, Carrie Diamond, coming to you from Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center in New York City.
0:13.9	Today's guest is one of my heroes, Ruthie Rogers. Ruthie is the force behind the River Cafe in London, and she's in town to talk about her
0:21.3	brand new book, Table 4 at the River Cafe. It's not a cookbook. It's a compilation of
0:26.9	interviews from her podcast, Ruthie's Table 4, which happens to be one of my favorites. Each
0:32.2	week, Ruthie talks to her friends about life, food, and family. And Ruthie's friends just happen to be some of the most
0:38.8	talented, creative folks around. So many people we love and admire, like Nigella Lawson, Tina
0:44.9	Faye, Greta Gerwig, Tracy Eman, Alice Waters, and Mary McCartney. They're all in Ruthie's book,
0:52.5	as are dozens of others.
0:59.9	Ruthie opened the River Cafe as a sandwich shop back in 1987 with her business partner Rose Gray.
1:05.1	The restaurant has evolved over the past 39 years to become one of the most celebrated in the industry.
1:10.2	So not only do Ruthie and I talk about her book and her life, but I asked her a few questions about running a successful
1:11.0	business and how she's done it over the years. I learned a lot from our conversation, as I always do,
1:16.9	when I talk to Ruthie. Stay tuned for my chat with Ruthie Rogers. There's a lot going on at Cherrybaum,
1:22.6	as per usual. I'm writing a lot more for our substack, which you can find at cherrybom.substack.com.
1:28.7	We've got lots of free content for you, including recipes and our radio newsletters.
1:33.5	We also have a few things behind a paywall. As you do these days, you can subscribe for $6 a month or $55 per year and get all the great stories, including our magazine cover stories, and you get
1:45.2	access to our subscriber-only monthly meetings. The next one is coming up on April 1st with
1:50.0	award-winning restaurateur and author Molly Irani. The meetings take place the first Wednesday
1:55.3	of every month at 3 p.m. E.S.T. And we send the recording out afterwards in case you missed it.
2:01.7	Subscribers also get discounts to ticketed events like our annual Jubilee Conference,
2:06.1	which Ruthie has spoken at.
2:07.6	It's taking place this year on Saturday, April 25th, at the Glass House.
	...

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