Honey & Co: The Food Sessions

Latest Episodes:

Joy is Shopkeeping, with Oliver Spencer Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

Honey & Co: The Food Sessions is back for season 11 with a brand new theme: JOY.

In this episode we talk to our neighbour, British fashion designer Oliver Spencer, the self-taught tailor and shopkeeper behind Oliver Spencer menswear. He left art school to run a stall at Portobello Market, which left him with an enduring love of garments, fabrics and shopkeeping. After a decade running formalwear brand Favourbrook, he started Oliver Spencer menswear out of a shop on Lamb’s Conduit St, to offer contemporary tailoring with a relaxed, modern style, which has now expanded to three shops, and an international online business, stocked in Liberty and Selfridges. In 2023 he co-founded adventure travel magazine Secret Trips, indulging his life long love of travel, featuring recommendations from a collective of writers, photographers, stylists and publishers for under-the-radar destinations, independent hotels, and the restaurants the locals don't want you to know about.

This was such a wonderful conversation and one we could have continued for hours. We talked about the joy of shopkeeping and of building small businesses, the simple pleasure he found in taking the helm at the barbecue on a recent photoshoot, and his early memories of St Mawes, a place full of memories and many firsts. It was a pleasure to talk trader to trader about the world of shopkeeking and retail, Itamar made a sartorial confession, and we got to the bottom of that special feeling that putting on a tailored suit brings. Outside of the fashion world, we discussed Oliver's love for travel, what a Spencer family holiday looks like, and how this lifelong adventure has turned into a new venture, Secret Trips.

Thank you for listening to this latest episode of our season all about Joy. In times like these, when the world can feel a little overwhelming, it’s more important than ever to seek out and savour the joy wherever we can find it. Working in restaurants, we have three moments in a day to bring joy: breakfast, lunch and dinner, but what about the moments in between? This question is at the heart of the latest season of The Food Sessions which sees us sit down with brilliant people from all walks of life: chefs, broadcasters, comedians and fashion designers to not only talk about what they do day-to-day, but also to explore the passions that enrich their lives.

This season is sponsored by Square, the point of sale system that we use in all our restaurants. You can use their software and hardware for payments, sales, inventory, bookings, orders, reports and more. Square are currently offering £4,000 worth of free hardware to eligible businesses, so if you're ready to get your business in better shape, head to square.com to learn more and book a demo with the team.

Hosts: Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich

Producer: Miranda Hinkley

Sound Mixer: Paul Brogden

Additional Sound: Paul Ford

Theme Song: Daniel Winshall

Honey & Co Team: Louisa Cornford & Winnie Thomas

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joy is Morning Pages, with Sarah Winman Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

Honey & Co: The Food Sessions is back for season 11 with a brand new theme: JOY.

In times like these, when the world can feel a little overwhelming, it’s more important than ever to seek out and savour the joy wherever we can find it. Working in restaurants, we have three moments in a day to bring joy: breakfast, lunch and dinner, but what about the moments in between? This question is at the heart of the latest season of The Food Sessions which sees us sit down with brilliant people from all walks of life: chefs, broadcasters, comedians and fashion designers to not only talk about what they do day-to-day, but also to explore the passions that enrich their lives.

In this episode we talk to Sarah Winman, a British actor and author of some of our favourite books, including the critically acclaimed bestseller Still Life. She grew up in Essex and now lives in London. She attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and went on to act in theatre, film, and television, but she decided that she wanted to write a novel. While taking an ‘Exploring Fiction’ course at City Lit, Sarah realised she was already writing what was to become her highly acclaimed debut, When God Was A Rabbit. Sarah went on to write Tin Man, A Year of Marvellous Ways and Still Life, which she is currently adapting for TV.

We love Sarah! We talked about joy as an act of rebellion, her first memories of joy, the serenity of the sea, morning pages, her love for Italy, singing, playing football and the trilogy: gratitude, joy and beauty. It was a true tonic to talk to Sarah, we hope you enjoy.

Hosts: Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich

Producer: Miranda Hinkley

Sound Engineer: Melis Uslu

Sound Mixer: Paul Brogden

Additional Sound: Paul Ford

Theme Song: Daniel Winshall

Honey & Co Team: Louisa Cornford & Winnie Thomas

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joy is Patisserie, with Alexina Anatole Sep 03, 2025

Show notes

Honey & Co: The Food Sessions is back for season 11 with a brand new theme: JOY.

In this episode we talk to London-based chef, presenter and writer, Alexina Anatole. Alexina is of mixed heritage: the granddaughter of chicken farmers from Cambridgeshire and Saint Lucian grandparents. She worked in finance for a decade before deciding to apply for MasterChef in 2021. After reaching the final, she made a brave career change from the trading floor to the food world. Alexina has written two cookbooks – Bitter and Sweet, with more on the way – and she also writes Small Wins, a Substack newsletter that enhances your cooking and your life in small, manageable ways. We talked about the joy of growing up in Paris, of picking blackberries with her grandparents and working in a fishmongers as a teen, all things that fed into her love affair food. We talked about the simple pleasures of working away to perfect a meringue recipe and the excitement of exploring new places to eat, plus the turning point at which she felt ready to make the switch from finance to the food world and finding her place within it.

Hosts: Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich

Producer: Miranda Hinkley

Sound Engineer: Melis Uslu

Sound Mixer: Paul Brogden

Theme Song: Daniel Winshall

Honey & Co Team: Louisa Cornford & Winnie Thomas

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joy is Water, with Felicity Ward Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

Honey & Co: The Food Sessions is back for season 11 with a brand new theme: JOY.

In this episode we talk to Australian comedian, actor, writer and self-proclaimed knucklehead, Felicity Ward. We were more than a bit starstruck to meet Felicity, someone we've been following for ages... most recently her appearance as Hannah Howard, the first female lead in The Office Australia, and Dancing with the Stars Australia. Born in a small town just north of Sydney, Australia, she started stand up in 2008, following on from successful times writing and starring in The Ronnie Johns Half Hour Sketch Show. She’s spoken at length in her stand up and personally about her struggles with mental health including presenting a documentary Felicity’s Mental Mission, her Netflix special and Live From The BBC. It was so emotional to dig deep into the way she finds joy, from the simple pleasures of dancing to Billy Idol in Milton Keynes to building sand pools on Killcare Beach with her son. We talked about chasing the validation that comes with laughs as a stand up, the immediate joy of figuring out a tricky dance move, and her mother's solution to all problems: water.

Hosts: Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich

Producer: Miranda Hinkley

Sound Engineer: Melis Uslu

Sound Mixer: Paul Brogden

Theme Song: Daniel Winshall

Honey & Co Team: Louisa Cornford & Winnie Thomas

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joy is Talking to Strangers, with Hasan Semay Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

Honey & Co: The Food Sessions is back for season 11 with a brand new theme: JOY.

In this episode we talk to chef, author and TV presenter, Turkish Cypriot Hasan Semay (or Big Has, as he is affectionately known). Hasan is a half Turkish Cypriot half British chef, YouTube and Instagram sensation, as well as a self-confessed “proper North Londoner”. Has was accepted onto the prestigious Jamie Oliver 15 programme in 2011 and his relaxed and informative approach to cooking without pretentiousness has won him legions of fans over on his YouTube platform, Sunday Sessions. His debut cookbook, Big Has: HOME is a Sunday Times Bestseller and his latest book, Smoke and Seasoned Bread: Recipes from Türkiye is out now. We talked about the joy of a pets unconditional love, of getting cab drivers to take you to their favourite spot, and of talking to strangers. Has is such an incredibly warm and engaging guest and it was such a pleasure to have him join us for an afternoon of conversation.

Hosts: Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich

Producer: Miranda Hinkley

Sound Engineer: Melis Uslu

Sound Mixer: Paul Brogden

Theme Song: Daniel Winshall

Honey & Co Team: Louisa Cornford & Winnie Thomas

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joy is Dogs, with Emily Maitlis Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

Honey & Co: The Food Sessions is back for season 11 with a brand new theme: JOY.

In times like these, when the world can feel a little overwhelming, it’s more important than ever to seek out and savour the joy wherever we can find it. Working in restaurants, we have three moments in a day to bring joy: breakfast, lunch and dinner, but what about the moments in between? This question is at the heart of the latest season of The Food Sessions which sees us sit down with brilliant people from all walks of life: chefs, broadcasters, comedians and fashion designers to not only talk about what they do day-to-day, but also to explore the passions that enrich their lives.

In this episode we talk to British journalist and news presenter, Emily Maitlis. She notably presented the BBC Flagship nightly current affairs show Newsnight where she specialised in election coverage in the UK and the USA. She's interviewed countless prime ministers, the Dalai Lama, and has been played by both Gillian Anderson and Ruth Anderson in drama adaptations exploring the story of her interview with Prince Andrew. Emily now hosts The News Agents, the Global daily news podcast, with Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall. It was such a delight to have Emily in the studio and to turn the questions on her for once! Itamar gave her a joyful grilling on all the important things – from fish with tomato (good or bad?) to her earliest memories of joy (a gerbil called Humphrey and birthday teas featuring heavily) to how her herb garden brings her peace and tranquility today.

Hosts: Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich

Producer: Miranda Hinkley

Sound Engineer: Tony Onuchukwu

Sound Mixer: John Scott & Paul Ford

Theme Song: Daniel Winshall

Honey & Co Team: Louisa Cornford & Winnie Thomas

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S10SPECIAL An OTK treat for you Dec 22, 2022

Show notes

A little Christmas treat from us to you! Something to get your teeth stuck into while you're wrapping your presents, stuffing your turkey or out for a walk.

You may know that we're OG Yotam Ottolenghi superfans, having both worked at Ottolenghi before we set up our own place, so we've been dying to get him on the podcast since we started. If you don't know the Ottolenghi brand, then you've probably been living under a rock for the last 20 years: they have amazing delis and restaurants in London, era defining cookbook, a weekly recipe column in the Saturday Guardian and regularly contribute to the New York Times.

Today we're joined by Yotam Ottolenghi, Noor Murad and Verena Lochmuller from the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen, another exciting part of the Ottolenghi empire! The Ottolenghi Test Kitchen was founded by Yotam and is headed by Noor Murad alongside a collaborative team of chefs, writers, doers and thinkers. Together they cook, taste, converse and put into writing all the recipes they truly hope will make it onto your tables. We talked about how OTK came into being, what it's like to work in such a collaborative, creative environment, and of course we drooled over their latest cookbook, Extra Good Things.

Pick up a copy of OTK Extra Good Things and OTK Shelf Love for Christmas! Available where all good books are sold.

With thanks to our guests Yotam Ottolenghi, Noor Murad and Verena Lochmuller.

Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast if you've not already, and check out our back catalogue if you're new to the podcast, there are lots of juicy morsels to enjoy.

With thanks to everyone who helps make this podcast happen:

Producer: Miranda Hinkley

Audio Engineers: John Scott

Theme Tune: Daniel Winshall

Head of Comms: Louisa Cornford

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S10SPECIAL 10 years of Honey & Co. Mar 14, 2022

Show notes

Honey & Co is 10 years old! We couldn't think of a better way to kick off our birthday celebrations than a special episode of Honey & Co: The Food Sessions. Coming atcha.

Join us, Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, at home as we rustle up a classic Honey & Co dish, talk about how the restaurant was born, catch up with our team, guests and friends about their memories of the last 10 years. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be amazed! We loved reminiscing and it was so special to read and listen to all the memories submitted by our customers from over the years.

Thank you to everyone who sent us a voice message or a dm, an email or a story. We're so sorry we couldn't feature them all, we read every single one, we love them, it's been very special for us to read them and to help us remember and enjoy what we've done over the last 10 years.

News! While some of you may know that we will be closing Honey & Co on Warren Street at the end of April, we are so happy to announce today that we will be moving to Lamb's Conduit Street this Spring. We're not closing, just moving!

Follow the new location build @HoneyAndCoBloomsbury on instagram.

If you want early access to bookings you will need to be on our mailing list – sign up to our mailing list.

With thanks to our guests Mirko D'Angelo, Rachael Gibbon, David Loyd and Lara Hamilton.

Thanks to Laura Bartram-Pope, Hannah Geller, Briana Lebold and Sunny Kang for their audio messages, and to everyone who sent us a voice message, a dm or an email.

Producer: Miranda Hinkley

Audio Engineers: Paul Brogden & John Scott

Theme tune: Daniel Winshall

Head of Comms: Louisa Cornford

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S10 is coming! 10 years of Honey & Co. Mar 10, 2022

Show notes

Coming soon! This year we're celebrating 10 years of Honey & Co and we're going to kick off celebrations with a special episode of Honey & Co: The Food Sessions. We will hear from staff, guests, friends and lots of you, too! We will laugh, we will cry and we will share some very exciting news. Tune in next week for our 10 Years of Honey & Co Special episode!

With thanks to:

Producer: Miranda Hinkley Audio Engineers: Paul Brogden & John Scott Theme tune: Daniel Winshall Head of Comms: Louisa Cornford

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S09E07 Sugar I Love You with Ravneet Gill Nov 15, 2021

Show notes

Today on Honey & Co: The Food Sessions we're joined by queen of sugar, Ravneet Gill.

Ravneet has many strings to her bow - she's a pastry chef and cookbook author, a judge on Junior Bake Off and founder of chefs' collective Countertalk. We're huge fans of everything Ravneet does. We talked to Rav about her route into the world of food, her experiences working in kitchens across London (including ours) and how she came to write her pastry books, get into TV and set up Contertalk. We also (of course) talked everything sugar, cakes and pastries, and sent our love to Biji!

Follow Ravneet on instagram: @ravneeteats Get a signed copy of Sugar I Love You

With thanks to:

Producer: Miranda Hinkley Audio Engineers: Paul Brogden & John Scott Theme tune: Daniel Winshall Head of Comms: Louisa Cornford

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.