Ed Smith from the hugely influential blog Rocket & Squash joined us in our deli, Honey & Spice, to talk about life in the food blogosphere and about his excellent new cookbook, On The Side, a book that puts side dishes centre stage. Ever since we got this book we wanted to cook a meal consisting of side dishes only, as the selection in this book is so good it really doesn’t need a main course. Listen to hear about Ed's best hangover cure, how he transitioned from lawyer to food writer and how the programme 'Ready Steady Cook' influenced his career. 

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Olia Hercules was born in the south of Ukraine. After studying and working as a journalist in the UK, she retrained as a chef at Leiths. Olia visited us earlier this year talk about her first book Mamushka, a personal journey that celebrates her family recipes from Ukraine and across eastern Europe. This time she visited us to chat about her new cookbook Kaukasis - a culinary journey through Georgia, Azerbaijan and beyond. Olia explains how the Soviet Union affected the cuisine of the region, her eventful research trip and how to cook this food at home. 

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Angela Frenda is the Food Editor of the prestigious Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Angela has been at the forefront of the relatively new world of food writing in Italy. She has also written two cookbooks, Racconti di cucina (Cooking Stories) and La Cucina Felice (The Happy Kitchen). Angela tells us about her transition from political journalism to food, why food writing is still new to Italians, and even shares her favourite places to eat in Italy.

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Dr. Annie Gray is a food historian, cook, broadcaster and author. She often appears on BBC Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet as their resident food historian. She came to Honey & Spice to tell us all about her latest book, The Greedy Queen, part culinary-biography, part-gastronomic exploration of Queen Victoria. Annie tells us all about her deliciously varied career, Queen Victoria's complex relationship with food and the most extravagant dishes eaten at the monarch's famous banquets.

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Chetna Makan was a semi-finalist on series 5 of The Great British Bake Off, wowing the judges and the audience with her advance techniques and use of complex flavours. Since the Bake Off she has been extremely busy. She came to Honey & Spice to talk about her newest book Chai, Chaat & Chutney, a journey through the street foods of India. Chetna talks to us about the differences between the street food of Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Chennai, how she has taken inspiration from the dishes and created delicious recipes and what it was like to be a contestant on the country's favourite baking show.

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Rachel Roddy is a multi award-winning Guardian food columnist and author based in Rome and Sicily. She speaks to us about her new cookbook Two Kitchens: Family Recipes from Sicily and Rome. Her book celebrates the simple, everyday dishes from her two distant but connected kitchens. We hear all about her favourite ingredients and recipes from tomato and salted ricotta salad, caponata and baked Sicilian pasta to lemon crumble.

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This week we’re joined by the dynamic duo, Laura Jackson and Alice Levine. The TV and radio presenters met at a jumble sale a few years ago. They really hit it off and started running supper clubs together. Their events quickly became London’s hottest dinner party. The girls have written the rulebook to end all rulebooks on entertaining in your own home, Round to Ours. Listen if you want to know the ultimate tips for having people ‘round to yours’, how to keep an eclectic mix of guests dining long into the night and what happens when you put the dirty dancing soundtrack on at a dinner party…

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Allan Jenkins, Editor of the Observer Food Monthly, came to Honey and Spice to tell us about his new book, Plot 29: A Memoir. The book is an engaging, special and very personal account of Allan’s childhood in 1960s Plymouth when he and his brother were rescued from their care home and fostered by an elderly couple.

Allan is interviewed by our own Sarit Packer about how he came to write this memoir, why he grows plants from seed and the joy to be found in sharing food and flowers with people you love.

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This week we’re joined by the fascinating Kristen Schnepp of the Gringa Dairy in Peckham, London. Kristen left a corporate banking life, to follow her passion and make Mexican cheese. The Gringa Dairy started in April 2013 and she’s never looked back! Kristen is interviewed by our own Elizabeth Hallet about how she made a drastic career change, what it’s like to work under a railway arch and much more.

Visit the Gringa Dairy website to find out more: http://gringadairy.com/

Produced by Hester Cant with recording assistance from Hannah-Phoebe Bowen.

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Bee Wilson is one of the most interesting and engaging people writing about food today. Bee came over to talk to us about how our food habits are created – what makes us like or dislike certain foods, how we use food to set ourselves apart or come together – and most importantly how can we control and change these habits.

Bee Wilson First Bite, How we Learn to Eat

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