Be My Guest with Ina Garten – Emily Mortimer (May 19, 2024)

Episode Theme & Overview

Ina Garten welcomes acclaimed British actress, writer, and director Emily Mortimer to her East Hampton barn for a warm and candid conversation over comforting homemade food. The episode explores their shared experiences of shyness, creative risk-taking, family traditions, and favorite recipes—culminating in hands-on kitchen moments making Yorkshire pudding and a no-cook American brunch board.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Welcoming Emily – Food, Family, and English Roots

• Ravioli in Brodo: Ina prepares Emily’s favorite Italian comfort food as a welcome meal (02:15–08:59).

  • Ina shares cooking tips, such as using a parmesan rind for “so much flavor” (04:39).
  • “Ultimate comfort food… my dad used to say his favorite food was food you don’t need teeth to eat.” – Emily (08:35)
  • Both bond over the joy of homemade chicken stock:

    “It makes the house smell great. Yeah, I think it’s like vinaigrette. When people hear vinaigrette, they think, oh, I can’t make vinaigrette. And it’s like four ingredients and no big deal. Chicken stock’s the same way.” – Ina (09:14)

• Family Memories: Emily recollects dinners with her famous father, John Mortimer, and guests from the arts world (12:28–12:49).

  • “There were guests and people and a whole lot of commotion… lots of actors and writers. It was both incredibly exciting and also kind of quite frightening.” – Emily (12:31)

• The English Sunday Lunch: Emily describes the tradition and how she and her daughter try to recreate it in America (07:35–08:09).

  • “It’s a whole day. Which mainly consists of drinking a lot of wine.” – Emily (07:56)

2. Shyness, Creativity, and Taking Risks

• On Being Shy Yet Brave: Both Ina and Emily discuss the paradox of being introverted while seeking out high-stakes challenges (13:06–13:44).

  • “I feel like it’s almost the only way to survive, like if you have to do the most scary thing, otherwise you wouldn’t do anything at all.” – Emily (13:12)
  • “For me, I tend to have a very low threshold of boredom… and that’s when I find myself kind of pushed to jump over the cliff.” – Ina (13:19)
  • “Also I find that you do your best stuff when you’re scared.” – Emily (13:37)
  • On live theater: “The abject terror… I kept saying, you mean we’ve got to do this again and again and again?” – Emily (14:18)

• Impostor Syndrome: Emily reflects on feeling unqualified, despite success.

  • “It doesn’t stop the feeling constantly that someone’s about to tap you on the shoulder and say, please leave. You don’t deserve to be here.” – Emily (18:50)

3. Creative Journeys: Acting, Directing, and Honesty in Art

• Emily’s Path: Grew up performing imaginary characters—including a TV chef inspired by Delia Smith (19:39–20:11).
  • “One of my early characters… was a television chef… I would stand behind the kitchen table and measure out all the little ingredients.” – Emily (20:02)
• Importance of Authenticity:
  • “For all the kind of nerves and terror, there’s something kind of calming about when you can really be honest with somebody about feelings or anything… it protects you somehow, honesty.” – Emily (17:51)
  • “That’s exactly what it is. It makes the noise go away, doesn’t it? And, you know, you don’t learn that in acting school. You either can do it. You can look inside or you can’t.” – Ina (18:41/18:47)
• Writing About Russia: Emily shares her current project—a screenplay based on her transformative gap year romance in Moscow (23:06–23:36).

4. Food, Entertaining, and Kitchen Disasters

• Sharing Recipes: Emily credits Ina for saving a dinner party with menu advice.
  • “It was the most sensational, I can’t tell you… I’ve never had so many compliments.” – Emily, about following Ina’s fillet of beef suggestion (19:19–19:30)
• Cooking Disasters: The infamous apple pie incident (29:28–30:53).
  • “Both apple pies just went flying across the car… looked like I’d committed a murder. A sort of apple pie murder.” – Emily (30:36)
• Food as Connection: Both agree that feeding people is about community and caring.
  • “Food is really about taking care of people, but it’s also about if you cook, everybody shows up… getting people together.” – Ina (28:04–28:10)
  • “My son went off to college and took all your cookery books.” – Emily (29:05)
• On Entertaining Styles: Emily sees throwing a party as “putting on a sort of performance in a way” (27:44).

5. Cooking Together: Yorkshire Pudding and Brunch Boards (24:00–37:23)

Emily’s Yorkshire Pudding Masterclass (24:00–34:55)

• Key steps, family tips, and kitchen banter:
  • “I have no idea what the fizzy water does, but maybe it sounds like…” – Emily (25:15)
  • “When the roast comes out and it rests, do you put the popovers in?” – Ina (26:04)
  • “It makes me homesick, makes me want to cry, just making Yorkshire pudding.” – Emily (26:34)
• Success out of the oven:
  • “They’re never this good. It’s your influence.” – Emily (34:33)

Ina’s No-Cook Brunch Board (35:01–37:23)

• Ina’s tips: organize for abundance and accessibility; be both generous and restrained.
  • “The key is to put blocks of color… it looks like you went to trouble and I know I didn’t make any—I didn’t do anything.” – Ina (36:21/36:52)
  • “You can have brunch in like five minutes flat.” – Emily (37:23)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s a whole day. Which mainly consists of drinking a lot of wine.” – Emily (07:56)
• “You do your best stuff when you’re scared.” – Emily (13:37)
• “For all the kind of nerves and terror, there’s something kind of calming about when you can really be honest…” – Emily (17:51)
• “It makes me homesick, makes me want to cry, just making Yorkshire pudding.” – Emily (26:34)
• “They’re never this good. It’s your influence.” – Emily (34:33)
• “Food is really about taking care of people, but it’s also about if you cook, everybody shows up.” – Ina (28:04)
• “You can have brunch in like five minutes flat.” – Emily (37:23)

Important Timestamps

• [02:15] – Emily arrives; ravioli in brodo intro
• [07:35] – Discussion of English Sunday lunch traditions
• [12:28] – Growing up in a dramatic, creative household
• [13:06] – Talking about shyness, fear, and creativity
• [19:39] – Emily’s childhood, acting dreams, and early love of TV chefs
• [24:00] – Cooking Yorkshire pudding together—tips and memories
• [35:01] – Ina’s American brunch board—assembling for ease and flair

Tone & Atmosphere

The conversation is warm, candid, and lively—dotted with laughter, personal anecdotes, and thoughtful reflections. Ina’s gentle hospitality and Emily’s openness make for an inviting listen, blending the worlds of food and creativity with humor and genuine connection.

Summary

Ina Garten and Emily Mortimer’s shared table becomes a space for stories of family, bravery, mishaps, and love for honest food. Homemade ravioli in brodo, Yorkshire pudding, and a colorfully abundant brunch board frame a heartfelt exchange about what it means to care for others, take creative risks, and find joy and comfort in the familiar rituals of cooking together.