Loading summary
LPL Financial Representative
What if you could have even more and more and more help to pursue your goals? At LPL Financial, we offer more ways for advisors and their clients to thrive.
Michigan Business Representative
So what if you could Paid Advertisement Investing involves risk, including potential asset Principal LPL Financial LLC Member FINRA SIPC Adventure
Venture Global Representative
Global we think about what can be done, not what's usually done through innovation. Venture Global is not only building some of the largest energy facilities in the world right here in the United States, but delivering American energy at a fraction of the cost in a fraction of the time. So while others are busy talking, we're busy building. That's Venture Global. That's unstoppable energy.
LPL Financial Representative
Being a small business owner isn't just a career, it's a calling. Chase for Business knows how much heart and effort go into building something of your own. Manage all your business finances, from banking to payments to credit cards, all in one place with Chase's digital Tools. Plus access online resources designed to help your business thrive. Learn more@chase.com business chase for business Make More of what's yours. The Chase Mobile app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply JP Morgan Chase Bank NA Member FDIC Copyright 2026 JPMorgan Chase Co.
Ruthie Rogers
Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio national news.
Venture Global Representative
You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Massar and Tim Stanvik on Bloomberg Radio.
Interviewer
Well, she is an award winning chef, co founder of a Michelin starred restaurant, author of 13 cookbooks, a native New Yorker has a podcast where she talks with the likes of Paul McCartney, Tina Fey, David Beckham, Mel Brooks, Martha Stewart, Francis Ford Coppola, Mark Carney, Bob Iger, Johnny I've whose comfort food by the way is okay.
Co-Interviewer
I like that.
Interviewer
Who would have known. She has also, full disclosure, talked with Michael Bloomberg, of course, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies. She has talked with many, many folks. All of it comes together in a great book. It also comes together like a great meal with amazing company. Her new book is entitled Table 4 at the River Cafe, which as we understand is a highly coveted physical table located near the restaurant's open kitchen. Here to tell us about it and more is Ruthie Rogers, co founder of the River Cafe in London, host of her podcast Ruthie's Table. She joins us from London. We are so delighted to have you. We know it's a little bit later there in London. Congratulations on the new book and we were thinking about where should we begin and if you had to pick one single thing, Ruthie, as to where you are Today, why you got there, Your restaurant, iconic, well known in London, award winning. You've got now a five year old podcast. What might that thing be?
Ruthie Rogers
I think that, you know, from the very beginning we started with the values of a restaurant. What is a restaurant? Why do people go to restaurants? What do you look for in a restaurant? And I was just downstairs just now and I see that the way people are greeted, the way people are made to feel welcome, of course the food, we change the menu for every meal. We write a menu. We rather like you do at home. We see what is fresh, what we have, we bought the day before and of course always what is in season in the Italian market. So I think every day is a different day. We have great people working here who we, you know, the whole kitchen is open. And so there's a kind of way that we all work together. And I think, you know, you want really people to come to your restaurant and leave, I always say, quite simply, happier than when they arrived.
Co-Interviewer
So tell us about, for people who haven't been to the restaurant, the coveted table four.
Ruthie Rogers
Well, you know what, Michael Caine always used to sit at table four. But then, you know, when Nancy Pelosi came in, we sat at table one. And there might be a table who prefers somebody who prefers table, table 10, which is near to the entrance. Table four is slightly also a pun on the word four. So it's a table number, but it also is a table for Michael Bloomberg, a table for any of the other people who are in the book. Because what we wanted to do during the, when we, we had to stop the restaurant because of the pandemic, we wanted a way to reach the people who ate in the restaurant. How could we reach them? We thought about reading a recipe every day and then that segued into the story. Because when you think about, when we, when we talk to people through the lens of food about their memories, it's very thoughtful. It brings back. If I asked you, did your mother cook, did your father cook? Did you go to restaurants? It brings up other stories.
Interviewer
I love that aspect. Being from a large family, food was a big part. My mom loved to cook. And you know, especially around holidays, birthdays, a relative in town, she would cook and make sure there was things for everybody who liked, you know, even if she had to do like five different vegetables to make sure everybody was happy. But we would sit Ruthie at that table for hours. And I feel like that's where you're coming from.
Ruthie Rogers
The best things happen around a table, I think. And the Sad things happen around a table. But I think it is around a table that we all meet. It doesn't matter. We could have a sandwich around the table or a drink around the table, but there is something of that conversation. And when we interviewed Elton John and David Furnish, the woman who worked for his chief of staff, who said she'd worked with and heard so many interviews over 25 years, but it was only when Elton started talking about politics, potting peas with his grandmother, or how they tried, you know, the people who use food, you know, to seduce, to impress, to give joy, to share. It's, you know, and I'm also, you know, I meet a lot of women who don't cook or men who don't cook, and that's fine. It's not about the cooking. It's about somehow being together.
Co-Interviewer
Well, let's talk about the podcast a little bit and the way that these interviews have come together in this new book, as Carol mentioned, a host of names. These are not your favorites. These are just some of the interviews that the publisher picked up.
Ruthie Rogers
We should know clear, because so many brilliant people are not in the book, but they'll be in volume two.
Co-Interviewer
Well, what is the connection between the podcast and the restaurant and the way that you try to bring what you bring to life in a restaurant to an audio format, that you invite people to sort of be at the table with you?
Ruthie Rogers
I think there are two things. I think a friend of mine came into the restaurant the other day and he said, you know, oh, I don't, you know, I'm having trouble with one of my children. I'm not sure that I can join this crowd. Look at this room, Ruthie. There are so many people at this table looking so happy and celebrating. And I said, you know, if you went to every table in this restaurant, everyone has a story. Everyone has a story. It could be a happy story. Their daughter might have graduated, or they could have been fired that day, or their mother might be sick, or, you know, there's so many stories that people have. And I think what I wanted to do is talk to people and. And have their stories told, as I say, through the lens of food. And you discover we have different sections. We have the chapter of Food is Family, and so we have the McCartney family. We have the Beckham family. We have the Harry Russell and Matthew Rice. We have. And that's families. We have the art. Food is art. And we have Tracy Emin, and we have Jony I've, who's a designer. We have the political artists Politics. We have, as you said, Mark Carney. And it's not about famous people, it's not about celebrities. It's about people who have stories that we all want to know about, you know, and so I think it's quite democratic, you know. Yeah, it is, it is.
Interviewer
And the approach is really fun to kind of go through. I want to ask you, though, I think your first podcast was September, back In September of 2021, Jake. Jake Gyllenhaal. Was it? Was it Jake?
Ruthie Rogers
And if so, yeah. Why?
Interviewer
How did that come to be? And why Jake being the first?
Ruthie Rogers
Well, we never thought. We never. Jake is a really good friend. I've known him for a long time. And I said, would you do this with me? Because I don't really know what I'm doing, but we're going to try and do this podcast. And it really came from my husband and I used to give evenings, one every year in which an actor or a singer or a writer would perform in the living room of our house. And, and we would give the money to, you know, to charitable cause we believed in. And one night we had Ian McKellen. And Ian, you know, he told an anecdote, he sang a song, he recounted something that had happened to him in the theater. He did a sonnet of Shakespeare. But the last thing he did was to get one of our cookbooks, the first cookbook, and read a recipe for a soup. And you know, I always say a recipe is half science and half right. And to a recipe is actually, there's something rather beautiful about listening. So I said to Jake, help me out here. And so he. He did one, the first one, I think, and Wes, it was Wes Anderson, who's another good friend. And
Interviewer
listen, Ruthie, we have to jump and go. 10 seconds though. What's your comfort food?
Ruthie Rogers
My comfort food would be real quick. Tomato sauce.
Interviewer
Ah, a good one. Ruthie, thank you so much. We've been looking forward to catching up with you. Ruthie Rogers, co founder of the River Cafe in London. Her podcast Ruthie's Table for her new book, Table 4 at the River Cafe.
Michigan Business Representative
As industries evolve faster than ever, companies need an environment that accelerates strategic growth. And Michigan delivers on that promise. From emerging startups to global enterprises, Michigan offers what executives value most. A resilient, innovative ecosystem, diverse communities that attract top talent, and a quality of life that supports work Life balance with our unified team Michigan approach. Businesses scale faster and compete at the highest level. Michigan Pure opportunity. Seize your opportunity@MichiganBusiness.org whatever your goal, trade
Co-Interviewer
show giveaways, client gifts or team gear. 4imprint has the promo products to match with thousands of options from apparel and drinkware to tech and totes, it's easy to find the right fit for your brand and budget. With standout choices at every price point and with their 360 degree guarantee, you can be four imprint certain your order will show up just right, right on time. Explore more@4imprint.com 4imprint for certain when you're
The Hartford Representative
running a business, the best days are the ones where priorities stay on track. For midsize and large companies, risk can affect multiple parts of the organization at once, from property and liability to cyber and regulatory challenges. At that level, managing risk becomes an ongoing discipline. At the Hartford, the focus is on helping businesses manage risk before it turns into something more disruptive. And when losses do happen, that work is paired with insurance coverage shaped by years of underwriting, risk engineering and claims experience. Learn more@thehartford.com riskmitigation policies provided by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its property and casualty affiliates Hartford, Connecticut.
Date: June 9, 2026
Guests: Ruthie Rogers (co-founder of the River Cafe, author, podcast host)
Hosts: Carol Massar & Tim Stenovec
Running Time (main content): 01:23 – 09:55
This episode features an in-depth conversation with Ruthie Rogers, the acclaimed chef and co-founder of London's River Cafe. Rogers, also the host of the podcast “Ruthie’s Table 4” and a prolific cookbook author, shares insights into her new book, "Table 4 at the River Cafe." The discussion explores the role of hospitality, the importance of storytelling through food, and the way her experiences in the restaurant and podcast worlds have intertwined to create something special. The conversation is warm, insightful, and filled with stories about community, the meaning of sharing a meal, and the distinguished guests who have graced both her iconic restaurant and her audio show.
[02:54 – 03:43]
Ruthie Rogers reflects on what makes her iconic restaurant special:
"From the very beginning we started with the values of a restaurant. What is a restaurant? Why do people go to restaurants?... The way people are greeted, the way people are made to feel welcome, of course the food... We change the menu for every meal... what is in season in the Italian market."
— Ruthie Rogers, 02:54
The restaurant operates with an open kitchen and a dynamic, collaborative atmosphere.
"Every day is a different day. We have great people working here... The whole kitchen is open... you want people to leave, I always say, quite simply, happier than when they arrived."
— Ruthie Rogers, 03:21
[03:43 – 04:47]
"When we talk to people through the lens of food about their memories, it’s very thoughtful... It brings up other stories."
— Ruthie Rogers, 04:19
[05:14 – 06:07]
The emotional importance of sitting together at a table is highlighted.
Not only happy occasions but also life’s difficult moments are shared over food:
"The best things happen around a table, I think. And the Sad things happen around a table... it’s not about the cooking. It’s about somehow being together."
— Ruthie Rogers, 05:14 & 05:49
A memorable story from podcasting: Elton John, typically reserved, shared unique family memories through the topic of food:
"...but it was only when Elton started talking about politics, potting peas with his grandmother... people who use food, you know, to seduce, to impress, to give joy, to share."
— Ruthie Rogers, 05:31
[06:07 – 07:57]
Rogers discusses her intent to bridge the restaurant’s familial atmosphere with her podcast:
"If you went to every table in this restaurant, everyone has a story... and I think what I wanted to do is talk to people and have their stories told, as I say, through the lens of food."
— Ruthie Rogers, 06:44
The book organizes these interviews around themes like:
Emphasizes the inclusivity of the concept:
"It’s not about famous people, it’s not about celebrities. It’s about people who have stories that we all want to know about... it’s quite democratic."
— Ruthie Rogers, 07:32
[07:57 – 09:28]
"I always say a recipe is half science and half right. And to a recipe is actually, there’s something rather beautiful about listening."
— Ruthie Rogers, 08:55
[09:28 – 09:38]
"My comfort food would be real quick. Tomato sauce."
— Ruthie Rogers, 09:34
"You want people to come to your restaurant and leave, I always say, quite simply, happier than when they arrived."
— Ruthie Rogers, 03:33
"It’s not about the cooking. It’s about somehow being together."
— Ruthie Rogers, 05:49
"Everyone has a story... Their daughter might have graduated, or they could have been fired that day, or their mother might be sick... What I wanted to do is talk to people and have their stories told, as I say, through the lens of food."
— Ruthie Rogers, 06:44
"It’s quite democratic, you know. Yeah, it is, it is."
— Ruthie Rogers, 07:52
"A recipe is half science and half right. And to a recipe is actually, there’s something rather beautiful about listening."
— Ruthie Rogers, 08:55
"My comfort food would be real quick. Tomato sauce."
— Ruthie Rogers, 09:34
The interview is warm, inviting, and reflective—mirroring the ethos of Rogers’ restaurant and podcast. There’s a strong sense of community, authenticity, and thoughtful storytelling threaded throughout the episode.
Ruthie Rogers’ appearance on Bloomberg Businessweek captures the soul of the River Cafe and her passion for connecting people—whether across a table or through the airwaves. Each story, recipe, and meal is an invitation to a broader community, shaped by hospitality, thoughtfulness, and an appreciation for the shared experience of food.