Chef Margot Henderson on Home, Food & Caring for Fergus

Summary

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Homing Podcast: Chef Margot Henderson on Home, Food & Caring for Fergus

Host: Matt Gibberd
Guest: Margot Henderson
Date: June 18, 2026

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Episode Overview

This heartfelt and lively conversation invites listeners into the world of esteemed chef Margot Henderson, best known for her pioneering role in British food culture alongside her husband, Fergus Henderson. Host Matt Gibberd explores the profound influence of home on Margot’s identity—tracing her journey from a rowdy, nurturing New Zealand household to her current creative and loving life in South London. The episode blends stories of family, food, creativity, and the resilience required to navigate love, illness, and the passage of time.

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Key Topics & Insights

Margot’s New Zealand Childhood

[02:38–09:46]

• Grew up in Hutt Valley, Wellington, surrounded by trees and horses, in a home full of art and music.
• Home as a place of nurturing and gathering: “We’d all be surrounding one heater as Mum would be doing her yoga or meditating.” [03:12, Margot]
• Early responsibility as the oldest sibling; caregiving ingrained from a young age.
• Mother was a health-food advocate (inspired by Gaylord Hauser), but Margot rebelled for special occasions: “When it was Tristram’s fifth birthday, I said, mum, we are not having brown biscuits.” [05:31, Margot]
• Learned early not to fear unfamiliar foods and cherished her mother's encouragement toward adventurous eating.

The Role of Food and Restaurants

[09:46–14:13]

• Margot’s mother was a food writer, taking her to classic French restaurants in Wellington.
• Early experiences with fine dining and adventurous tastes: “I had frogs legs for the first time when I was 15.” [10:04, Margot]
• Observed the evolution of Wellington’s food scene from formal to more bistro-style dining.

Family Dynamics and Challenges

[14:14–18:36]

• Parents’ tumultuous relationship and eventual separation at Margot’s age of 18.
• The emotional complexity of family breakups: “Even if they're not happy, that they should stay together… But they weren’t happy and they needed to move on.” [13:30, Margot]
• Father’s struggle with depression and impact on home life; led Margot to seek the city and adventure.

Teenage Years & Pull of London

[16:46–20:14]

• Shift from sports to the allure of punk, music, and the big city.
• The Face magazine as a cultural lifeline: “Sometimes to have less is better, you appreciate it more.” [18:36, Margot]
• London symbolized excitement, creativity, music—described as “the centre of the universe.” Arrival in the city fulfilled a long-held dream despite its colder, rougher edges.

Early Culinary Career in London

[20:55–29:34]

• Started at Pizza Express, then cooked at the National Gallery.
• Pivoted to taking senior kitchen roles after a personal resolution to “push herself” at age 25.
• Learned kitchen rigor at Quality Chop House, adopted discipline from classic French chefs.
• Worked at the Eagle, London’s first gastro pub: “It was hard, so busy… such a new thing to have a pub with great food.” [27:58, Margot]

Meeting Fergus Henderson & Forming a Food Philosophy

[29:34–35:49]

• Met Fergus through London’s restaurant scene; quickly became romantic and professional partners.
• Mutual inspiration: embracing simplicity, honoring ingredients, revolutionary “nose-to-tail” cooking:

  “If God wanted square vegetables, he would have made them… It’s about letting things be themselves and not mucking around with it so much.” [32:35, Margot]

• Brought British food and slow, comforting dishes back into vogue, focusing on texture and restraint.

Home Life, Family, and Balancing Motherhood

[35:49–38:16]

• Recalls the challenge of managing a restaurant and motherhood: “If I could get through a night without crying, it was a miracle.” [37:12, Matt quoting Margot]
• Would have asserted a stronger role in partnership if given a second chance, but cherished both career and family:

  “Work is such an important part of anyone’s life and probably why so many women in the past have gone mad is because they didn’t have work.” [36:24, Margot]

The South London Victorian Home

[38:16–41:26]

• Moved from Covent Garden to Stockwell for space and serenity—a process tinged with nostalgia and practicality.
• Fell for the house and quiet street: “At first it was so quiet that we were whispering in our own house.” [40:51, Margot]
• Created a nurturing, vibrant, plant-filled home, occasionally pushing noise boundaries with legendary parties.

The Vitality of Social Connection

[42:28–43:36]

• Margot’s home is a hub for friends, food, and celebration:

  “You really make friends with somebody when you sit down at a meal together… Lunch and all its possibilities.” [42:45, Margot]

• Convivial gatherings—lunches often turn to dancing. Home as both a sanctuary and a stage.

Art, Creativity, and Restaurant Atmosphere

[44:31–48:49]

• Lives surrounded by art from friends, especially the YBAs (Young British Artists):

  “Art is, you know, it just brings so much to your life, to your thoughts, whether it’s sort of sad or joyful. Like books, they’re telling stories…” [44:43, Margot]

• Artists gravitated to St. John and French House; those creative friendships sparked a dynamic atmosphere.
• At Rochelle Canteen, art, plants, and social warmth balance discipline and rigor.

Generosity, Ritual, and Resilience

[49:11–52:13]

• Describes Rochelle Canteen and the Three Horseshoes as embodiments of warmth, generosity, and strong team dynamics.
• Focus on British seasonal produce, whole-animal butchery, and sustainability—a living food philosophy shaped by place, people, and time.

Caring for Fergus: Illness, Loyalty & Love

[52:22–59:15]

• Margot has become Fergus’s primary carer as he manages Parkinson’s and early onset dementia:

  “Fergus comes to work with me, everyone’s very kind at work with him… He loves being social so much. He doesn’t want to sit at home and just be quiet all the time.” [55:40, Margot]

• Discusses the transformative impact of deep brain stimulation surgery:

  “He got a battery here with two wires into his brain… it instantly changed our lives.” [56:46, Margot]

• Loyalty as a defining part of long-term partnership and friendship:

  “Loyalty—it’s such an incredible emotion, isn’t it?” [58:28, Margot]

• The couple’s marriage, forged quickly, remains a source of strength:

  “The longer you stick in, the better. I mean, we’ve had such fun… Fergus is fun. He’s up for art and seeing things and making the most of every situation.” [61:39, Margot]

Coping Through Community and Food

[62:18–63:36]

• Enduring hard times with humor, shared meals, and socializing:

  “A few drinks always helps… Friends crying, screaming… Cooking, let’s cook dinner.” [62:26, Margot]

• Restaurants remain a shared joy and source of solace: “We’ve solved our problems a lot through eating out.” [63:14, Margot]

Reflections on Home

[63:44–64:06]

• Home defies narrow definition—it is family, friends, and a feeling:

  “Home is where your heart is, isn’t it? It’s where your family is and your friends.” [63:44, Margot]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On home as sanctuary:

  “Whatever your home's like, it is that sanctuary, isn't it? You walk through the door. Ah, at home, it's always lovely when it's all tidy and fresh and I like the foliage.” [00:02, Margot]

• On food philosophy:

  “Some people thought our food was ugly, but we thought it was so beautiful… to let the ingredients speak for themselves.” [00:11, Margot]
  “If God wanted square vegetables, he would have made them or she… but it’s about letting things be themselves and not mucking around with it.” [32:35, Margot]

• On social life:

  “We’ve solved our problems a lot through eating out.” [63:14, Margot]
  “Lunch and all its possibilities… Might turn into a bit of dancing.” [42:45, Margot]

• On loyalty and resilience:

  “Loyalty… It’s such an incredible emotion, isn’t it?… And caring for each other and watching out as we… it’s going to become more important as you get older.” [58:28, Margot]
  “The longer you stay, that unifying, that coming together, it strengthens the roots.” [61:39, Margot]

• On life with Fergus:

  “He’s such a gentle, warm person. That soul and spirit of him is very much there… We do miss him waking up in the morning saying, what’s for lunch? But he still wants his lunch. Don’t worry, food is very important still.” [55:51, Margot]

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Important Timestamps

• Margot’s home upbringing: [03:00–09:46]
• Birthdays, food rebellion, and early exposure to restaurants: [05:31–11:16]
• Parents’ split and family emotions: [12:09–13:30]
• London dreams and punk scene: [17:07–19:11]
• Early London kitchen life: [20:42–29:34]
• Meeting and collaborating with Fergus: [29:34–36:24]
• Balancing motherhood and career: [36:17–38:16]
• Moving to Stockwell and creating a new home: [38:16–41:26]
• Party culture, social connection at home: [42:28–43:21]
• Art’s presence at home and in restaurants: [44:31–48:49]
• Building Rochelle Canteen and Three Horseshoes: [49:11–52:13]
• Caring for Fergus’s health, partnership, and loyalty: [52:22–59:15]
• Home as a feeling, not a place: [63:44–64:06]

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode is candid, warm, and irrepressibly honest—just like Margot herself. Stories flow organically from childhood reminiscences to frank challenges, full of signature dry wit (“Drinking,” [62:21]) and deep tenderness. The conversation radiates gratitude, resilience, and the profound joys and messiness of building a creative, nourishing life—at home, in kitchens, and among loved ones.

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Transcript

[Margot Henderson]

Whatever your home's like, it is that sanctuary, isn't it? You walk through the door. Ah, at home, it's always lovely when it's all tidy and fresh and I like the foliage, all that sort of thing. I think that brings in a lot of gentleness to the home too. Some people thought our food was ugly, but we thought it was so beautiful and to let the ingredients speak for themselves. We're a team. And he feels that that's a great thing about marriage, I think, or punch or whatever. The longer you stay that unifying, that coming together, it strengthens.

[Matt]

How have you got through those down points then, would you think drinking?

[Narrator/Host]

Hello. Welcome to a new episode of Homing. Today's guest is the chef Margot Henderson. Alongside her husband, Fergus Henderson, she's helped redefine the way we eat with an approach that's simple, honest and rooted in ingredients rather than technique. While Fergus founded St. John, Margot built an acclaimed career of her own through Rochelle, Canteen, Arnold and Henderson, and more recently, the three horseshoes in Somerset. They were both awarded OBEs in 2021. In this conversation, Margot takes me back to her childhood in New Zealand, where her mother introduced her to a world of French restaurants and a lifelong appetite for adventurous eating. We talk about the pull of London in the 1980s, the influence of the Face magazine and the whirlwind romance that led to a lifelong partnership with Fergus. We also explore the Victorian house they've

[Matt]

made their home, much like their food.

[Narrator/Host]

It's both pared back and generous with white walls, art by famous friends and rooms designed to bring people together. And Margot tenderly reflects on marriage, loyalty and care as she discusses Fergus Parkinson's diagnosis and the realities of growing older together. Here it is, and I hope you enjoy it.

[Matt]

Hi, Margot.

[Margot Henderson]

Hi.

[Matt]

Thanks so much for doing this. Thanks for inviting us into your lovely home. It's very special to be here. We'll talk about this place, but let's start back in the. In the midst of time. You're a New Zealander, right?

[Margot Henderson]

Yes. Kiwi born.

[Matt]

Kiwi born and bred. So where did you grow up?

[Margot Henderson]

In Wellington, in Hutt Valley, So a suburb of Wellington.

[Matt]

Wellington. Okay. And what, what was your home like?

[Margot Henderson]

We had a lovely, lovely home surrounded in trees. A bungalow, as British people call it. We just call it a house, a one story house. We didn't. It was just a house that had four bedrooms that my dad built the extension and he built the garage. And we were on half an acre with a tennis court and lots of trees. And then the house went down into a gully, what she called a gully with a creek. And we would roam around in the bush. Called a bush, not a forest. We kept horses about half an hour's walk away on a big massive fields. And the house was full of art, lots of music. Always wake up in the morning, it was quite cold, and we'd all be surrounding one heater as Mum would be doing her yoga or meditating. And, you know, it was a big table that we all ate around. It was, you know, friendly, warm house, lots of windows and trees.

[Matt]

Okay, that sounds lovely.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, it's a really good house.

[Matt]

So something about what kind of siblings do you have, then?

[Margot Henderson]

I have a sister and two brothers. Oh, no, I've got more than I've got. I forgot. Sorry, I've got.

[Matt]

Hang on, have you missed out here?

[Margot Henderson]

I've got two half sisters. My father had children when I was. They're my children's age, Rachel and Sarah.

[Matt]

So he. He. Did he remarry then?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, he remarried and they grew up in Christchurch and Melbourne and they're very successful filmmaker. And this is Rachel on tv. You know, she does the news bulletins. Yeah.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Margot Henderson]

And she's in Washington at the moment.

[Matt]

Okay, so that's your half sister?

[Margot Henderson]

Two half sisters.

[Matt]

And then I have a full.

[Margot Henderson]

My Sister Nikki, she's 18 months younger than me and Tristram, my brother Tristram, and my brother Robyn.

[Matt]

Okay, where are you in the hierarchy, then?

[Margot Henderson]

I'm the oldest.

[Matt]

The oldest.

[Margot Henderson]

The mature one.

[Matt]

Yeah. So tell me about that. I mean, we sometimes talk about that on the podcast, but what do you think about being the oldest?

[Margot Henderson]

I think there's a lot of nurturing, caring, having younger. I mean, my sister and I were 18 months, so there was more of a bit of a fight, you know, and actually she was more very organized and had the tidiest room and would always be telling me off. The way I washed the dishes, I was like, we're just washing the dishes. Have you been up to the horses? But my brother's five years younger and six years younger. You know, I was quite. You know, I looked after them.

[Matt]

What do you mean by that?

[Margot Henderson]

Well, you know, when they were babies, we changed the nappies. You carry them around on your hip, you know, you're proper mummy. And then did my mother, she was a health nut. And I said, when it was the. I think Tristram's fifth birthday, I said, mom, we are not having brown biscuits. And it was all brown. And I said, I need white sugar, I need white flour. And we're going to do a proper birthday. So I started catering, making meringues and all that when I was 10.

[Matt]

Really?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. So that because New Zealand birthdays, it would be sliced white bread with hundreds and thousands in color and jelly and oranges and, you know, there'd be a whole spread on the table. It was amazing.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

And mum was very special. But it would be brown biscuits and a salad and brown bread and sunflower seeds. And they're like, it's not gonna cut the mustard.

[Matt]

I have a feeling my kids will say the same about their mum. Have to say.

[Margot Henderson]

But there's times you just got to, you know, break out sometimes when it's a birthday and go a bit crazy. And a little bit of sugar now and again, it's not gonna kill us all.

[Matt]

Definitely.

[Margot Henderson]

Though we did come out in boils. Cause we never had sugar. So after the party you did, or when we went to stay with our grandparents, you know, I think you need, you know, it's moderation. It's good, isn't it? It's not like nothing that's interesting. Yeah.

[Matt]

So your mum was a health nut?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. When I was two, she discovered there was a big health guru from America. Can't remember its name, but she really got into his preachings and she even get us to hold a bowl of white sugar and then a pendulum. We'd have to hold the pendulum or she'd hold the pendulum and then the pendulum would tell you whether it was. You were allergic to it or not.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Margot Henderson]

And with white sugar, of course, it spins in the negative way because it's so bad for you. So refined. And she said, look, see how bad that is for you? We'd go to. When we were sick, we'd go to colorists and things.

[Matt]

What do you mean, hold colour?

[Margot Henderson]

Like electric things.

[Matt]

What does that mean, you hold colour?

[Margot Henderson]

I don't know.

[Matt]

It was all like so sort of color therapy almost.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Matt]

Okay. I wrote this down. Was it Gaylord Hauser?

[Margot Henderson]

Yes, yes, yes. That's the guy.

[Matt]

Yeah. Okay. So she was a bit of a disciple of his then.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. Which was brilliant. You know, we had cider vinegar and honey was our juice. Was our cordial. Brown bread, molasses. No chocolate. Carob. We had carob. Cause it was all that. It was fun. I quite enjoyed it, actually. My brothers struggled more. Yeah, yeah.

[Matt]

What did that teach you about food in general, though? I mean, I suppose it's telling you that food and nutrition is very important, isn't it?

[Margot Henderson]

I think it's not to be scared of unusual things.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Margot Henderson]

You know, you know, we were. I definitely wasn't nervous of eating things that might be a bit strange. But I do remember going to some French people up the road and they had a green salad and there was just green leaves and this beautiful mustard dressing and chips and a steak. And I thought, wow. I mean, I think I must have been about seven and thinking that was so cool and precise. Where our salad would be pineapples, sunflower seeds, cabbage salad, you know, raisins. Everything was there and very nutritious, lots of fiber. But. And I really enjoyed. Mum was a great, she's a great cook but in a different. It's not, it doesn't come from a cuisine but you know, we were open to lots of food and I was, you know, I would eat oysters, smelly cheese, mushrooms. Well, you have to like mushrooms, don't you? They just smell so good.

[Matt]

But you don't have to. Lots of kids don't.

[Margot Henderson]

But I remember getting field mushrooms and that smell with the garlic and just thinking if something smells that good, it's got to be. But I think it's about being open minded about food. And then Mum actually became a food writer. So that definitely helped with the love of the restaurant.

[Matt]

Okay, so tell me about that. Did you go to restaurants with her?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, we did. She wrote two books called Eating Houses in Wellington and one called Eating Houses in Christchurch. And she did it with the mayor of Wellington, Michael Fowler and Jeff Kennedy. They were little. She sort of. She went to the mayor and said, look, give me some money, I'm going to do this book, it'll be good for Wellington. He said, no, but I'll do the drawings. And they became a team and they were great books. And at that stage in Wellington there were these sort of incredible restaurants like Le Normandie, El Casino. They were sort of very classic old school French. You know, I had frogs legs for the first time when I was 15, you know, but serious waiting. And then it got into the more sort of wooden floors, casual dining that we know now. But back when I was a kid, even to get a license in Wellington you needed to have carpet in the loo, in the toilet. That's how you would get a license. So that sort of departure to more, you know, a bottle of wine on the table, more relaxed sort of friendly dining is like a bistro in France. Was quite unusual when I was a child. But I mean, Wellington had some really great. I remember going to meet Mum for lunch when I was at the convent school. Running out of school, going to meet her and having an artichoke vinaigrette for the first time and learning how to suck the leaves and, you know, it was.

[Matt]

Funnily enough, I had a similar experience with my kids not long ago. We were in Suffolk and they had their first globe artichoke and it blew their mind.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, it's so brilliant, isn't it?

[Matt]

It's just amazing.

[Margot Henderson]

And then apart from the sucking, which is great fun, and the leaves and how you place the leaves on the plate. I mean, mine, obviously, great big chaotic pile. But an architect or, you know, you can tell a lot by the way people put their leaves down on the plate. But then you get the heart, the jewel, the most special bit once you've pushed off all the choke. And, I mean, it's got so many layers in artichoke. It's amazing.

[Matt]

Yeah, it does. So. So that's your mum. What about your dad?

[Margot Henderson]

My dad. Journalist, and then went into pr. Was in PR for years and then moved to Christchurch when my parents split up.

[Matt]

How old were you at that point?

[Margot Henderson]

I was 18. And, yeah, Mum said, off you go. And she took his mother and so Granny Chook. Granny Chook and Granddad Jock. Anyway, Jock was dead. Chuckie comes to live with Mum. She was going a bit totty.

[Matt]

This is his mother.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. And he went and lived in her granny flat in Christchurch and had a great life. Ran the newspaper in Christchurch. Married new young beautiful woman, Marianne, and they had two children. So, you know, it was a good change of life, sort of, you know, whole new life for him. He went because my family are South Londoners and not South London is South Islanders. Sorry, South Island.

[Matt]

You're a South Londoner.

[Margot Henderson]

I'm a South Londoner now. Seven years. Yeah. So they went to Lipton, Christchurch.

[Matt]

Okay, so you were 18. Do you remember much about the sort of unraveling of that relationship? Was that quite clear to see, or were you quite surprised when it. It disbanded?

[Margot Henderson]

I could, yeah. No, it needed to be disbanded, but it was still very upsetting. Somebody came and said to me, oh, well, that was. That's great, isn't it? That needed to happen.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Margot Henderson]

Sally Sieville, my cousin, I said, well, it's still upsetting that when your parents split up, you sort of have this idea, even if they're not happy, that they should stay together. But they weren't happy and they needed to move on. You know, mum had been 21 when she married. Dad was 30. They were going. And then in the end they became very good Friends in the end. So it was. You know, things had changed. And dad had been a grumpy old kid, you know. You know, I think he was much happier when he moved to Christchurch, so it was good for everyone. And Mum went on to have many lovely relationships and new life. Sold the house, moved to another house. Yeah.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah.

[Matt]

As you say, it's still a sad thing when. When your parents split up like that. No matter what age you are, was there anything else in your childhood that felt challenging, difficult? I mean, it sounds like the home is a lovely place to be, but what. What was the sort of. What was. What were the adverse conditions you were operating in?

[Margot Henderson]

My parents not getting on very well. Yeah, my dad, I think he got depressed. He was depressed and, yeah, I think he sort of lost his way. And I think, you know, he was a journalist, but should have probably been a writer, but never felt the confidence to be a writer. You know, he was a very well written. He was a clever guy, but he. I think he got a bit low and maybe drunk a little bit too much, but in a slightly depressing way. And that's the worst one, isn't it? Not for the joy that I suppose. I wanted to get out. I left home quite young, so, you know, the Hutt Valley, you feel like you're stuck out there and the sticks. I decided to go to this convent school, not the local high school, because it was closer to town. I was moving out when I was 13. I was working out how to get out of the Hutt Valley. But, I mean, the Hutt Valley is a brilliant place as well, but it had lots. I mean, for me, I wanted to be in Wellington in the big smoke.

[Matt]

Did you? Why do you think you did?

[Margot Henderson]

I just wanted the, you know, the excitement, the social. I didn't just want shopping malls, you know. You know, and that's what the Hut Valley was turning into. They were losing the shops, the shopping malls were coming and, you know, McDonald's opened. And so I think it wasn't even a conscious thing, really, but I just think in. Somewhere in me, I wanted to experience different things. And I went to a great. I went to the school. I was sports mad. But, you know, I just wanted to be, I suppose, in that it seemed exciting. It was right next to Parliament. It was an old building. It looked like sort of. We called it Colditz. You know, I thought I was sort of excited by the nuns. You know, they were sort of crazy and weird and it all felt very different than the high school that I'd Been going to.

[Matt]

So did you get on well at school with your peers and things like that?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, I had good friends. I was good at school for a couple of years.

[Matt]

Then what happened?

[Margot Henderson]

And then it all went wrong. I mean, I was really into sports and schoolwork, and then I suddenly became more about. You know, I was. Became. I suppose punk rock took over socializing weekends. You know, the horses went, the athletics went.

[Matt]

The horses always go, don't they?

[Margot Henderson]

They always go, boys, horses, you know. So, yeah, and there was quite a big band scene in Wellington, and there was a punk scene, and it was. It was really exciting. And there was lots of bands coming from Europe and local bands, and we were all running around after them.

[Matt]

It's interesting, isn't it? I mean, punk comes up quite a lot. So Chris Packham revealed himself to be a big punk fan. Sue Webster was obviously a big punk fan.

[Margot Henderson]

I mean, that's obvious.

[Matt]

Yeah, that's obvious. Susie and the Banshees, you know, I

[Margot Henderson]

saw Susie and the Banshees. Did you? In Wellington.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. We took great pictures of her. We were right. We were on the top. They'd always come to Wellington Town hall, which was quite small. Saw the Clash there, Sting, all sorts of it. Susie was there. I mean. I mean, she's incredible.

[Matt]

That's brilliant, isn't it?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. Yeah. I don't know why they were all going to Wellington, but it must have been on the. You know, on the tour. And you went to Wellington, you mustn't have made much money. But we were buying records and we were obsessed with the Face magazine. And it would arrive three months after it come out in London, by the time it got there, because it went on a boat and we just. God, we just poured through it. I mean, sometimes to have less is better, you know, you appreciate it more.

[Matt]

What do you mean? Because it was the magazine and you all read it. Is that what you mean?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, we all read it, but also not to have, you know, phone, you know, not to be. Because now everyone's aware of everyone's culture. We didn't know what was going on, so we devoured it.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

And. Oh, we just wanted to be in London, you know. Did you? Yeah. That was what everyone just talked about, whether they were going to London or they were coming back from London because their visas had run out. You're either depressed because you aren't in London or you're depressed because you've come back.

[Matt]

That's so interesting. What was it about London, then?

[Margot Henderson]

It was just, you know, Big Ben,

[Matt]

Big Ben,

[Margot Henderson]

you know, London was just the fashion scene and the music scene was what we wanted. It was cool. I mean, I think I arrived to 84, 85, and it was so dark. There were no restaurants. There was nowhere. There were pubs, of course, but pubs can be quite dark as well. It wasn't the endless lighting that we have now. It was. It felt much. I mean, it was very exciting and we had a. You know, it's great to be here. It was much colder, too.

[Matt]

Colder here.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, Much cold. I mean, like, there was ice, snow. London, you couldn't walk down the streets because of the ice. I mean, it's warmed up a lot.

[Matt]

Is that. Do you not get that in Wellington then? No, no, no, it doesn't get that cold.

[Margot Henderson]

You get ice. Okay. You have very frosty mornings, but no snow. Up on the hills a little bit. But in the south island you do, but not Wellington.

[Matt]

Yeah. Okay.

[Margot Henderson]

We have earthquakes, right? We've got earthquakes. You know, you learn to drop when you're at school.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Margot Henderson]

Fire drill, earthquake drill. And then they take you on trips on a bus from one end of the fault line to the other for geography. And it's just where you live.

[Matt]

Yeah. That's amazing, isn't it? So earthquake is quite. Quite a regular occurrence.

[Margot Henderson]

Yep. I mean, well, there was a massive one in Christchurch a while ago that was terrible. But Wellington has a few, but they haven't been bad ones.

[Matt]

Yeah. So 1984, you came to London. Why was that? Was that to study or what? What were you doing?

[Margot Henderson]

I came to work and. No, I done with studying and I came, as I said, to see Big Ben. I was but in love and with a British woman. And I came up, lived in Wimbledon, got my first job at Pizza Express and. Yeah. And started a great life.

[Matt]

How did you meet her then?

[Margot Henderson]

In Wellington? Her family were working there.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Margot Henderson]

And we were working at the Mexican cantina.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Margot Henderson]

And then I came to London and we split up.

[Matt]

Yeah, it sounds like she was a good passport to the place.

[Margot Henderson]

She was great. Yeah. And her name was Benny. So I always say, I'm going to see Big Ben. But, you know, we just had. There was a group of that were from New Zealand. But I said to my best friend Frannie, we are going out. We are going to meet British people. And she was very beautiful. I said, can you just try and smile, Frannie? Because, you know, it does help when you're meeting people. Anyway, I'll do the talking. It will be okay. And we started to meet British people and they're Also, not just. We had lots of New Zealand friends as well, but you can get a bit stuck and it's hard to branch out. And also British people seem very snooty and like, oh, they didn't like our accents. We felt vulnerable as well. But you had to push through that and say, no, no, that's not a problem. And then I moved into central London and was living under the Post Office Tower and I got a job at the National Gallery in the canteen and I just thought my life was made.

[Matt]

What were you doing?

[Margot Henderson]

I was cooking.

[Matt]

Really?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah.

[Matt]

Was that your first cooking job?

[Margot Henderson]

No, I'd had loads, but I wasn't about is living in central London. I was working at the National Gallery. Yeah. Simple. What a sweet girl she was. No, it was great. It was good.

[Matt]

So what, so what was the moment where. The sort of slightly career changing moment for you then from there, I mean,

[Margot Henderson]

at that stage I was more working to live, to travel and I really enjoyed being in kitchens. And when I worked at the National Gallery, it was Justin de Blanc, who was the caterer there. All the food was made in house, so all the stews, all the biscuits, everything. So it was really good food. And then I went my visa round, I went to Australia and I started working in some really good restaurants. And I decided when I was 25 that it was time to push myself forward rather than sitting back. And it was. That was a sort of. I had been always cooking, but sort of not really pushing myself, like, oh, I'm happy in this. Sitting back in the kitchen, so. And then it all changed. It's amazing what happens when you do push yourself a bit.

[Matt]

So what changed?

[Margot Henderson]

Well, I got offered a job. No, a job came up. I was working at 192 in Notting Hill and I said, can I be the sous chef? And they said, no, I wasn't up to it. I said, fair enough. And then somebody offered me a head chef job. So I said, well, I have to take it because of the New Year's resolution. And I just think before, if I hadn't said that, push yourself, I wouldn't have taken it. I would have been too scared. And I just fought through the fear. And also employed a lot of really good chefs. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So a lot of the way I've learned to cook is through having great teams who have really helped me. And. Yeah. Anyway, I was at First Floor in Notting Hill and that was quite.

[Matt]

So that was your first head chef job?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah.

[Matt]

How long were you there for?

[Margot Henderson]

Not that long. About Six months.

[Matt]

Okay. What went wrong?

[Margot Henderson]

Well, I had to go home. I went back to New Zealand. I didn't. The place was a bit of a struggle for me, actually. There was a sort of attitude. We got some really good reviews and everyone was a bit smuggy pants. I was like, this can change at any minute, you know, and it's sort of this attitude, oh, we're so busy. And actually, this could change any sector and be grateful to your customers. It was a bit of a wild old place, but. And I just also felt I needed to learn more, and I sort of overstepped the mark a bit. But, you know, I was in there and I wanted to learn different things. So I went to work for Charles Fontaine at the Chop House.

[Matt]

This is the quality chop house in Farringdon.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, yeah. And that was brilliant. He's so, you know, he's so strict and rules, and I hadn't really done that. I was a bit more of a hippie chef. So that was really fantastic. And I love Charles. And I once stepped over the line from the kitchen into the dining room. He went absolutely ballistic. You know, I just didn't know that I wasn't meant to do that. But he's very old school French. You know, he learned his head was shaven. And they carried buckets of coal to make the walk in fridges work. And if they got any coal on their jackets, they were beaten.

[Matt]

They were beaten.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, they're all beaten. Chefs are constantly being beaten. Not anymore, of course.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

But, you know, did you see that then?

[Matt]

What was the culture like in the kitchen then?

[Margot Henderson]

I mean, I never saw that because I just kept away from those places. I was too scared.

[Matt]

Yeah, yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

But, you know, there's been. I mean, striving for all that perfection, you know, can be probably frustrating. But now we'd all meditate together for perfection. And restaurants are doing so well and they've got such, you know, we've moved along a long way, but I think this is with all businesses and all trades. It's all changed so much how we respect the people we work with. And I don't think you can say it's just one defining group of people, but people do like to talk about chefs being a bit brutal. It's a brutal situation. You've got a lot of heat, you've got a lot of pressure all at the one time. And no, I mean, I've been known to shout a bit, but I haven't punched anyone.

[Matt]

It's good to know. And didn't you work at The Eagle as well. Across the road from the Chop House.

[Margot Henderson]

Yep. So I went over to the Eagle and that was a joy. I loved working for David Ear. He's such, he's brilliant chef. His food came from Mozambique and Portugal because when his brother grew up there, so really sort of Portuguese based food with Italian, we cooked. It was hard, you know, it was so busy. Everyone was there. The Guardian was next door and everyone would come for lunch. You know, Damien Hirst, Jade Joplin, they were all in for lunch every day. Because it was such a new thing to have a pub with great food.

[Matt]

Well, it was the original gastro pub in London, wasn't it? And it was just fantastic. And it still is.

[Margot Henderson]

It still is. And it's got the same sense of how it started. I mean, obviously it's a bit more competition now, but I mean we'd cook A hundred, 120, we call it plates of food because there wasn't really starters and mains, but really good quality, yummy, delicious food. And. And in front of us was just hundreds of people. It was quite, it's quite a weird situation to be in because it's quite, it's quite intense. Usually you're a bit away, but Eagle

[Matt]

is really, it's quite performative, isn't it?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, yeah, I can see that.

[Matt]

Was it there that you met Fergus?

[Margot Henderson]

Met Fergus there? Well, we had met one year before when he'd done a pop up. We didn't call them pop ups then, but he'd done a restaurant for six weeks. Yeah, six weeks. But they closed down after four, I think, but in Covent Garden called 17 Mercer street and his partner, Piers Thompson came into the first floor. I was working and said, oh, we're opening this club. And I thought, oh, I'm not gonna be able to afford it. He said, It's 15 pounds to join. I said I might be able to do this one. Anyway, I went to the opening day and you know, Rose Gray was there, all these foodie people I recognized across the room. It felt very exciting. And Fergus cooked pigeon and peas and on my plate I got pigeon and peas. I thought, this guy is amazing. This is so simple, so beautiful. This is what I'm going for. Anyway, a year later we met at the Eagle and then I suggested we open a restaurant together. And we did three weeks later.

[Matt]

Three weeks later?

[Margot Henderson]

Are you serious? Maybe it was a month, but really quickly. The French house dining room.

[Matt]

Okay, so the French house you opened together and were you a couple at that point when you opened it or. Mm. Okay, so that's intense.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, it was great. It was so exciting. We were falling madly in love and we were working together. I mean, it was intense. We, you know, Fergus hadn't worked in that many restaurants because he's an architect

[Matt]

by training, isn't he?

[Margot Henderson]

Yep. He went to the AAA and I think he feels. Well, he is. He feels deeply an architect. But all his architecture was about eating halls and basically St. John, really. That's what all his projects were on. But we connected. Well, we connected. We were connected, but in a food way as well. I was about to bone out all the quails and stuff them, and Fergus said, oh, no, we're going to cook them whole. And I just went, yes, of course. Because I hadn't even thought about that because I was so used to, you know, everything. Boned out chicken breasts. So we poached the chickens whole. So I learned a lot from him and he learned from me as well. Running of a kitchen, you know, all that. Just the sort of basic, straightforward things. Running the kitchen. Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

[Matt]

Exactly. I read in an interview where you said that you were in some ways in awe of Fergus at that point. What, what do you mean by that? What, what is it that you admired and admire about Fergus approach to food?

[Margot Henderson]

Well, I just love it that he has philosophy for a start and that nose to tail and that he's. I mean, he's. I was work. I was just so about following along with the thoughts of somebody else and what they've been telling us and not necessarily agreeing with it. So suddenly we were discussing things and changing things and cooking exactly what we wanted to and what we liked. And to cook slow food, braise things slowly, use the parts behind the fillet. I mean, I'd cooked lots of offal, but we were, you know, offal was a very. It was about different textures and soothing food and, you know, I just loved it. And he's a great guy who has a lot of inspiration. He's got a great voice. He teaches with care. And he always, as he always gives you the reason and the thoughts behind why he thought. I mean, the basic one, not to dice, don't dice. If God wanted square vegetables, he would have made them or she. Or she would have made them. But, you know, now to look at a diced vegetable, for me, it's quite tricky. But it's about letting things be themselves and not mucking around with it so much so that sometimes food can have 20 pairs of hands on it before you. You've actually got it on Your plate. And to have the fl. Let the ingredients speak for themselves, it all just. I mean, nowadays it's just so obvious. But at the time, it was sort of felt very revolutionary and we were doing something quite different. And also the joy of bringing British food onto the plate, that we didn't just have to be European and cooking boiled ham and parsley sauce and pies. I mean, Fergus really brought pies back to how to where we. I mean, it's just. And using things like trotters. It's very. He's also. His food is quite Italian, I would say. I mean, green. He calls it green sauce, but it's actually salsa verde, isn't it? He doesn't have pasta and rice. Okay.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

But, you know, the sense. We went to Italy together and we had a piece of sort of burnt rabbit and we just never forgot. It was always just. There was. We always came back from Italy going less, less, less, because, you know, the food is so simple and beautiful. So that was, you know, it was about. With elegant food. Some people thought our food was ugly, but we thought it was so beautiful. And it may not have red peppers in it, just to give it colour, you know, and it was quite brown and textural and more unctuous. Yeah, yeah.

[Matt]

What was it like for you when Fergus opened St. John?

[Margot Henderson]

Well, it was so exciting. And, I mean, when we first saw the space, I was terrified. But he could see it so easily. He just got it and had, you know, he's incredibly confident man, Fergus, you know, very sure of his thoughts when it comes to food and architecture. So it was very exciting to follow along and see what he did. And, of course, you know, painted all the walls white. All the big smoke rooms, they cleaned them all up and they were going to be white. But even at the French house, I was like, uniforms, that's a bit much. But actually, the uniforms at the French were one of the best things. It makes the seriousness of the way the waiter is the sentinel. He should never kneel down the floor and take your order. Stay stronger, let them come up to you. I mean, be polite. I'm not saying be rude and snooty, but that is your job. And to have that slight gap, I think it strengthens the waiter as well. And the uniform does help with that. And it looks good too, of course, but the white walls going up to the dining room, I mean, it was just going in there. It was just so exciting, all having a brilliant time. But then he was off, you know, getting, you know, it was all going for him.

[Matt]

Yeah. He reached the stars at that point, didn't he?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. And because he had such original things to say, which I probably use a bit some of Fergus lines but you know, he's got such a great original brain. So that all came in and it was exciting, but I was a bit. Having the babies.

[Matt]

Okay, well, tell me about that then. So you became a mom.

[Margot Henderson]

Baby Gaga. But I had the French house, so I kept the French house. And Melanie, John Spiteri was Ferguson's partner. They went off the men and did St. John with Trevor. And I stayed with the little restaurant and had the babies. But I was completely baby gaga. But if I thought about it now, I would not let that happen.

[Matt]

Well, tell me about that then. What do you mean by that?

[Margot Henderson]

I would say, no, I'm your partner, I'm coming with you.

[Matt]

Right.

[Margot Henderson]

And I should have been a bit stronger but you know, I was loving having children as well. I wanted lots. Well, I had three. It's not lots, but, you know, it's enough. And we lived in Covent Gardens, so it was great to work at the French house. Work. I think work is such an important part of anyone's life and probably why so many women in the past have gone mad is because they didn't have work. And then you think you have to push your work through your children. No wonder they become pushy mums. You know, it's all sort of make sense. But if you have good work, you can balance your life out. And yeah, having my restaurants has been a great strengthening for me and looking after my children, you know, because I needed to have both because looking after kids can be quite hard.

[Matt]

Totally. Must have been chaos for you. I mean, I read something where you said if I could get through a night without crying, it was a miracle. That's quite, that's a, that's a full on statement. So was it, what was it like that period?

[Margot Henderson]

I think I'm talking about being pregnant.

[Matt]

All right.

[Margot Henderson]

I think I'm talking about being pregnant and working in the kitchen and you're really tired and you know, and you've got a big tummy and, and your legs are aching and I mean, in the end when I had small, when I got, I ended up moving out of the kitchen quite a lot and becoming more managed and you know, discussing with the chefs. But we used to go in every day, I'd take my little kids, kids into the kitchen, talk about the menu with the chefs. But we had so many great chefs that, you know, I, I think I was probably there More than they needed me to be. But, you know, you. I learned from them, they learned from me. And, you know, I think it's been important for me to be very involved in. And that's. If it's your business, you can do all that, can't you?

[Matt]

Yeah. Yeah. Let's talk about this house. So we're in southwest London. What would you call this area? What do you call it?

[Margot Henderson]

Stockwell.

[Matt]

Stockwell. Okay. So we're in a Victorian terraced house.

[Margot Henderson]

Yes.

[Matt]

How did you end up being here, and what was it like when you got here?

[Margot Henderson]

How did we get here? We were moving out of our beautiful flat in Covent Garden. It was quite sad.

[Matt]

Why were you moving?

[Margot Henderson]

We'd sort of wrecked it, and we didn't have any money, and. And it was worth quite a lot. But people kept saying, it's a mess. Tell them that we'll offer them less. But we kept saying, we don't really want to move. But it was a time where houses were. They were pricey, and we were thinking east, but it was just crazy. And then I said, what about south London? And focus said, and it seemed close to Soho, which for us was the center of the universe. And not really realizing that actually it was short in the end. But my youngest still went to school in North London. So we needed to be on the Northern line. So we looked down here. We actually came down. The guy, the agent, was an hour late, so it was dark by the time it got here. I'm sure it was a whole ploy, I'm convinced. He said it was the big house across the road, and this is a smaller house. But we sat in. And I had a black cab then. And we sat in the black cab for an hour. And by the time it arrived, we were already in love with the road. And because we love our road, so it felt wider. And it's got a good sense of space about it. Fergus said, yeah, I like this road. This is good. This is good. And so we'd already bought it before we'd even looked at the house, you know, and we needed to move. It had four bedrooms, and it had a garden, and. Yeah, so. And we love Stockwell. It's a really lovely area. It's no tourists. Love the Portuguese shops. And it's very quiet. Actually, at first it was so quiet that we were whispering in our own house because we're going. I mean, we'd been in COVENT GARDEN for 20 years, and the kids went to school in Soho Parish. And, you know, we're used to noise and it was a bit scary sort of tiptoeing around because it was so quiet. But we enjoy it.

[Matt]

You like it?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Matt]

Because you've got a lovely garden at the back with your wisteria and your lovely planting that you showed me around. It's got a very serene atmosphere to it. Do you feel that?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, it's calm, it's gentle. I mean, you know, it's not a big house, but it's. I mean, it's big enough. God, houses take a lot of work, don't they?

[Matt]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

Leaks, roofs, all of it. But it's. It's a real pleasure, this house and we really enjoy living here. We'd probably ruin the neighbors lives a bit. Way too many parties. But we would like. And at first the. I chopped all the garden down and they were a bit upset about that. I think they thought I was going to concrete it over. But now they're happy about the garden and we have less parties because our children have moved out.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Margot Henderson]

But you know, and we're a bit older probably.

[Narrator/Host]

Excuse the quick interruption. Firstly, I wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who listens to this podcast. The response to Homing has been far, far beyond anything I've expected. I've really, really appreciated all the messages of support I've had and the many people who've taken the time to tell me how much they connect with the show. A special thank you of course, to everyone who signed up on Patreon. Those memberships genuinely do help keep the lights on and make it possible for me to continue creating the podcasts and filming the house tours. Secondly, as the audience continues to grow show, I'm beginning to look for a small number of partners for the show. If you're involved with a brand that shares Homing's interests in design, nature, well being and the way we live, I would really love to hear from you. You'll find my contact details in the show notes. Thank you very much. And back to the conversation.

[Matt]

But on the parties thing, it's, you know, you obviously like to have a good time, right. Is that that to be. Is that fair?

[Margot Henderson]

You're like terror jolly.

[Matt]

Yeah. You're a convivial bon viva in some ways, aren't you? What? Why is that? Why do you like to live like that?

[Margot Henderson]

I think people, you know, picks you up. I love the social. I think you really make friends with somebody when you sit down at a meal together and then, you know, lunch and all its possibilities, you know, we could a lovely lunch that Might turn into a bit of. Of dancing, chatting to the whole table. You know how you move around a table, you might talk to this person, that person, sort of. Yeah, bringing people together, eating good food, drinking lovely wine. It's a big part of our lives. And a bit of dancing on top.

[Matt]

Yeah, and a bit of dancing on top. And is it usually lunch as well as lunch better than dinner?

[Margot Henderson]

Well, just because I like to go to bed so early these days. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but. Yeah, but lunches I find better. But. Yeah, but I'll also be having dinner next week with some friends, so, you know. Yeah. Here.

[Matt]

So it's obviously quite a convivial place. It's somewhere that you gather with friends and family. Is it also a place of privacy? Is it a place that you kind of use to find your own space as well, to be.

[Margot Henderson]

Well, once you've done all the jobs that I also know. Yeah, it's been. It's very gen. Yeah, it's soothing. It's a good place to sit, to have a good think about all the stuff that's going on because, you know, we have busy lives. There's a lot of different components whirling around and. Yeah, home is such a, you know, whatever it is, whatever your home's like, it is that sanctuary, isn't it? You walk through the door. Ah. At home it's always lovely when it's all tidy and fresh and I like the foliage, all that sort of thing. I think that brings in a lot of gentleness to the home too.

[Matt]

Yeah. So you've got a lot of art in here. You've got this wall of Sarah Lucas works, which is amazing. There's lots of stuff above the fireplace and things. Why do you like to live with art? What does that add to your life?

[Margot Henderson]

Looks great. Thought provoking. I just think art is, you know, it just brings so much to your life, to your thoughts, whether it's sort of sad or joyful. It's. I mean, like books, they're telling stories, they're giving you just. I mean, how do they come up with all this stuff? Artists? I mean, the reason why I'm like, God, thank God I'm not an artist. But, yeah, I take a lot of pleasure from it and I suppose a bit of it is also the pleasure of owning things a bit. You know, possessions, you know, having lovely things around that you love and that you're incredibly fond of. I think artwork's like that.

[Matt]

Do you know quite a few artists,

[Margot Henderson]

met a few along the way?

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

St. John the artist well, they started coming to the French first and then St. John definitely was. Fergus called me once, I'm at the French house and he said, sarah Lucas is in the restaurant. I'm like, oh my God, I'm coming down, I'm coming down. Of course. But she. Yeah, they all the Ybas. Weird name. But they all were really enjoying it. They loved it. They got it where a lot of people were struggling with St. John. It's whites, walls and things. And I just. They understood it straight away, that whole group and that friendship. They had studios around that area at that time. So it was a social buzz. And that's what you want in a restaurant. You want artists, you want the people communicating. They bring so much atmosphere and you know, just the argument why there's no art on the walls at St. John. Well, you're the art, the people. And just the hanging of the coats, all of that, that comes together there. I mean there was just. It was very exciting. And then we started bringing them home to. You know, they came to our home. We cooked for people at home. And I was doing catering as well. So I started catering for Sadie Coles and lots of galleries, J. Joplin. So that was all happening. So it was all coming from all directions and we made some great friends. Friends for life.

[Matt]

Yeah. So there's no art, no flowers, no music. Is that right?

[Margot Henderson]

It's Fergus and so on? Yeah, yeah.

[Matt]

Do you carry that through to Rochelle Canteen as well?

[Margot Henderson]

Did a bit, but not so much now. Yeah. I've got tired of this wall. I don't think it looks any good. It needs. Cause Fuggers has shaker hooks all around the walls. So in a way that is the art. But I've got one wall that just looking a bit like sad. So we've been hanging some up there. We had a Kai Altoff, amazing painter up for a while. We've had Don Brown who did this beautiful rose. We've. At the moment we've got Johnny Shenkerd, who's just published a beautiful book of photographs of landscapes. And we've got three of his. And it looks. I mean, it's quite fun actually. I'm really enjoying it. Let's get some art. And we're talking about having another. Another show at the end of the year. So it's quite. It's just very. Whatever happens, they can leave it up for a few months. It's not like we've been serious gallery or anything, but we don't have music because the noise of the chatter of the people is Enough, isn't it? I even find it hard eating with music in the background. But we love music. But this place, I think to eat with music, I mean, not always. Not so strict, actually, at the pub, because I've got a pub in Somerset. Three Horseshoes. Sometimes it can be almost. The silence can be too much. So you do need a bit of background music. Music has got many places. It's just getting it right, isn't it, you know.

[Matt]

So how would you describe the Rochelle canteen and the Three Horseshoes, then, in terms of a sort? You've obviously built on the experiences of where you've been previously. You've obviously built on the St John Legacy to some extent. But how do you feel like, what does it represent for you? I suppose the way that you especially approach a place to eat.

[Margot Henderson]

I mean, they're both very different places. Rochelle grew out of a bike shed. Melanie and I, with three small children, each needed to be very flexible. And we were doing catering and, you know, we didn't have a license for years, so the catering was very much part of what we were doing to make money. And now, since COVID we've got our beautiful plastic tent and a vine that we get about 10 kilos of grapes from every year.

[Matt]

All right.

[Margot Henderson]

And we freeze, juice it and freeze it and make sorbet. But, I mean, the vine this year is really looking. There's so much. You can see all the grapes starting and it comes out of one pot. But, you know, the feeling is, I suppose. Well, I mean, the essence is great food. For me, it's food first, but the staff, warmth from the staff is to have a convivial place but with rigor. And, you know, we have flowers sometimes and not always, you know, and the flowers come and go. The team is the most important thing, really. It's how the kitchen and the front of house work together. And the food is British, but sort of moves towards Europe as well. So, you know, modern European.

[Matt]

Yeah, I suppose. I think of abundance. Generosity.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, Warm. Yeah, generosity. We want it to feel generous.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

The pub is very generous. Nai Smith is the chef there. His food is really strong. Strong in flavor and style. And his. And the person that he is, you know, I can just see Nye in his food. And so that's what we want. People to express themselves and their creativity, to look at what's around them, their produce. So Somerset is just amazing for that. I mean, the producers, we've got Wescombe up the day, up the road, somebody else has. Everyone's got a pig they're breeding in the back of their garden. Both places we buy whole animals. Hector, my son's the head chef at Rochelle and he's butchering away his huge hind leg of beef today. There's a lot of. I think that makes it very important. And the love. And they need to know where the produce is coming from. To have good produce. That has been animals that have been well looked after. Fish that is not. That's come from the right place at the right time. Because we must look after our oceans as much as with our farming. Yeah. And vegetables. Even in Britain, our vegetables are getting better. They are really starting to. We're getting really beautiful vegetables that aren't great, big old brutes that are just being picked because they weigh a lot. So, Yeah, I mean, it's a very exciting time, if not a bit more competitive.

[Matt]

Yeah, yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

Everyone's a chef these days.

[Matt]

So tell me about getting back to the home. Tell me about. What are your sort of routines, your everyday kind of rituals here. How does it support just your everyday life?

[Margot Henderson]

You know, it's pretty basic. You know, it's washing, cleaning. You know, Fergus is not so well these days, so there's a lot of caring for him. And I think that's really important to have him with us and not be just sending him off to some. I don't care or something. So focus is a big part of every day. The garden is very important. So, I mean, if I'm ever but upset about something, I'm in the garden digging, because that helps me. Cooking, that lovely kitchen. I love being in the kitchen cooking. So. Yeah. And also relaxing. Watching television or having friends. I mean. Yeah, it's about using. It's not a very big house, so it's easy to use each room. It's not like we have a whole area that's not being used. It's all very functional. And do you yoga here where we're sitting now?

[Matt]

Do you do yoga?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, I do. Adrian.

[Matt]

Adrian, Adrian.

[Margot Henderson]

She's on YouTube. I love her.

[Matt]

All right.

[Margot Henderson]

She's really lovely.

[Matt]

Adrian, the yoga guru.

[Margot Henderson]

She's just the sweetest person in the world. I feel she's talking to me.

[Matt]

Really?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. There's. Yeah, So a bit of all of that. And it's nice to have outside, inside and just hanging out. You know, we do a lot of hanging out. And sometimes I say, in the weekend, we are staying south. We're not going over the bridge. But I love crossing the bridges. I think that's been one of the loveliest things about moving south is that we're constantly seeing the river. Being with the river and the river is amazing. I wish we had more, you know, wish we were all doing more on the river.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

I mean, what a great city. It's a brilliant city. I love it.

[Matt]

And are you a tidier?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, I'm always tidying.

[Matt]

Yeah. But you. Someone that's bothered when things aren't in their place.

[Margot Henderson]

Well, not. I mean, that's bothered and bothered. Now people who are bothered would say, I'm not bothered.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Margot Henderson]

But you know, I like it, I love it. We do have a cleaner. And when she's been. Life is always better.

[Matt]

Yeah. That's a good day, isn't it?

[Margot Henderson]

It's the fresh day. So things get out of place but then they come back into place.

[Matt]

You touched on Fergus there and his illness. So for those people that aren't aware, can you just explain what that is? And when he was first diagnosed.

[Margot Henderson]

So Fergus got Parkinson's when he was about 34. That was a. I mean we did. I hadn't even really heard of Parkinson's, but we learned pretty quickly that we were very lucky because it's not a life threatening disease. And now he has got early onset dementia. Which I was thinking, what's going wrong with Fergus? This is so odd. Anyway, I googled for the first time, I'm not a googler of illness.

[Matt]

Did you?

[Margot Henderson]

And they seem to go hand in hand. But you know, he's doing really well. He sometimes has bad, worse days than days. Sometimes he's. I mean, it's meant to be routine, it's meant to be very important and we're not so good at routine. But you know, Fergus comes to work with me, everyone that's very kind at work with him, you know, and he's sometimes I think, is he having a nice time? And we're in a social atmosphere and I said, are you all good? And he'll say, I'm fantastic. And he loves being social so much. He doesn't want to sit at home and just be quiet all the time. So we, you know, it's about a good balance. And he's such a gentle, warm person, you know, that soul and spirit of him is very much there, but is warm. We do miss him waking up in the morning saying, what's for lunch? But he still wants his lunch. Don't worry, food is very important still. Yeah. And he's actually quite fit. And his Parkinson's, because he's got two Y's in his brain, he's got DBs so he moved like crazy. When he first got Parkinson's, it was a whirlwind. Just didn't stop moving. And then he got a battery here with two wires into his brain in Queen Square at the hospital there, and it changed our lives. He stopped moving.

[Matt]

Really.

[Margot Henderson]

I mean, like a whirlwind, he could still move, but it completely instantly changed our lives. Knives.

[Matt]

How amazing.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. I hope the wires aren't going rusty. That's what I always say to the doctors, to the absolute angels in Queen Square.

[Matt]

Oh, wow.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah.

[Matt]

So how. How does it affect your everyday life? Because it must be a big deal.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah, I'm a bit of a carer.

[Matt]

You're a bit of a carer, yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

So it's like, what's happening with Fergus? Is he okay? You know. Yeah, all that sort of thing.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

I mean, he doesn't cook for me anymore. That's really annoying.

[Matt]

That is a shame. Yeah, that is.

[Margot Henderson]

I could really do with a Fergus meal. Yeah, he's a great cook. Yeah, he was such a good cook. But no, we have. We're having a very good life and, you know, we're in our 60s, so it's fine to slow down a bit. We're off to Scotland on holiday soon and. Yeah, we've been to. We went to Thailand for Christmas.

[Matt]

Wow.

[Margot Henderson]

So, you know, we're doing stuff. It's good.

[Matt]

How do you make sure that you're okay through all of that, though?

[Margot Henderson]

Friends, family? Yeah, my friends. Sometimes we've thought about moving to the country, but I couldn't because I'd have to move away from our friends. It's hard enough moving to South London. Are your friends going to come and see you in South London? But they do come, all those North Londoners. The great divide.

[Matt]

Would it be fair to say that. That loyalty is important to you?

[Margot Henderson]

Yes. Loyalty is such a. It's such an incredible emotion feeling, isn't it? Or people are loyal, staff are loyal. Loyalty, it's a great. Are we loyal to the Labour Party?

[Matt]

Loyalty from a political standpoint, that may

[Narrator/Host]

be a different thing.

[Margot Henderson]

I'm just worried about that. I've been thinking about loyalty. I am still loyal to the Labour Party. Yeah. Loyalty and friendship and caring for each other and watching out as we. I think it's going to become more important as you get older and nurturing, watching out, all that sort of thing.

[Matt]

Yeah. Through thick and thin.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

[Matt]

The two of you are married, aren't you? Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

Got married after knowing each other seven months.

[Matt]

Did you?

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah.

[Matt]

What was your wedding Day, like, it was brilliant.

[Margot Henderson]

Oh, my God. We got married in the Sevenet Forest. 300 people. I knew 50. And we was in this beautiful church in the middle of the Sevenet Forest. I was in Gold is Himayaki.

[Matt]

What?

[Margot Henderson]

And I had red hair and Victorian paisley shawl and Fergusons and tails. We had a choir who sang from the Jungle Book. We are Friends and Jerusalem, of course. And then we had casselet, and Fergus and I cooked cassoulet. And each. All the ushers put a big pot of cassoulet down on each table.

[Matt]

That's just fantastic.

[Margot Henderson]

It was great. It was a great day. And I had to leave.

[Matt]

What do you mean?

[Margot Henderson]

Everyone said, you have to go because.

[Matt]

Oh, I see, that old tradition thing.

[Margot Henderson]

That's so rubbish. Everyone's telling you you're beautiful and, you know, you're best friends. And we went off to Paris. You're beautiful.

[Matt]

Goodbye.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. And I fell asleep into my steak. Tateau. Yeah. And then we ate a lot in Paris. Fergus. Tripe. One day. This. Another day. Grom for four. Another day, Fergus. I'm exhausted. It's great.

[Matt]

I can picture it. I mean, I think it's worth saying the two of you are. I mean, from a style perspective, just so brilliant, so chic. I mean, you know, it's very nice

[Margot Henderson]

of you to tell me.

[Matt]

No, it's true, though, that the two of you together, it just. It's an amazing thing. And I suppose that's why I'm interested in the loyalty aspect. And, you know, it really feels to me like you are a. You're. You're a unit. It's a kind of unbreakable thing, it seems to me.

[Margot Henderson]

Well, I can't leave him now, can I?

[Matt]

Oh, no, of course.

[Margot Henderson]

That's my favorite movie. But, no, yeah, we are. We're a team. And he feels that. And we've always been a good, good. I mean, God, we've all had our ups and downs, haven't we? God. And that's a great thing about marriage, I think, or partnership, whatever. The longer you stay that unifying, that coming together, it strengthens the roots.

[Matt]

Definitely.

[Margot Henderson]

I mean, it's amazing. I'm really a big believer of marriage.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

And I quite like the signing, too. I think that's helpful.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Margot Henderson]

I think the more locked in, the better, because it has helps, you know, Relationships are so tricky. Anyway, something happens, this happens. But you know that because you signed on the paper with all your friends in front of you, you've sort of really got to stick in there. And the longer you stick in the better. I mean, we've had such fun, too. I mean, Fergus is fun. He's up for fun and art and seeing things and making the most of every situation. So that's been a really great part of our life.

[Matt]

How. How have you got through those down points then, would you think?

[Margot Henderson]

Drinking.

[Matt]

It's not a joke that either, is it?

[Margot Henderson]

A few drinks always helps, doesn't it? Friends crying, screaming. I don't know, I could. Being quite emotional. But, you know, being with people always helps. Cooking, cooking. Let's cook dinner and, you know, and all restaurants, Fergus, if it's only a bad time. Fergus says, I think we need a treat. Let's go. We deserve. No, we deserve a really expensive meal in a restaurant. He would always be saying, I think we really deserve this. And we go up some glamorous meal and everything would be better and we'd have no money. You know, it's not very practical. But, yeah, we've. We've solved our problems a lot through eating out.

[Matt]

That's great.

[Margot Henderson]

Yeah. And we love restaurants. That moment you walk in, I love it. You arrive in a restaurant and it's quiet and it's early in the day and then it all builds up and the noise and everything, and then you're still there and it subsides. Yeah. It's a great love we have for that sort of pleasure of people coming together.

[Matt]

Yeah. Fantastic. Last question. The word home, how would you define it?

[Margot Henderson]

Home? Is it New Zealand? Is it Britain? Is it your house? It's where you feel at home. I mean, I feel very at home in Britain. I feel very at home in South London here. Yeah. But I still feel at home in New Zealand. I don't know. Home is where your heart is, isn't it? It's where your family is. Yeah. And your friends. Yeah.

[Matt]

Yeah. Thanks so much, Margo. I really appreciate it. It's been fantastic.

[Margot Henderson]

Thanks a lot.

[Narrator/Host]

A big thank you to the wonderful Margo. And thanks to all of you for listening as well. If you're new to the podcast and want to go deeper, you'll find our house tours with various guests on Patreon. You can watch the video version of each interview on YouTube and you can also keep up to date with what we're doing on Instagram, Search on all those platforms for homing with Matt. You can also help us out hugely by leaving a quick rating or review on Apple podcasts or Spotify. And huge thanks to everyone who's done that already. This episode was produced by Pod Shop with music by Simeon Walker. Thanks, folks, and talk to you next time. Bye for now.