Katherine Parkinson is sweet on our mushroom risotto

She has our unrivalled attention.

Champagne, chocolate and a BAFTA-winning actress? Dish days don’t get any more luxurious as we welcome Katherine Parkinson to talk about the latest installment of Rivals. The smash-hit show has returned for the second half of its second season on Disney+, with Katherine resuming her incredible role as Lizzie Vereker. And, like you, we’re desperate to find out what happens with her on-screen love Freddie, played by former Dish guest Danny Dyer. 

No spoilers on this episode though as, over a glass of No.1 Brut Special Reserve Vintage Champagne, we get into Katherine's food likes and dislikes, which are heavily influenced by her sweet tooth. Pistachio cream, Lindt balls and tomato ketchup all get a mention, alongside her life-long love for cheese, which earned her room at university an outstanding nickname. 

Angela serves the best mushroom risotto, a recipe by Martha Collison, as a perfectly seasonal main, paired by the Waitrose wine experts with a bottle of Schug Carneros Pinot Noir. We hear about the joys of a boozy lunch, using your nose to get into a character and talking Spartans round at Jilly Cooper’s. 

Alongside her role in Rivals, you’ll know Katherine from her award-winning roles in Here We Go and The IT Crowd, and a long list of theatre productions including Uncle Vanya, The Seagull and Much Ado About Nothing. So, what does she prefer, the rush of performing live or the joy of the edit? Plus, we find the outer limits of Katherine’s knowledge of Italian. 

Bellissimo!

The new Waitrose Christmas advert, The Perfect Gift 2, is out now and - spoiler alert - Nick and Angela get a sneak peek in this episode. Enjoy a second serving of Keira Knightley and Phil (played by Joe Wilkinson) on waitrose.com. 

You can watch full episodes of Dish on YouTube and on Spotify. 

All recipes from this podcast can be found at waitrose.com/dishrecipes

The recipe for the best mushroom risotto was created for Waitrose by Martha Collison

A transcript for this episode can be found at waitrose.com/dish

If you want to get in touch with us about anything at all, contact [email protected] 

Dish from Waitrose is made by Cold Glass Productions

00:00 - Coming up on Dish…

00:48 - Welcome! 

01:50 - Tupperware Riz (Ahmed)

03:05 - Christmas is around the corner 

03:59 - Waitrose Christmas Advert

05:14 - Let’s chat mushrooms

08:11 - Katherine Parkinson is here! 

09:04 - Champagne & Parmesan 

11:44 - Katherine’s likes

13:02 - Iron deficiency 

14:19 - More food likes

18:27 - Roleplaying as chefs?

21:40 - All things Italian, please!

23:33 - Food is served! 

25:51 - Italian Gwyneth Paltrow 

26:24 - Wine pairing 

26:45 - Let’s chat Rivals 

30:28 - Working with Jilly Cooper

32:46 - Winning 2 BAFTAs

36:04 - Katherine’s love of theatre

40:30 - Fast food quiz 

42:32 - End of the show question

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