WEBVTT - Ruthie Rogers Talks Food Industry

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<v Speaker 1>While she is an award winning chef, co founder of

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<v Speaker 1>a Michelin starred restaurant, author of thirteen cookbooks, a native

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<v Speaker 1>New Yorker, has a podcast where she talks with the

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<v Speaker 1>likes of Paul McCartney, Tina Fey, David Beckham, Mel Brooks,

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<v Speaker 1>Martha Stewart, Francis Ford Coppola, Markcarney, Bob Eiger, Johnny Ive

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<v Speaker 1>whose comfort food, by the way.

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<v Speaker 2>Is peet okay.

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<v Speaker 1>I like that you would have known. She has also,

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<v Speaker 1>full disclosure, talked with Michael Bloomberg, of course, founder of

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies. She has talked with many,

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<v Speaker 1>many folks. All of it comes together in a great book.

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<v Speaker 1>It's also comes together like a great meal with amazing company.

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<v Speaker 1>Her new book is entitled Table four at the River Cafe, which,

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<v Speaker 1>as we understand, is a highly coveted physical table located

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<v Speaker 1>near the restaurant's open kitchen. Here to tell us about

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<v Speaker 1>it and more is Ruthie Rogers, co founder of The

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<v Speaker 1>River Cafe in London, host of her podcast, Ruthie's Table Four.

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<v Speaker 1>She joins us from London. We are so delighted to

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<v Speaker 1>have you. We know it's a little bit later there

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<v Speaker 1>in London, congratulations on the new book. We were thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about where should we begin and if you had to

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<v Speaker 1>pick one single thing, Ruthie, as to where you are today,

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<v Speaker 1>why you got there, your restaurant, iconic, well known in London,

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<v Speaker 1>award winning, you've got now a five year old podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>What might that thing be?

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<v Speaker 3>I think that you know, from the very beginning, we

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<v Speaker 3>started with the values of a restaurant. What is a restaurant?

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<v Speaker 3>Why do people go to restaurants? What do you look

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<v Speaker 3>for in a restaurant? And I was just downstairs just now,

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<v Speaker 3>and I see that the way people are greeted, the

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<v Speaker 3>way people have made to feel welcome. Of course, the food.

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<v Speaker 3>We changed the menu for every meal. We write a

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<v Speaker 3>menu we rather like you do at home. We see

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<v Speaker 3>what is fresh, what we have we've bought the day before,

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<v Speaker 3>and what, of course always what is in season in

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<v Speaker 3>the Italian market. So I think every day is a

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<v Speaker 3>different day. We have great people working here who we

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<v Speaker 3>you know, the whole kitchen is open, and so there's

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<v Speaker 3>a kind of way that we all work together. And

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<v Speaker 3>I think, you know, we want, really people to come

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<v Speaker 3>to your restaurant and leave. I always say quite simply

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<v Speaker 3>happier than when they arrived.

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<v Speaker 2>So tell us about for people who haven't been to

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<v Speaker 2>the restaurant, the coveted table four.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, you know what, Michael Caine always used to sit

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<v Speaker 3>at table four. But then you know, when Nancy Pelosi

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<v Speaker 3>came in, we set at table one, and there might

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<v Speaker 3>be a table who prefers somebody who prefers table ten,

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<v Speaker 3>which is nearer to the entrance. Table four is slightly

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<v Speaker 3>also a pun on the word four, so it's a

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<v Speaker 3>table number, but it also is a table for Michael Bloomberg,

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<v Speaker 3>a table four any of the other people who are

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<v Speaker 3>in the book. Because what we wanted to do during

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<v Speaker 3>when we had to stop the restaurant because of the pandemic,

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<v Speaker 3>we wanted a way to reach the people who ate

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<v Speaker 3>in the restaurant. How could we reach them. We thought

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<v Speaker 3>about reading a recipe every day, and then that segued

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<v Speaker 3>into the story. Because when you think about when we

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<v Speaker 3>talk to people through the lens of food about their memories,

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<v Speaker 3>it's very thoughtful. If it brings back if I asked you,

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<v Speaker 3>did your mother cooke? Did your father cook? Did you

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<v Speaker 3>go to restaurants? It brings up other stories.

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<v Speaker 1>I love that aspect. Being from a large family, food

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<v Speaker 1>was a big part. My mom loved to cook, and

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<v Speaker 1>you know, especially around holidays, birthdays, a relative in town.

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<v Speaker 1>She would cook and make sure there was things for

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<v Speaker 1>everybody who liked, you know, even if she had to

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<v Speaker 1>do like five different vegetables to make sure everybody was happy.

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<v Speaker 1>But we would sit Ruthie at that table for hours,

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<v Speaker 1>and I feel like that's where you're coming from now.

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<v Speaker 3>The best things happen around a table, I think very well.

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<v Speaker 3>And the sad things happened around a table. But I

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<v Speaker 3>think it is around a table that we all meet.

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<v Speaker 3>It doesn't matter. We could have a sandwich around the

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<v Speaker 3>table or a drink around the table, but there is

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<v Speaker 3>something of that conversation. And when when I you know,

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<v Speaker 3>when we interviewed Elton John and David Furnish, the woman

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<v Speaker 3>who worked for his chief of staff is said she'd

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<v Speaker 3>worked with and heard so many interviews over twenty five years,

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<v Speaker 3>but it was only when Elton started talking about potting

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<v Speaker 3>peas with his grandmother or how they tried, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>the people who goose food, you know, to seduce, to impress,

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<v Speaker 3>to give joy, to share. It's you know, and I'm

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<v Speaker 3>also you know, I made a lot of women who

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<v Speaker 3>don't cook or men who don't cook, and that's fine.

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<v Speaker 3>It's not about the cooking. It's about somehow being together.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, let's talk about the podcast a little bit in

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<v Speaker 2>the way that these interviews have come together in this

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<v Speaker 2>new book. As Carol mentioned a host of names, these

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<v Speaker 2>are not your favorites. These are just some of the

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<v Speaker 2>interviews that the publisher picked.

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<v Speaker 3>We should know make it clear because so many brilliant

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<v Speaker 3>people are not in the book, but they'll be in

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<v Speaker 3>volume two.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, what is the connection between the podcast and the

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<v Speaker 2>restaurant and the way that you try to bring what

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<v Speaker 2>you bring to life in a restaurant to an audio

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<v Speaker 2>format that you invite people to sort of be at

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<v Speaker 2>the table with you.

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<v Speaker 3>I think there are two things. I think a friend

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<v Speaker 3>of mine came into the restaurant the other day and

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<v Speaker 3>he said, you know, oh, I don't you know, I'm

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<v Speaker 3>having trouble with one of my children. I'm not sure

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<v Speaker 3>that I can join this crowd. Look at this room, Ruthie.

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<v Speaker 3>There are so many people at this table, looking so

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<v Speaker 3>happy and celebrating. And I said, you know, if you

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<v Speaker 3>want at every table in this restaurant. Everyone has a story.

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<v Speaker 3>Everyone has a story. It could be a happy story

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<v Speaker 3>that daughter might have graduated, or they could have been

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<v Speaker 3>fired that day, or their mother might be sick, or

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<v Speaker 3>you know, there's so many stories that people have, and

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<v Speaker 3>I think what I wanted to do is talk to

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<v Speaker 3>people and have their stories told. As I say, through

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<v Speaker 3>the lens of food and you discover we have different section.

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<v Speaker 3>We have the chapter of food is Family and so

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<v Speaker 3>we have the McCartney family, we have the Beckham family.

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<v Speaker 3>We have the Mary Russell and Matthew Rice. We have

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<v Speaker 3>and that's families. We have the art Food is Art

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<v Speaker 3>and we have I see emmen and we have Johnny

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<v Speaker 3>Ive who's a designer. We have the political artist politics.

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<v Speaker 3>We have as you said, Mark Carney. And it's not

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<v Speaker 3>about famous people. It's not about celebrities. It's about people

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<v Speaker 3>who have stories that we all want to know about,

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<v Speaker 3>you know. And so I think it's quite democratic.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it is, it is, and the approach is really

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<v Speaker 1>fun to kind of go through. I want to ask you, though,

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<v Speaker 1>I think your first podcast was September. Back in September

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<v Speaker 1>of twenty twenty one, Jake Dyllen Hall, was it Jake,

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<v Speaker 1>And if so, why how did that come to be

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<v Speaker 1>in white Jake being the first.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, we never thought, we never. Jake is a really

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<v Speaker 3>good friend. I've known him for a long time, and

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<v Speaker 3>I said, would you do this with me? Because I

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<v Speaker 3>don't really know what I'm doing, but we're going to

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<v Speaker 3>try and do this podcast. And it really came from

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<v Speaker 3>my husband and I used to give evenings one every

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<v Speaker 3>year in which an actor or a singer or a

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<v Speaker 3>writer would would perform in the living room of our

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<v Speaker 3>house and we would give the money to, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>the charitable cause we believed in. And one night we

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<v Speaker 3>had Ian McKellen, and you know, he told an anecdote,

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<v Speaker 3>he sang a song, he recounted something that happened to

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<v Speaker 3>him in the theater, He did a sonnet of Shakespeare.

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<v Speaker 3>But the last thing he did was to get one

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<v Speaker 3>of our cookbooks, for the first cookbook and read a

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<v Speaker 3>recipe for a soup. And you know always say a

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<v Speaker 3>recipe is half science and half poetry, right, and the

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<v Speaker 3>recipe is actually there's something rather beautiful about listening. So

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<v Speaker 3>I said to Jake, helped me out here, and so

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<v Speaker 3>he did one and the first one, I think, and

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<v Speaker 3>it was Wes Anderson, who's another good friend and one.

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<v Speaker 1>Listen, Ruthie, we have to jump and go ten seconds.

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<v Speaker 1>What's your comfort food?

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<v Speaker 3>My comfort food would be real quick sauce.

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<v Speaker 1>Ah, A good one. Ruthie, thank you so much. We've

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<v Speaker 1>been looking forward to catching up with you. Ruthie Rogers,

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<v Speaker 1>co founder of The River Cafe in London, her podcast

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<v Speaker 1>Ruthie's Table for her new book, Table four at The

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<v Speaker 1>River Cafe