What do you think?
Rate this book
Table 4 at The River Cafe
Inspired by her podcast Ruthie’s Table 4, award-winning chef Ruthie Rogers, the cofounder of iconic institution The River Cafe, presents a lively array of compelling interviews about food by a dazzling roster of celebrities including David & Victoria Beckham, Stephen Fry and Paul McCartney.
Since its 2021 launch, the acclaimed podcast Ruthie’s Table 4 has welcomed an extraordinary range of high-profile guests including Tina Fey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jamie Oliver, and Elton John. Talking about food unlocks something within them, stories and emotions never before shared.
Now the show’s host, Ruth Rogers CBE, the chef and cofounder of London’s renowned The River Cafe, presents a collection based on her interviews with the actors, singers, politicians, athletes, and artists who have joined her at her table. Fully photographed and beautifully designed, this book is a celebration of food and how its preparation and enjoyment nourishes, unites, and enlightens.
Since its 2021 launch, the acclaimed podcast Ruthie’s Table 4 has welcomed an extraordinary range of high-profile guests including Tina Fey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jamie Oliver, and Elton John. Talking about food unlocks something within them, stories and emotions never before shared.
Now the show’s host, Ruth Rogers CBE, the chef and cofounder of London’s renowned The River Cafe, presents a collection based on her interviews with the actors, singers, politicians, athletes, and artists who have joined her at her table. Fully photographed and beautifully designed, this book is a celebration of food and how its preparation and enjoyment nourishes, unites, and enlightens.
- GenresNonfictionEssaysFood
Hardcover
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 6, 2026
Pleasant, light reading. The River Cafe has been in London since the 80’s and Ruthie Roger’s has been at the helm. Tons of famous people have come thru just to eat and in more recent days to participate in the ubiquitous podcast.,As a result Ms Roger’s got them to talk about their lives around food.
There are good people, entertainers, politicians and other known folks who contribute to the book. Various McCartneys, Elton John, Michael Caine, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jake Gyllenhall, Alice Waters, Jamie Oliver. All have had varied interesting lives with food playing a varied role at different times. Everyone is asked their comfort foot and pasta is clearly the winner.
It’s light, it’s fun.. it’s a nice coffee table book that folks would read
There are good people, entertainers, politicians and other known folks who contribute to the book. Various McCartneys, Elton John, Michael Caine, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jake Gyllenhall, Alice Waters, Jamie Oliver. All have had varied interesting lives with food playing a varied role at different times. Everyone is asked their comfort foot and pasta is clearly the winner.
It’s light, it’s fun.. it’s a nice coffee table book that folks would read
May 27, 2026
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Table 4 at The River Cafe is a collection of glossy edited interviews with very famous people about life and food by Ruthie Rogers. Released 17th March 2026 by Simon & Schuster on their Gallery Books imprint, it's 384 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is an interesting glimpse into a rarefied world of privilege and material wealth which most of the world will never see. There aren't many recipes (there are a few), but it's not primarily a cookbook. What it does, and does pretty well, is to give that glimpse behind the curtain into the life and acquaintances of the author. In just one page of the introduction she mentions meeting/feeding/talking with and entertaining Mel Blank, Nina Raine, Judy Dench, Ralph Fiennes, and Ian McKellen. Uncharitably, it could be called cover-to-cover name dropping, but honestly, a lot of the interviews and conversations with luminaries manage to show a likeable humanity. It's not all gloss.
It's possibly (probably) the editing process, but almost all of the entries were very much of a sameness. It's unclear if that's because they were made to sound processed and homogeneous, if she follows the same formula for all her interviews, or if being really really wealthy and REALLY famous (Victoria Beckham's in there as well as Paul McCartney, in fact, there are precious few who don't have honorifics like Sir, Lord, Lady, etc in their names) -knocks- the edges off and makes them the same. At the end of the day, they mostly sound alike. Not necessarily a bad thing, but interesting nonetheless.
Privilege and celebrity. It's very well photographed throughout.
Four stars. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, or for gift giving.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Table 4 at The River Cafe is a collection of glossy edited interviews with very famous people about life and food by Ruthie Rogers. Released 17th March 2026 by Simon & Schuster on their Gallery Books imprint, it's 384 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is an interesting glimpse into a rarefied world of privilege and material wealth which most of the world will never see. There aren't many recipes (there are a few), but it's not primarily a cookbook. What it does, and does pretty well, is to give that glimpse behind the curtain into the life and acquaintances of the author. In just one page of the introduction she mentions meeting/feeding/talking with and entertaining Mel Blank, Nina Raine, Judy Dench, Ralph Fiennes, and Ian McKellen. Uncharitably, it could be called cover-to-cover name dropping, but honestly, a lot of the interviews and conversations with luminaries manage to show a likeable humanity. It's not all gloss.
It's possibly (probably) the editing process, but almost all of the entries were very much of a sameness. It's unclear if that's because they were made to sound processed and homogeneous, if she follows the same formula for all her interviews, or if being really really wealthy and REALLY famous (Victoria Beckham's in there as well as Paul McCartney, in fact, there are precious few who don't have honorifics like Sir, Lord, Lady, etc in their names) -knocks- the edges off and makes them the same. At the end of the day, they mostly sound alike. Not necessarily a bad thing, but interesting nonetheless.
Privilege and celebrity. It's very well photographed throughout.
Four stars. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, or for gift giving.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
May 28, 2026
At the beginning of "Table 4", Ruthie Rogers writes,
"We ask the waiters at The River Cafe, the restaurant I cofounded with Rose Gray in 1987, to really consider the people who come for lunch or dinner. What stories might they have to tell? Might they have gotten lost on the way to the restaurant? Are they celebrating the birth of a new baby? Did they save up to bring in someone they love for a special meal?"
Several years ago I was on a solo trip to London. I planned lunches out at several fantastic places, Moro, one of the Ottolenghi restaurants, and The River Cafe. When I sat down with the menu at The River Cafe, I was overwhelmed with choice. When my waiter came to take my order, I commented that I was experiencing the major drawback of dining solo. I didn't have anyone to share plates with. He asked me what I was deciding between, took a few notes and disappeared. When he returned with my lunch, he gave me three small appetizer plates followed by three small main course plates. I was in heaven. When it was time for dessert, I said that I couldn't possibly, but then the couple at the next table, who had clearly been watching all of this with amusement, said "You can't possibly not have dessert!"
Ruthie Rogers doesn't lie! While Table 4 tells the stories of a host of famous guests at the restaurant, they treated a single diner visiting from California on a warm summer's day as if she had been world-renowned. The stories are filled with rich detail about her guest's humble and not so humble beginnings and their food memories. I enjoyed this book as if I had been that couple at the neighboring table listening in as Rogers chatted with her friends.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
"We ask the waiters at The River Cafe, the restaurant I cofounded with Rose Gray in 1987, to really consider the people who come for lunch or dinner. What stories might they have to tell? Might they have gotten lost on the way to the restaurant? Are they celebrating the birth of a new baby? Did they save up to bring in someone they love for a special meal?"
Several years ago I was on a solo trip to London. I planned lunches out at several fantastic places, Moro, one of the Ottolenghi restaurants, and The River Cafe. When I sat down with the menu at The River Cafe, I was overwhelmed with choice. When my waiter came to take my order, I commented that I was experiencing the major drawback of dining solo. I didn't have anyone to share plates with. He asked me what I was deciding between, took a few notes and disappeared. When he returned with my lunch, he gave me three small appetizer plates followed by three small main course plates. I was in heaven. When it was time for dessert, I said that I couldn't possibly, but then the couple at the next table, who had clearly been watching all of this with amusement, said "You can't possibly not have dessert!"
Ruthie Rogers doesn't lie! While Table 4 tells the stories of a host of famous guests at the restaurant, they treated a single diner visiting from California on a warm summer's day as if she had been world-renowned. The stories are filled with rich detail about her guest's humble and not so humble beginnings and their food memories. I enjoyed this book as if I had been that couple at the neighboring table listening in as Rogers chatted with her friends.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.
Table 4 at River Cafe is not really a cookbook (just in case that was what you were expecting). There are a few recipes in there, but largely the book is food stories from celebrities. And the author knows a lot of celebrities.
Interspersed with pictures at the start of each chapter of the person being interviewed, this book is a continuation of the podcast by the author/restraunteur that is part owner of the River Cafe, Ruthie Rogers. I am curious about the podcast and plan on listening to a few episodes, I have a feeling I would actually enjoy hearing that moreso than the book as it just has a oral history feel to it that I had a harder time sinking into by reading the stories themselves.
I also am now greatly interested in the cookbooks associated with this restaurant and if I ever travel near, eating there as well. The food descriptions were the standout in this book. Simple, good, high-quality food that focuses on ingredients. In a word of sysco food that sounds delightful. The interviews themselves just hit kind of lackluster for me, they were sometimes too brief or jumped around a bit and I felt my attention waning. I did appreciate they were grouped into sections of people though (e.g. actors separate from chefs) so that the perspectives were trended in a way.
I found this book interested me in the restaurant and other things but maybe for just a regular read-through was just not to my vibe. If short-story, interview type history telling (and food of course) is your vibe, I'm sure you'll enjoy it greatly!
Review by M. Reynard 2026
Table 4 at River Cafe is not really a cookbook (just in case that was what you were expecting). There are a few recipes in there, but largely the book is food stories from celebrities. And the author knows a lot of celebrities.
Interspersed with pictures at the start of each chapter of the person being interviewed, this book is a continuation of the podcast by the author/restraunteur that is part owner of the River Cafe, Ruthie Rogers. I am curious about the podcast and plan on listening to a few episodes, I have a feeling I would actually enjoy hearing that moreso than the book as it just has a oral history feel to it that I had a harder time sinking into by reading the stories themselves.
I also am now greatly interested in the cookbooks associated with this restaurant and if I ever travel near, eating there as well. The food descriptions were the standout in this book. Simple, good, high-quality food that focuses on ingredients. In a word of sysco food that sounds delightful. The interviews themselves just hit kind of lackluster for me, they were sometimes too brief or jumped around a bit and I felt my attention waning. I did appreciate they were grouped into sections of people though (e.g. actors separate from chefs) so that the perspectives were trended in a way.
I found this book interested me in the restaurant and other things but maybe for just a regular read-through was just not to my vibe. If short-story, interview type history telling (and food of course) is your vibe, I'm sure you'll enjoy it greatly!
Review by M. Reynard 2026
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Okay, clearly I was the wrong reader for this one.
I know it says conversations about food and life, but it isn't really. It's essays by famous people the author has known. It's kind of like an extended brag book with photos with celebs and a handful of recipes.
As for the celebrities and politicians mentioned in the book, by the end, I knew who maybe 40% of them were. And most were not down to earth at all. It was like food snobs of the world unite!
The few I did like, I really liked. They came across as authentic and down to earth and I felt like I learned a little about them. Most seemed like they were trying really hard to sound down to earth. Like...ooh I ate microwaved noodles and ooh I had never had wine before. One - Wyclef Jean - was very real about the difference money makes when it comes to your personal food experience. I respected that.
All in all, this may work for someone who a) knows who all these people are and doesn't need to google them and b) someone who really cares about rich people's opinions on food.
I know it says conversations about food and life, but it isn't really. It's essays by famous people the author has known. It's kind of like an extended brag book with photos with celebs and a handful of recipes.
As for the celebrities and politicians mentioned in the book, by the end, I knew who maybe 40% of them were. And most were not down to earth at all. It was like food snobs of the world unite!
The few I did like, I really liked. They came across as authentic and down to earth and I felt like I learned a little about them. Most seemed like they were trying really hard to sound down to earth. Like...ooh I ate microwaved noodles and ooh I had never had wine before. One - Wyclef Jean - was very real about the difference money makes when it comes to your personal food experience. I respected that.
All in all, this may work for someone who a) knows who all these people are and doesn't need to google them and b) someone who really cares about rich people's opinions on food.
August 21, 2026
I had never heard of Ruthie Rogers or The River Cafe when I saw a friend had read the book. I thought it sounded interesting. It was interesting. The book is a compilation of various people telling about their history with food and closing with their favorite comfort food. The people involved include politicians, philanthropists, folks from the entertainment industry, etc.. The nice thing about the book is that you can read the story of one person and easily set the book down and come back to the next story later. I did enjoy hearing about how some of the folks became so fascinated with food. And their relationships with food. I especially enjoyed hearing about what each person selected as their comfort food and why.
April 7, 2026
Disappointed in this book as I thought it would be filled with a few interesting recipes from the River Cafe. Instead, the book is filled with essays from famous people who have frequent the restaurant.
Perhaps I should have realized the full title Table 4 at the River Cafe Conversations about Food and Life indicates what is between the covers.
Perhaps I should have realized the full title Table 4 at the River Cafe Conversations about Food and Life indicates what is between the covers.
August 1, 2026
I found out about this book from an episode of Sunday Morning. Reading some of the reviews, it seems many thought this was a cookbook, but is a series of essays from famous people who have dined at this restaurant. I recommend reading this book by taking small sips, perhaps an essay a day. I found the essays gave a unique glimpse into the lives of those featured.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Netgally ARC- Delightful food memories from some popular public figures and a handful of related recipes. The recipes are well written and simple fare, but the concept of how food informs who we are is a powerful theme throughout. I hope she does more like this, it connects us all together.
June 11, 2026
I saw Ruthie Rogers on CBS Sunday Morning and was glad my library had this book. It’s interesting conversations with musicians, actors, visual artists, politicians, philanthropists, and chefs about their family traditions and favorite foods. Nice variety of individuals and stories.
July 5, 2026
I got 95% through the book before I realized it’s titled after The River Cafe in London and not the one under the Brooklyn Bridge
Review of advance copy
Charming stories.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews