Helena Bonham Carter is the latest guest on the award-winning foodie podcast Dish from Waitrose, sharing candid stories about food, nerves, and life off screen.
The actress joins hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett OBE for this week’s episode, where the conversation moves easily from her love of non-alcoholic drinks to her famously over-prepared snack bag, her fear of cooking rice, and her latest screen role in an Agatha Christie adaptation.
Bonham Carter admits she is constantly searching for non-alcoholic drinks that feel like a proper alternative when socialising.
She says elderflower juice rarely cuts it at parties and praises options such as Mother Root and Botivo, explaining that she wants something with body, spice, and no added sugar to help her through long social occasions.
One of the episode’s most talked-about moments comes as she describes her “legendary” snack bag, which she carries to sets to help her stay alert and focused.
She explains that acting requires intense concentration and coordination, and having food and drinks on hand gives her what she calls “the illusion of control” in unpredictable situations.
The bag includes everything from mango for quick sugar boosts to water mixed with apple cider vinegar and cayenne.
Bonham Carter also discusses being gluten-free, joking that it is not particularly exciting, before sharing her love of gluten-free oatcakes.
She becomes animated when talking about Perini’s truffle cream cheese from a deli in Florence, calling it unforgettable and praising the city’s food culture more broadly.
Despite owning an extensive collection of cookery books, she admits she struggles in the kitchen. She says she enjoys the idea of cooking and loves feeding people but lacks confidence and finds it hard to balance cooking with socialising.
Her fear of cooking rice is a particular highlight, leading her to rely on microwave packets and marvel at her friend’s ritual of resting cooked rice under a tea towel in bed to make it fluffier.
Food dislikes also feature, with Bonham Carter revealing a lifelong aversion to anything “anatomically identifiable,” including tripe and brain, although she does make an exception for chicken liver pâté.
In contrast, she praises her partner’s instinctive cooking style, saying he can conjure meals from whatever is in the fridge without following recipes.
The conversation also turns to her latest role in Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, written by Chris Chibnall.
Bonham Carter explains what drew her to the project, her character’s grief-filled backstory, and filming at the historic Badminton House.
She shares a dramatic on-set story involving her co-star’s injury, a last-minute stand-in, and her own near-accident on a staircase she had already identified as dangerous.
Dish from Waitrose is a made by Cold Glass Productions and available on all podcast providers.
