Natalie Portman LOVES talking about food! | Dish Podcast | Waitrose

Stick a kitchen roll on your Oscar. That's a good idea. When it came to your drink of choice, tea, tequila, water, wine? In no particular order. Yeah, mixed in a beaker. Did he tell you about the big fight we had? I imagine quite dramatic at a theatre camp a fallout. It was a dramatic theatre camp fallout. This is so fun. Do you have a favorite ingredient in a salad? Fennel. Oh, nice choice. Thank you. Me? Fennel? And she gave me an orange and I started grating it, and I was like, she hates food in salad! Hello, welcome to Dish from Waitrose. I'm Nick Grimshaw. And I'm Angela Hartnett. And today, very excitingly, we bring you our very first Oscar-winning guest on Dish. I know. And that's right, Tom. Wow. Wow. Yeah, wow. It is wow. It is very wow. It is wow. Someone in the office said to me, do you think she'll have it with her? I said, no, I don't think that our guest today, Natalie Portman, will be carrying her Oscar around. I mean, I doubt it. Very excited. Natalie Portman, you will know, of course, as an Oscar-winning actress, director, activist as well. She is going to give good guest, I think. Yes. Don't you think? I think she'll be brilliant. I think she manages to be really good at her job as an actress. But also, you don't, she's not in your face, Natalie Portman. No one's like, got it, Natalie Portman. But then I think when she goes on things, like when you see her on Graham Norton, Saturday Night Live, she takes a piss out of herself. Yeah, yeah, she's good. She's fun. Do you remember when she did the rap on Saturday Night Live? I do. Like, it was about 11, 12 years ago or something. Don't remember watching it live, but I've seen it, yeah. Yeah, and it was, the whole situation was like, oh, what are you up to? What are you up to when you're not being an actress? And it was like, the joke was that she's- Yeah, she took out, yeah, she took the mickey out of herself. She's like an extreme alcoholic and drug addict to smash these bottles over people's heads. Much like yourself on your day off, I feel. Excuse me, hot kettle. And well, we are very excited that Natalie Portman is going to be here, here to talk about her brand new film. And she's done some mega films. I was looking today, Leon, which was her breakthrough film, was 30 years old last year. Yeah, I mean, she's been acting for a long time, and she's only in her early 40s. I mean, she was a child when she was in it. She was a child. A child when she was in it. She like turned, I think she turned 12 when she was making it, turned 13 when she was making it. She's pretty amazing. I also, I don't know why, but I'm really excited by the fact that she lives in Paris. I just think that's quite a chic choice. Yeah, that's strange. She's lived there a while. For someone that's in Hollywood to be like, I mean, I see you later, Hollywood, I'm gonna live in Paris. But she's the type you'll see in Paris, just walking down the road casually, going in for a little coffee, a little dinner, you know, a little bistro she passed on the left bank. Basically what we're saying is, we're both obsessed with Natalie Portman. We want to be there in Paris with her. Yeah, we do. So we've got, we're gonna get her in in a second and then she's got to go. She's got to get the train to Paris. Well, before we welcome Natalie Portman in, let's say hello to Ellie, who has got in touch. She says, Hi Dish Duo. First of all, a big thanks. I managed to acquire a head injury recently and your podcast has been pure joy during my concussion recovery. The perfect mix of light listening and feeling like coming in a fab little celeb dinner party. She's all right now. She's good. Have you ever had a concussion? No. No. I had it once and my agent didn't believe me because I was trying to get out of a job for ages. And then on the day I actually did get a concussion and she was like, yeah, nice one. Get in the car. Were you banging your head against the wall? I was like, I think my brain's bleeding. She did it twice. The other time was when I burnt my hand and she didn't believe me about that either. And then go to a hospital for burns. I'm Caroline's way. She was like, darling, just get the music playing. Hospital's 24 hours. You're done at 11. Not joking. Anyway, Ellie, hope your concussion's better. Ellie's question is, what would you both up to cook for a night in alone? Apart from a bowl of cereal, what would you do for a Friday? Now I will say I love cereal for my tea. Love it. Mish says it's deeply depressing and he goes mad if I have cereal for my tea because he thinks it's like a spiral to chaos. Well, Jerry Seinfeld always used to have that in Seinfeld. Cereal was everything. They all know. So Friday night, you're in. You've not been invited out with, I don't know, Sir Jonathan Price or a pet shop boy, but you're in, God forbid. What would you cook for yourself? A chicken schnitzel. That's what I would cook. So like... Breadcrumbs. Butterflied, dipped in egg and flour, in Japanese breadcrumbs, and then a really nice green salad. Done. You do the breadcrumbs and then do you pan fry it or oven cook it? Pan fry it. You can oven fry it. You can oven cook it, but I pan fry it in a little bit of olive oil and a tiny knob of butter at the end. Fresh lemon on top, a little bit of garlic or anchovy. If you've got anchovy, anchovy on top. Yes, please. Quite like an egg and an anchovy. Oh, look at you. Not sure about the egg for my salad. No, not for that. Eggs for breakfast. Okay, well, you're not going to like what my anchovy is because I do scrambled eggs on toast. That's a good choice though. With loads of butter, loads of salt. The anchovies? No anchovies. I just do like a very buttery, scrambled egg. Are they folded or whisked when you cook them in the pan? Oh, yeah, not bitty. No, not bitty, oh good. Yeah, more folded. I don't like it when it's like... Broken up. No, not crummy egg. No, no. More of a creamy slot. Lovely. It's what I'd be going for, yeah. We love the slot. Yeah, a creamy slot is what I'd go for. If you ever want to get in touch with us on the podcast, whether you have concussion or not, email us dish at waitrose.co.uk if you want to come and say hi. Shall we get Natalie Portman in? I think so. We're ready to roll. Let's go. Hi. Welcome. Thank you. How are you? It's so nice to see you. You too. Welcome to Dish. What a treat. This is... It smells so good. So exciting. Oh, good. Well, we're going to start you off with a drink. Yeah, we're going to start with the Paloma. Best place to start. Cheers. You take this one. Cheers. Thank you. Cheers. Welcome to Dish. We're going to start you straight away. Thank you, Ang. Our guest is here. I know. This is very exciting, though. We're very excited. A bit of Dish history because we have our first ever Oscar winning guest. No less on Dish. Yeah, that is true. We are on it. And can we have a round of applause, please, for the awesome Natalie Portman, everybody. Welcome. Thank you. Hi. Thanks for having me. And thanks for this beautiful meal. Oh, my God. Thank you. How are you? How is life, Natalie? I'm good. Life's good. We're very excited about you coming on because we want to talk about your film. We want to talk about your life, but also you're someone that loves food, that loves to eat. And I also love talking about food. This is just so fun for me. That's perfect. You're our ideal guest. It's the dream situation. Yes, this entire podcast. Yeah. Now, when it came to your drink of choice, we had the following sent from team Natalie, which was tea, tequila, water, wine. Correct. Yeah, correct. We've gone for... In no particular order. Mixed in a beaker. We've gone for a Paloma. Is that a favourite? Is that something you enjoy? I do like a Paloma. I also like a margarita. I like spice in it sometimes. And I like that we're having a sort of midday tequila. Midday cocktail is just how life should be. Does it happen often? Never. No. I'll be taking a nap on the train home. I am of that age now. I know we had one recently on a record and I had one. And then when I got home, I was watering my plants and I was like, I'm fully pissed. I'm like fully pit in the garden like this. I was like, wow, I've reached that age. Like one drink is a mess. When you get to a certain age. What happens after dish today? I get back on the train home to Paris. It'll be perfect time for a post cocktail nap. Yeah, good. Night on the Eurostar. No one needs to disturb you while you book up. And now we're going to go through some of your food likes and food dislikes, as we always like to. We had a great list. Starting with the smaller list, the dislikes. There was basically just one. You don't like fruit and salad. Yes. Well, also I'm vegan. So that's a huge list of things I don't eat. Not because I don't like, but I choose not to eat them. Yes. Once you're vegan, you can't be very picky. Or you're not left with a lot to eat. But yeah. And even fruit and salad, I will make exceptions. I do like some citrus with some fennel. If there's... I have exceptions. I just don't love like, you know... You don't want a big watermelon or something. Dry cranberry or a strawberry. That really upsets me. What's your... Also, I think it's a thing because I don't eat cheese. Because like often if you have like apple and salad, you put a cheese in. And when you don't have that balance, it just makes it sweet. Yeah. What's the biggest defender for you? Is there one where you're like, that is particularly offensive to me? Strawberries are pretty rough. Strawberries are rough. Berries in general. Yes. Plus they go mushy, I imagine, in a salad. They just break up. But what's the... Yeah, I don't get that. Yeah, a strawberry. Do you ever do a recipe with a strawberry in a salad, Ange? Never, never. Not now. No. I don't even like it when strawberries... One time a chef put up a dish for me when he put scallops up with strawberries. Ooh, rough. No. Well, exactly. I said wrong on every level. No. Out. Out the door. He was fired. Yeah, and he's never looked back. He's now doing something totally different. No, no, no, no. But there's certain things that... I'm with you on that. Yeah. Fruit in a fruitcake. Exactly. Or a fruit salad. Exactly. Fruit salad is fine. It's fine. Just not fruit in the salad. We're with you. Now, I knew this, and I'd done my Natalie Portman research, and I knew, like, because I was with you, like a strawberry in a salad, not for me, gross. And then when, Ange, you were finishing off this meal, Ange said, put the nuts on, which was my contribution. I sprinkled some... Critical to the dish. Some nuts on at the end. And then also, Ange gave me an orange, and I started grating it, and I was like, she hates fruit in salad. I was like, no! And I started the zest. I like zest. Yeah, zest. Citrus is fine. Zest is different. And citrus is different. It's like a different category. Okay, good. Sorry, sorry, Natalie. Yeah. Because I was like... Should we try the salad? What have we got here today, Angela? What have you made for Natalie? So we have a broccoli tabbouleh, chargrilled asparagus, chargrilled broccoli with a touch of sesame oil, courgette. Delightful. And we've made this lovely little dressing, which is with a bit of orange, juice, touch of olive oil, little bit of spice in there, and seasoning, and then mix it all together. Fresh lemon rind. Orange, excuse me. No strawberries. Lovely pistachios. Thank you very much. I love it. That's toasty. And then we've got also some hummus and some baba ghanoush and then some crackers as well. Lovely. Oh, delicious. Thank you. Tell us about the hummus and baba ghanoush recipes because whose were these recipes? So these are both Waitrose recipes? Yes. Lovely Waitrose. Yeah, yeah. So our baba ghanoush, because we've got our aubergines that you roast on your plancha or on a griddle till they're really burnt, peel off all the skin, chop that all up. Then you've got preserved lemon in there, tahini, some garlic, cumin, little bit of sesame seeds toasted on the top, olive oil and a bit of parsley if you'd like. Delightful. And then with our... Do you want some baba ghanoush? Yeah, baba ghanoush. Thank you. And then with our hummus, again, chickpeas, we've got those through there with preserved lemon, some garlic. Do you want some hummus, Ange? Yes, please. A little bit of tahini, our olive oil and then some za'atar on top. I have a bulgur question. Okay. How do you cook the bulgur? Because a friend of mine said that they just soaked it in lemon juice and didn't have to cook it at all. Oh. So I'm curious... Well, we cook it... It's a bit like we cook couscous, you know, because it's like a larger version of couscous and we just do it in water, let it sit for 10 minutes. And then in this recipe, because it's got the orange juice, the allspice, the chili, that then adds to it while it cooks for the other 10 minutes and then it soaks in all those flavours. So I do think... I mean, if it was just lemon juice, it's going to be really acid. But then if they're using it in loads of other things, I suppose they'll temper it down. You just put the boiling water on, but don't put it over heat. No, no heat. Just boiling water on it, let it sit for 10 minutes, then add, you know, the rest of our ingredients for the seasoning and then let it sit for another 10 minutes. Mmm. Tastes good. I feel like I love a nut in a salad. I think the nut has made the dish. Don't you agree, Natalie? I think that nut... I think the way it was tossed... Everyone loves nuts. The nuts, yeah. Unless you're allergic. Yeah, then no, not for... Then you don't. Yeah. No, not for the dog. And when we got your breakthrough of what you like and dislike, we've done fruit and salads. But I love this sentence because this is music to artists and especially to Angelas. You start with the sentence, Natalie loves to eat. I really hope you wrote this email. Natalie loves to eat. I do refer to myself in the third person. It's good to do. And it said, you love tacos, pasta, Middle Eastern food. You love to go out and try new vegan dishes. And I was saying before Ange came on, because I've got... One of my friends is vegan and she used to go to France a lot with her family. And I was like, I love French food. And she's like, French food's terrible. And I was like, what? And then I was like, maybe for a vegan in the 90s, it might have been. And how is vegan life now in Paris? I imagine you have more choices. Yes, I would say I mainly go for like non-French food in Paris. Like a French restaurant is still challenging. But if you, I mean, a lot of the kind of newer, younger chefs are doing more vegetable forward dishes. And obviously there's like some leaders in that field like Alain Passard, who really like paved the way for vegetable forward French cuisine. But really my day to day, if I go out is like getting Moroccan food or Lebanese food or Thai food or Indian food, there's just kind of more options for me. In non-French restaurants. Yeah, because a local French brasserie, for what it is, it's a lot of meat, it's a lot of butter, it's cheese, it's all that sort of thing. Yeah, for me it ends up being haricots verts and it's frites. Yeah, exactly. And they probably offer you cheese and you go, no, I'm vegan. Well, for years, but when I was vegetarian before I was vegan, when I would go to France, I would get French onion soup. And then I was like, oh, what a delicious vegetarian option. And then someone broke the news to me that it's beef stock. Yeah, I guess I got some extra protein for a while. Yeah, you're like, well, this is a tasty onion. Yeah, this is delicious. That's true though, Passado, he did, because he was like, at least 20, 25 years ago, he went all vegan, he's three star machine in Paris and just revolutionized. He had these farms just outside of Paris where he grew everything. And I remember going there one year and I just had a plate and it was a tomato salad, he called it. And there was just 20 varieties of tomato salad, olive oil, balsamic, different onions, not one, anything else on the plate, except, and it was amazing. Beautiful. But it's three star, you can't be doing that as a snack. It's not you go to every day, you need options, I get it. But it is beautiful food. Oh yeah. Have you been to Plates in London? I have. Have you? It is so delicious. Because that's the first UK, the first star in vegan, yeah. It is so delicious. And I also went to Gautier here, which is delicious, vegan, oats cuisine. Do you like searching out the great vegan spots and finding the new ones? Usually, the thing that I have to say that's incredible about Plates and Gautier is that they're both really delicious, filling, satisfying vegan food. Usually, I find better vegan food at a non-vegan restaurant that has vegan dishes. And oftentimes, vegan restaurants can be sort of, I don't know, too like crunchy or like, you know? Like they don't... I mean, both of those places have like very rich, like filling, delicious food, you know, which is a delight. Have you been to Plates? I haven't, but I know Kirk, he's brilliant. I think he partly came about because he had allergies himself. Right. And I think he was struggling to eat protein and stuff. And he's just come up with this amazing menu. And his dad's a chef, and he's just brilliant and very humble, Kirk. You know, you just, when you ask him, you say, you're doing so well. He's like, yeah, yeah. But he's brilliant. And I'm so pleased he's gone. The food's delicious. It's good. And it's just a beautiful space, too. Yeah, good spot. We went past it the other day, me and my boyfriend, and we were like, maybe we'll get a table. And they were like... You're back in three months, mate. Not this, not this month. I was like, see you later. They were nice, but they were hysterical. I thought the idea of me just walking in, they were like, yeah, no. Do you want a glass of wine? No, thanks. Ange? I'm good, thank you. I feel like that would be pushing my luck. It's like, 2 p.m. Nancy Portman's been arrested on the Eurostar. There's a wine pairing with this, Ange, which is, I mean, you take that pronunciation, please. Granite Ridge. Bushvine. Chenin Blanc. Oh yeah, beautiful. Let's go, it's a Bushvine Chenin Blanc. Yeah. Where's it from? South Africa. So it's a South African Chenin Blanc. Yeah, there we go. Natalie, award-winning actress, sommelier, she does it all. She does it all. If you want to try this recipe, any of the recipes we do, waitrose.com forward slash dish recipes, all the ingredients are on there, how to do it on there, the wine pairing is on there as well. You can try this at home, whenever you like. Oh, the wine is vegan appropriate wine as well. Why would it not be? Bees? Sometimes they use like egg whites to make the sediments drop or shrimp shells or something like they, that's why sometimes people with like shellfish allergies get allergic to wines. Yeah. Okay. Vegan approved. There we go. Yeah, there you go, for the train. Straw on the train. I'll just be like, straight from the bottle. I wanted to ask you about your own cooking skills and how you love to cook. If the tables were to be turned and we're round at yours, what is like a Natalie classic, something that you love to do? I love cooking. I'm not like super skilled, like technically, but I feel like I'm a good, like intuitive cook. I have been making green curry often recently. Yeah, that's yum. I love, I love a veg green curry. I do a lot of Middle Eastern stuff too. I definitely go heavy on tahini. Yeah. Veggies, salads. Because Paris do, my husband just thinks I'm nuts, but every time we go to Paris, we'll always end up in a market. The markets are so enjoyable too. It's really so different than being in the US, like it's just a pleasure to go. And also people shop so much differently. Like we go with a huge cart in the US and fill it up. And I still do that because I'm so American. But the French really only buy things for like the next meal. Yeah. Daily shopping. Like the Italians, exactly what they do. And you really, you're like, oh, they're buying like three items. And also they have very tiny fridges. Yeah. A lot of things, they don't even put in the fridge because when you're buying stuff that you're just going to use, you don't even- Don't need to. You just leave it out. Yeah, it's a real different food culture. That's my theory why all these older women in Italy are still so thin and fit is because every day, like my grandmother, every day she'd go out and shop. And they wouldn't drive. They would just go shopping with their little carts or they'd hold it. And so you're constantly doing exercise. And as you say, they're only buying for the day. So they're buying stuff that's in season, bang on. I have a similar theory about the French with the bread because the bread, it's like such a big part of life. And the bread's so amazing and you eat so much bread, but people are not overweight. And in the US, everyone's like, no carbs, no carbs, no carbs. And I think it's because of, again, freshness. You buy your bread right before you get it. So they're not putting preservatives in it. Yeah, exactly. And I think that that must be such a big difference. And then there's that brilliant law in France that they have a baguette can only cost, I think it's a euro or two euros now. I love that. Isn't there a few foods- Yeah, it's a dream. I love that. So everyone can afford a loaf of bread. I think that's brilliant. I think there's like bread, chocolate, wine. It's on a few things. Cheese, maybe. Where it's like it's for everyone. I love that. Sounds like a diet. Wine, cheese, bread. You're like, hang on. That's my handbag. Hey, let's talk about your latest offering to the world, which is Fountain of Youth, which you can see on Friday on Apple TV+. And tell us how this came to you. How do projects come to you? How do you decide to say yes? I don't know. I'm always looking for something to watch with my kids. And it's so rare to have something that's a movie that adults and kids equally can be entertained by. And we got to go to all these amazing places. We were in Cairo. We're in Vienna. And it's really kind of that action adventure genre that we don't get very often anymore to see or to act in. So it was just the most incredible opportunity. And with Guy Ritchie directing and John Krasinski co-starring. So it was kind of an ideal package. Yeah, dream day. It did remind me of films we used to have. Yes. You know what I mean? Like that sense of adventure and like a lot of running, a lot of locations. It feels like a proper movie sort of event. Yes. For sure. How was it going to all of those places? Is there any time off to go for a beautiful Lebanese meal in Cairo? Yes. Or is it like work, work, work? It was surreal to be in all of these places. It was my first time in Cairo. It was my first time in Vienna. And yes, we had a lot of time off. And I actually did go to a great Lebanese meal, which I'm so sweet in Cairo, which I'm surprised you said, because you'd think Egyptian. But it was, we actually went to a Lebanese restaurant there one night that was delicious. And I did try the Egyptian national dish, which is vegan, which is, I forget what it's called, but it's like pasta and rice and chickpeas, like all together. Oh, yum. But like, I think it has like fried onions on top. But it is a vegan national dish. And Vienna was so gorgeous. And so also very delicious. And yeah, I got to do some tourism on my time off, crawled through a pyramid to get to a lower chamber. Oh, how's that? It was wild. And went to see all the incredible art in Vienna and listen to Mozart concert in the hometown. It was really, really special. Oh, wow. And do you always do that when you're away filming or you're away traveling? Will you make a point of embedding yourself in the culture and going to see things? Yeah, I've been lucky enough to work here a lot. So I've gotten a lot of time in London to check out the culture here. And yeah, when you go to places, it is really, it's a lucky part of the job that you get to travel and explore. So were your children on the set with you on this one? My kids came sometimes, yeah. They didn't come to like Cairo and Vienna, but they came to London. Yeah, perfect. They were very impressed because there was a toasty truck. Oh, nice. They were very happy. They got a lot of toasties. Forget what you're doing. Falling from planes, or you know, that sort of stuff. I mean, they literally, when I asked them to come visit me at work now, is there a toasty truck? I'm like, sorry. We're not doing this movie. Yeah, whatever. Sorry, no, if only we'd have known today, we could have got Anj on the old reference today. Put it on your toastie. Yeah, they were doing vegan ones too. Oh, nice. And then how is going to work with John and Guy as well? Because they seem like great guys. They are incredible. And actually, Guy is quite a gourmand. He is, yeah. He's very into like grilling. Have you seen his tables? Yeah, so he has like, he has like designed his own grills or barbecues or whatever. And he has one in the back of his trailer. And there's someone just making meat all day long, which is, they were very generous to me. And they'd like, you know, throw some veg up there too, so that I could partake. But it was, it just always smelled good. And it was always just like very familial. It feels like a Guy Ritchie sort of film set that you'd imagine like big grills and like. But I like that, it makes me feel like. It's a nicer vibe. He knows how to like create a vibe. Everything's very beautifully designed. And we're all dressed super like, you know, chic. And yeah, it was a really fun environment. Yeah, and John is super lovely and funny. And we just like laughed all day long and had the best time. It feels like that movie that you will watch again and again. And I think Guy is really great at what, making those sort of movies. Yeah. You know, like The Gentleman, I've probably seen about 10 times. I love it for the one-liners. Yes. And I think you and John have a bit of that in the movie, that sort of brother-sister relationship. It was, it was fun. I mean, I'm an only child, so I kind of dreamed my whole life of what it would be like to have, you know, a sibling or particularly a brother. So I kind of had a lifetime of that imagination to bring to the role. And then does it affect you differently? This might be a stupid question, but when you're making a fun film, as opposed to doing something heavy, like a Black Swan, when you go home at the end of each day, is your life easier when you're making a fun action-packed film? I mean, not that it's easy, there's a lot of running, a lot of physical things going on. But does it affect you differently, I guess? Can you, like, depart from work, I guess, when you get home easier? Absolutely, absolutely. It's definitely a lighter lift. Yeah, I bet, because when you've got something tough to do, I imagine embodying a tough character for time is a hard day. It was a very joyful job. But also, as you said, there was co-, you know, you and John were working together where something like Black Swan, it's all on you. When you play Jackie Kennedy, it's all on you. You're carrying the whole film. It's true, this is a real ensemble and there's other incredible actors as well. There's Asan Gonzalez and Donal Gleeson and Carmen Ujogo. There's Arianne Murray. Stanley, our friend Stanley. Yes, Stanley and Tucci. Yes, absolutely. So there's, it's an incredible group. Oh, good. We actually, when we were looking into the life and times of Natalie Portman, one thing that stood out was just how, oh yeah, please have some more. I'm the only one, you see, I'm keeping with my reputation of, yeah, eating. Natalie likes to eat. But you'll tell me, even though we don't know each other that well, you'll tell me if I have, like, a big piece of parsley on my teeth. Yeah, of course, we will. Yeah, 100%, yeah. You've got to tell people this, please. No, we're beyond that. I've got friends now. We'll let you know. Great. We'll let you know. Thank you. When we were doing our research, one thing that stood out was how sort of regarded you are by your fellow actors. Thanks. Yeah, it was really nice. There was a lovely quote we found from Greta Gerwig about your laugh and also John Krasinski said, I don't know if we have a better calibre actor in the world than Natalie. Holy sh**, that's great. Come on, John. That's nice. But there is always, like, nice comments about you, nice vibes about you. Yeah, thank you. Is that, you know, is that, do you see yourself as, like, as a role model for others? Do you like to actively encourage nice vibes on set? Oh, God forbid. Yes, nice vibes. I think, yeah, the way you treat people is the most important part of life in general. And, like, it really is. Also, I mean, the experience and the relationships you can make are what really you hold on to afterwards. It's like, sure, the finished product is important, but, like, how you get there is really what sticks with you forever. And that, yeah, I'm so grateful to have worked with, like, people I love and have experiences that I love. And there is nothing more rewarding, too, than I think it's, like, the most beautiful thing people can do to, like, cooperate together, create together. I mean, I'm sure you do it with cooking as well, that, like, when people can work together and make something together and treat each other kindly while they're doing it, it just feels like the magic of, like, when an orchestra plays together and it's just gorgeous music or something, you know? Speaking of all the actors that love you, I was chatting with my friend Drew Elliott, who... Drew Elliott? Yes. Tell Drew Elliott I say hi and I miss him. So I was chatting to Drew Elliott, my friend Drew, and we were having a back-and-forth and he said, what are you doing? I said, I've got Natalie Portman on dish tomorrow. And he said, I went to summer camp with her. We did go to summer camp. I was like, what? Did he tell you about the big fight we had? Was it due to a retainer? Yes. Okay. All he said was, ask her about my retainer. What happened? Yeah, do tell us. Well, we'd have the, like, you know, like, lunch room where we all had lunch together. It was theater camp, by the way. Oh, okay. So we spent the whole day doing, like, singing and dancing and acting classes. And then we'd gather for lunch and Drew would take his retainer out and put it on the table while we were having lunch. And I said, please don't do that. It's unappetizing. And he was very offended. He didn't talk to me for a little. But then we made up. How long was it? Because I imagine quite dramatic at theater camp, a fallout. It was a dramatic theater camp fallout. True. I don't remember. But did he put it away or he left it there? I think he did put it away, but also, like, iced me for a few weeks. He never recovered. He's got the most f***ed up teeth. He's like this. He's not good. He's like, Natalie destroyed it the next time. I was like, no way. I love that Drew. We love that Drew. And we mentioned awards, not just any measly, shmeasly award at the start of the show. The big O, the Oscar. What happens to one life when you go to things afterwards? Because imagine, like, your day-to-day life is pretty much the same. But what happens when you start winning an Oscar and you win these big awards? Do you think about your career differently? Does it make people behave to you differently? What happens? Or are you just like, meh? No. No, I don't think so. The main thing was, I was pregnant when I went through that awards season. So I couldn't drink at all during, like, all of those events, which was hard. It's a lot of, like... Well, they're more hardcore than you think. It's a lot of stress. It's a lot of attention. It's a lot of... And I was sober while everyone else was not. And also, I was so big, like, everyone was like, oh, you're gonna pop. And I was like, I'm four months pregnant. Like, everyone was like, you must be giving birth tomorrow. Hopefully, that didn't happen on the red carpet. And I was like, I've got five more months to go. Yeah, so I was definitely eating my way... I was probably the only actress eating my way to the Oscars. I really... I had a meal for it every day. That was when I was still vegetarian. I had one every day of my pregnancy. Absolutely. It was... Needed. A joy. Needed. And then, where is it now? Like, where do you put it? It's in my safe... You know, someone said to me, like, it's literally, like, in the Bible when they talk about, like, golden idol worship, you know? It's literally that. And I was like, oh, yeah. Stick it in the safe. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it's always one of those things, because when you, you know, we have people on, or I have people on the radio who've won awards. And I always think, because you don't have them, like, out, out. Yeah. Because it's quite crazy to have it, like, in your living room. Yeah. You know, like, your family will be like, we get it. It's a little like having, like, a giant portrait of yourself on the wall. Yeah. Some people do it, but... Some people do. But, yeah, you know, but it's also something that, you know, you worked hard at, and you're talented, and you deserved it. So it's one of those funny things. Like, I always, I remember... I don't know, a lot of people work hard, and a lot of people are talented. It's fine. Yeah, stick it in the safe. You know? Stick it in the safe. Yeah, because people like footballers will have their shirts up, or record, you know? I always remember Florence of And The Machine fame having her Brit Award, or one of her Brit Awards, as a kitchen roll holder. Yeah. Oh, that's cool. And I was like, that's quite good, because it's there, but it's covered. That's a good idea. Good idea. Yeah, stick a kitchen roll on your Oscar. That's a good idea. Yeah. Because then it's like, you know, its head's popping out. Yeah. That's a real, like, kind of, like, backhanded, like, flex. Yeah. This helps me a lot. Whatever, I don't even care. She's a doorstop. Whatever. Do you watch a lot of stuff when you are not filming? Do you like to be across everything that's out, and all the Oscar movies, and what everyone's watching on telly? I really like cooking competitions. Do you? What's your favorite at the moment? Well, I am a top chef diehard. Top chef, yeah. I love top chef. But I also recently discovered these Korean cooking competitions on Netflix. Have you been watching? Luke, my friend, watches it. He absolutely loves it. What is it? We're going to South Korea as a result of it. I want to go! Come with us, please! We're doing Japan and South Korea. I've never been. Luke is obsessed by it. No, I've not been. Neither of us have been to South Korea. So there's a show called Culinary Class Wars. It's crazy. Then there's also a spinoff called Chef vs Fridge, which is also great. Chef vs Fridge. Fridge, yeah. They're so wild. It's really next level. It's next level. But they get something like a three-star Japanese Michelin star chef compete against a woman who's 70 who cooks from a shack in Korea. And she will come up with this amazing dish that even these chefs are going, oh my God, we can't beat it. Because she blows them away. And that's the great thing because you just imagine this guy or world's going to... And then some underdog comes through. And then also ingredients. I look at it, what the hell would you do with that? I don't recognise that ingredient. Let's wrap this up and watch it right now. It's really good. One thing I want to talk about... I'm the only one eating. No, I'm... Okay, I'm going to eat. No, no, no, I'm good. No, I'm embarrassed. I'm going to be on like my third. Willie, Willie, Willie. Okay, so I'm going to eat. You're going to answer. Deal? Okay, here we go. Natalie, it is time for your fast food quiz. The vegan edition. Yeah. This is so fun. It's eggless. Okay, so here we go. What is your favourite sandwich filling? Does a falafel count as a sandwich? Yeah. Okay, like... Like a falafel wrap. Like very good falafel. Yeah. What's the falafel place in Paris that's famous? La Stufa La Femme is just the greatest. What's your favourite form of potato? French fry. Oh, I love that. Do you have a favourite herb? Dill. Okay, ingredient in a salad? Fennel. Oh, nice choice. What's your favourite... Thank you. Congratulations, Natalie. I love fennel. That's a good from a chef nod. The chef nod of approval. I'm so proud. Me? Fennel? Do you have favourite chocolate, Natalie Portman? No. I'm a candy person. What would you go for? Sour Patch Kids. Oh, yeah. I love a sour patch kid. You don't have them here, right? No, but I do love a sour. I mean, you can get it at an American store, but yeah. And they're vegan, so... What is your favourite way to eat tofu? What's the best way to do it? My mom does a very good baked tofu that has a lot of spice on it, like cumin, turmeric, garlic, you know. Your mom's? My mom's. Good answer. And finally, a dish from your childhood? I'd have to say, like, the chopped Middle Eastern salad. We had it for breakfast, lunch, dinner. Like, my mom is just constantly making it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just chop it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For all the eighties. So it's onion, cucumber, tomato? It's usually just cucumber and tomato and sometimes parsley, but often just cucumber and tomato with lemon, olive oil, salt. And it's just, like, all we eat all the time, every meal. Well, let's do our end of show question, Natalie. For your chance to take home, on that Eurostar, a Waitrose goodie bag. I don't know if it will go through customs. Is this, like... I don't know. Is this an address? It's not marketed. No. Thanks a lot. There's a strawberry tart for us. And for your chance to win the goodie bag, you open this. Oh, wow. Okay, yeah. Okay. Do you already know what this is? No, because the team actually write this. Okay. Sometimes it's grey. Hi, Natalie. Thank you for coming on Dish. We loved having you here. Thanks, guys. To win the Waitrose goodie bag, all you need to do is answer the following question. A vegan burrito wrap or an SNL wrap? Which is more satisfying? Oh, yes. An SNL wrap. Correct answer. The goodie bag is yours. Solid wraps. You can see Fountain of Youth on Apple TV Plus from the 23rd of May. A round of applause for the brilliant Natalie Portman. Thank you, Natalie. Thank you so much. Thank you. That was fun.