If you’ve listened to Jessie Ware’s hit podcast Table Manners - and millions have -  you’ll know that alongside the wonderful guests like Florence Pugh, Dolly Parton and Munroe Bergdorf, one of the best bits is the spirited interaction between Jessie and her co-host (and mum) Lennie while they eat with their guests. 

And while there’s a lot of good-natured bickering and bantering between the pair, Jessie, who appears on the cover of this week’s Stylist magazine (which you can buy here), says her mum is a fountain of wisdom. 

“Sometimes she gives unwarranted advice, but I also always feel like like she was not judgy when we were younger,” says Jessie when Stylist meets her for lunch.  “She gave us space and never pried and I really feel like I need to learn how to do that. I want every conversation with my daughter already. I’m like,’What’s the goss? What happened at nursery?’ And she’s just like: ‘Mum shut up’. 

My mum never pried so therefore I feel like we could tell her [anything]. And she is one of the most judgmental women in the world, but when she came to listening to us, she was really quite wonderful.” 

Jessie came to fame via music and earlier this year released her fourth album What’s Your Pleasure. She was nominated for two Brit awards earlier this year (in a historic year for women at the music awards) as well as appearing on Barack Obama’s list of best tracks from 2020. But she has also proved herself a force to be reckoned with in the gastronomic world too, thanks in no part to her “obsession with food”. 

 As well as the podcast she has hosted since 2017, her foodie memoir Omelette – which tells stories from her life via food and drink including a drunken night out alongside David Beckham – comes out on 11 June. Ware credits her mum for giving her the ability to talk to anyone. “I learnt all the tricks from my mum. We’re both incredibly gregarious and that’s why it makes total sense that we do this podcast.”

What’s the best thing Lennie taught Jessie about food? “More is more,” she laughs. “Even if you fucking complain about the work to make it, more is more.”

To read Jessie’s interview including her talking about the best food to eat for heartbreak, the meal that defined her childhood and why she’s not always the best dinner party host, buy your issue of Stylist here.  

Images: Jack Grange, Table Manners, Hodder Studio