S11 Ep3: Tommy Banks

The epilogue has landed! After all these years romping around glasses with the world’s loveliest sippers, it’s time for me to hang up my headphones with a final joyful roar for all the splendour that wine - and all drinks - offer when shared in good company. Thank you for listening and for your encouraging messages. You can still find me across social media (@ollysmith on Instagram and @ollysmithofficial on TikTok) through my website ollysmith.com or via my brand new book The World Cocktail Atlas released in October 2023. Available for pre-order here. Thank you to my producers PodMonkey and everyone who contributed to this show over the years, especially Richard Hemming MW for all the happy memories. So until the next time on telly, in print, online or even in another pod, most of all, I have loved sharing A Glass With you. Cheers!

In this episode of A Glass With..., Olly is joined by good friend and critically acclaimed Bristol-based chef Freddy Bird. Freddy runs the restaurant Little French with his wife, Nessa, and his love of French cuisine inspired Olly to pair him with a bottle of Les Hauts de Saint Martin Saint-Chinian 2020 from the Languedoc region, as they talk about growing up, all things France, making their own wine and the best music to cook to. Find out more about Olly at his website ollysmith.com or follow him on Instagram @ollysmith. You can find Freddy and his restaurant Little French at their website littlefrench.co.uk or Freddy's Instagram @Freddybirdfood. This episode of A Glass With... is sponsored by Languedoc Wines.

In this episode of A Glass With..., Olly is joined by world-leading food and lifestyle photographer and director Georgia Glynn Smith. Georgia's love for the Languedoc region of France has inspired Olly to pair her with a bottle of Domaine Azan Organic Picpoul de Pinet 2021 as they talk about her career working with the likes of Mary Berry and Jamie Oliver, photographing the faces behind wine, pivoting careers during lockdown and buying a house in the South of France over lunch. Find out more about Olly at his website ollysmith.com or follow him on Instagram @ollysmith. You can find Georgia at her website glynnsmith.co.uk or her Instagram @ggsmith. This episode of A Glass With... is sponsored by Languedoc Wines.

Olly is joined by Ching He Huang, a celebrity chef and cookbook extraordinaire who has been at the cutting edge of Chinese food for over a decade. A lover of champagne, Olly and Ching talk about her upbringing, breaking it onto our screens and the joys of Asian delicacies over a glass or two of Taittinger Prélude 'Grands Crus' cuvée.    Find out more about Olly at his website ollysmith.com or follow him on Instagram @ollysmith.    You can find out more about Ching at her website chinghehuang.com

Olly is joined by comedian and YouTube sensation Nigel Ng, who's challenged Olly to find a wine that pairs well with Asian cuisine. Over a glass or two of Ilahe Vineyard's Pinot Gris from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, Olly and Nigel talk celebrity chefs, Sauternes and stand-up comedy.   Find out more about Olly at his website ollysmith.com or follow him on Instagram @ollysmith.    You can find out more about Nigel, including details of his tour, at his website nigelngcomedy.com.   The Pinot Gris Olly and Nigel enjoyed is available from Lea & Sandeman.

In the first episode of 2022, Olly is joined by good friend and Michelin-starred chef Paul Ainsworth, and over a Tom Collins (made according to Olly’s very own recipe) they discuss, amongst other things, growing up in hospitality, running a business during lockdown and Paul’s love for TV classic Only Fools & Horses.    Find out more about Olly at his website ollysmith.com or follow him on Instagram @ollysmith.    Paul can be found at paul-ainsworth.co.uk or on Instagram @paulainsw6rth. His podcast Knives, Forks & Tunes is available through your usual podcast providers lnk.to/KnivesForksTunes.    Olly’s Tom Collins recipe can be found in his new book The Home Cocktail Bible, available from Amazon and all good bookshops. 

In this episode Olly is joined by Tori Longdon, conductor and co-founder of the Stay at Home Choir, who he pairs with a Matusalem 30-Year-Old Oloroso Sherry, as they talk the similarities between Sherry and choral music and Tori's career as one of the few female conductors working today. Find out more about Olly at his website, or follow him on Instagram @ollysmith. You can find out more about Tori at her website. The Matusalem Sherry featured is available through Majestic. This episode is brought to you by honeycombers.co.uk.

Olly gets to sit down for a face-to-face chat with chef and old friend Asma Khan at her Covent Garden restaurant Darjeeling Express to talk, amongst other things, all-female kitchens, finding her place at the hospitality industry table, serving lunch to Paul Rudd, and chai, all over a glass of Everleaf non-alcoholic aperitif. Find out more about Olly at his website, or follow him on Instagram @ollysmith. Asma's Instagram is @asmakhanlondon. This episode is brought to you by Everleaf Non-Alcoholic Aperitifs.

In this episode Olly pairs actor and writer Ben Miller with the fermented drink kombucha as they talk Caribbean filming, cuddly toys and kids books, including Ben's latest effort, Diary of a Christmas Elf. Find out more about Olly at his website, or follow him on Instagram @ollysmith. You can find Ben @ActualBenMiller on Twitter and Instagram.

In this episode, Olly gets to sit down and talk canned wine and cricket with chef Tommy Banks, pairing Tommy with not one but two wines from his own Banks Brothers range – Syrah Mourvédre No. 1 and Chardonnay No. 3. Find out more about Olly at his website, or follow him on Instagram @ollysmith. You can find out more about Tommy and his new Banks Brothers range of canned wines at their website.