Recently, a friend of restaurant critic Tim Hayward called him a glutton. This week, our friends at the Life and Art from FT Weekend podcast dig into that label with Tim — and he explains why he embraces the label. Then, Life and Art host Lilah Raptopoulos speaks with food and drink editor Harriet Fitch Little about dinner parties. What’s the perfect vibe — and the perfect soundtrack? How can you throw a dinner party that both guests and hosts will actually enjoy? And can you still host even if you’re a bad cook? They answer all these questions and more.

Additional links:

• “As God is my witness, gluttony is not a sin” by Tim Hayward
• “Who’d invite their boss to dinner?” by Anjli Raval
• “‘No effort’ dinner parties are a delusion” by Tim Hayward
• Harriet Fitch Little’s dinner music recommendation is A Piano and A Microphone by Prince

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell. Publishing by Shantel Holder and transcription by Emily Nguyen.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.