Tennis player-turned-broadcaster Annabel Croft shows us round the kitchen of her family home, a mere volley away from the All England Club in Wimbledon.
I love our kitchen. My Britannia oven is brilliant, and I love my fabulous pull-out bin. We designed the kitchen ourselves -
my husband Mel [ex-America's Cup yachtsman Mel Coleman] is really good at that sort of thing. It was originally really tiny, so
we knocked the side of the house out and extended it into a conservatory. When we have guests they sit here while I'm cooking,
which makes it a really social thing.
The table overlooks the garden. We reckon that from there you could almost hit a ball into Number One Court of the
All England Club. It's a great atmosphere during Wimbledon. It's been a major part of my life since I was a kid -
I first played it in 1982 as a 15-year-old - but I love commentating and reporting now.
The hearts hanging up over the hatch, top centre, were a gift from my photographer friend Sven Arnstein, who took
the photos at my wedding. Our medals from the marathons we've run hang next to them. First, Mel did the London Marathon,
then the next year we did the New York Marathon together, and last year I ran the London one. It was a big ambition for
us both, and great fun - but I won't do another. I love running, but I think too many marathons can mess you up a bit.
And hanging by the cooker we have a long string of chillis, above left, but when we have people over for dinner, I put
them around an enormous candle to make a centrepiece.
I find cooking very therapeutic. I'm a cookery book addict but, much as I love new recipes, I have my favourites I often
go back to, such as Delia Smith. I'm obsessive about Waitrose recipe cards too! I pick them up each time I go in, and I
have a recipe of theirs for braised lamb niçoise that I use all the time.
We often cook with the children [Amber, seven; Charlie, five; and Lily, three]. We do lots of cake-baking and
everybody mucks in to make Sunday lunch - they all want to peel the carrots. I was reared on a traditional diet so I love
English food - I think we don't emphasise it enough in this country. I love international food, too, but I think you can't
go far wrong with proper English stuff.
People are always amazed when they see my children tucking into huge plates of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, but they are
fantastic eaters. I think it's because even as babies they always had whatever we were eating, mushed up in the Magimix, so
they were exposed to different flavours early on.
I get so irritated with restaurants that have those stupid children's menus. We're obsessed with fried-out-of-existence,
nutritionless junk, which we then serve with chips. It's vital what kids eat, yet so many people are content to feed
them rubbish. I'm proud to say that for all of us - not least the children - the kitchen really is the heart of the home.
Annabel will report from Wimbledon, from 25 June, for BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky News.
Around Annabel's kitchen table...
Britannia ovens are sold in John Lewis.
For more details, call 01253 471111 or visit www.rangecooker.co.uk
You can enrol for the 2002 London Marathon after 1 August. See www.london-marathon.co.uk
for details
Most Wimbledon tickets have already been issued, although the All England Club reserves 500 or so tickets for
Courts One and Two to sell at the turnstile. Tel 020 8944 1066.