Editor and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter dreams of oysters in Tasmania and fish stew in Whitstable, discovers Heidi Ruge
What and where did you eat last night?
I had organic lamb with my partner, Peter, at my house in Kent.
Who would you invite to your fantasy dinner party?
I've met most of the people I've ever wanted to meet. Of those, I'd probably ask Johnny Rotten, Elton John and Nigella Lawson. I'd serve oysters, organic meat and vegetables, though I wouldn't be doing the cooking.
What is your favourite restaurant?
St. John in Clerkenwell. I like it because they serve really good, simple English food. The ingredients are always good and the food doesn't come covered in sauce. The chef, Fergus Henderson was an architect before he became a chef. Living just round the corner and having studied architecture myself, I have a lot of empathy for the place.
What food reminds you of childhood?
Butter beans, leeks in sauce, overcooked vegetables and meat, anything my mother made really. I won't eat anything that reminds me of my childhood.
What food makes you think of holidays?
I don't holiday as normal people do, although I do a lot of travel writing. I often find the food I eat when I'm travelling is impossible to replicate. For example, you can't reproduce the tastes of the fish and locally-grown vegetables of the Caribbean, or the excellent oysters, meat and fish I had in Tasmania. I find the best food is whatever is freshest where you are at the time.
What do you snack on at work?
I don't usually snack because I have a good breakfast. As soon as I get up I have a cup of hot water with lemon, which I've been doing for the past 25 years, I'm not sure why. For my breakfast, I'll have chopped fresh fruit and cereal, with low-fat organic yogurt and some black coffee. When I was writing my book I'd start at five o'clock in the evening and work until the early hours so I sometimes stopped for a glass of wine and some celery and houmous or something around seven.
So you have quite a healthy regime?
I do a lot of walking, have a gym in my house and I don't eat rubbish like potato chips
or foods that taste processed. I also try to avoid carbohydrates, but I like fresh organic meat and vegetables.
What's always in your fridge?
A bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, packets of salami, Serrano ham and olives from one
of the great London delis near where I live.
I always have some cheese, which I get from a stall at Canterbury farmers' market and I'll also have some blueberries and raspberries and fresh seasonal vegetables.
What do you like to cook?
I don't believe in spending a lot of time cooking, life is too short. I tend to cook differently in London to Yorkshire, where I have a house with an Aga, which I find is great for cooking roasts and casserole dishes.
What is your most used cookbook?
I think Simon Hopkinson is a great food writer. Generally though, I don't tend to buy cookbooks, I cut recipes out of magazines.
Marmite: love it or hate it?
It's dog food, isn't it?
Who's your favourite TV chef?
Nigella Lawson is a friend, but I don't watch her or any other chefs on television. I think
if TV chefs make more people take an interest in what they are eating, though, that can only be a good thing. When I look at some of the rubbish people are buying at the supermarket it makes me want to weep.
Have you ever eaten something you hated just to be polite?
No. If I don't like something I won't eat it.
What would you have for your last meal?
Black pudding and a nice piece of bacon.
What's the best meal you've ever eaten?
I love having fish stew on a hot sunny day in my garden in Whitstable with friends.
Do you get spotted when out shopping?
I sometimes get approached when I'm shopping but I don't mind; generally people are really nice.
Baggage: My Childhood (Headline; £16.99) by Janet Street-Porter is out now.