Most British cheeses are now vegetarian and are labelled accordingly. However, French and Italian manufacturers still tend to use rennet.
I've been accused of having very long ingredient lists, and I guess there's some truth in that.
Raw fish suppers admittedly require a little planning, not least in the acquisition of the main ingredient.
Eating ready-made meals is about being very passive, and actively cooking is something that nothing compares to.
I am sure that in the story of Adam and Eve, the forbidden fruit was a fig and not an apple, pear or anything else.
I like to talk about food, ingredients, and how to adapt recipes. It's a dialogue.
Orange blossom water would make a magical addition to your store cupboard.
The addition of vinaigrette to freshly roasted vegetables gives them a freshness and juiciness they don't normally have; the acidity brings out new shades of flavour, too.
Good-quality nuts, toasted in a little butter and salt, make a magical addition to many salads.
Tossing doughnuts, fritters or fried dumplings in fennel sugar adds grown-up complexity without diminishing the indulgence factor.
Marinating chicken in miso adds lots of character to the meat with little work.
Sorrel adds a unique grassy sharpness to salads and dressings, but it can be hard to come by.
Infants have around 30,000 tastebuds, only about a third of which survive into adulthood, so a child's sensitivity towards extremes of sweet, sour and bitter flavours is heightened.
Jerusalem artichokes have a great affinity with nuts. I love them with chopped walnuts or almonds, lemon juice, garlic, herbs and plenty of olive oil.
In certain European cuisines, vegetables are cooked a long time. I take the term 'al dente' and use it for vegetables.
My all-time favourite classic use of ricotta is in gnudi: fluffy, cheesy dumplings of almost ethereal, feathery lightness.
The most important thing for me is to walk the little alleys of the city, to find the little alcove where someone is cooking something, and just watch them do it. That's my idea of fun.
Most men say they can cook pasta, but I think you should find a little bit of an unusual angle on your pasta and make that your signature dish.
Steaming maintains some of the aubergine flesh's texture, which doesn't happen if you cook it in any other way.
Shimeji are those odd-looking clusters of small mushrooms you often find in so-called 'exotic' selections at the supermarket. They have an appealing firmness that is retained during light cooking.
