FOOD TVNigel Slater

Nigel Slater has laid-back cooking down to a tee. No fuss, nothing fancy; little wonder his BBC1 series, Simple Suppers, went down a storm with viewers last year...

Happily, a second one is now on our screens, with the softly-spoken cook and award-winning food writer as enthusiastic as ever about rustling up simple but tasty food. Here, Nigel tells TV Times some of his foodie secrets…

My favourite simple supper is…my version of sausage and mash: sticky sausages smothered in honey and mustard and carrot mash, which is like a potato mash but made with carrots.

The first time I fell in love with food was…the first time my mum took a tray of flapjacks out of the oven.

The food I loved as a child was…lemon meringue pie. I absolutely hated eggs – still do.

My school dinners were…really quite good. Especially the gooseberry pie.

If I wasn’t a cook I'd be...a potter.

The one ingredient I’d take to a desert island would be…lemons, because I’d obviously be catching lots of fish and lemon is the most important seasoning; even more important than salt and pepper.

My guilty food secret is…Dairylea!

If I was Prime Minister I'd…make sure that no one left school without being able to cook themselves something good to eat.

The strangest thing I’ve ever eaten is…some long, opaque slimy stuff in Japan. I still don’t know what it was!

Last night I ate…grilled lamb with hummus and olive oil.

My worst meal out was…in a very posh restaurant where all the food arrived with silver cloches on top. The waiter recited the details of every course before we were allowed to eat. Ridiculous!

My favourite breakfast is…a kipper.

My last supper would be…steak, béarnaise sauce, chips and a big bowl of trifle. A final meal is very important so I’d make it all myself so it was just right.

Heaven is…thick, hot toast with lots of salty butter on it.

FOOD TVRecipe

Full Recipe: Nigel's lamb, beetroot and bulgar wheat patties