The Kitchen Diaries

"I love the simplicity of it and the cosiness of it. You can imagine being at home on a blowy November evening and creating a meal from whatever you happen to have lying around in the fridge. I loved all of his columns in The Observer . He is such a wonderful food writer and cook. He isn’t a trained chef so there is an ease to his recipes. He gives very straightforward practical cooking advice, which is totally up my street. “I grew up in a family of people who were passionate about food, and greedy, so that is where my love stemmed from.” With this particular book, he is looking at a year of what he eats, so it is seasonal and atmospheric. You might have something like a crumble on an autumn day, baked onions and other lovely mixes of things. He has this lyrical way of writing about food. I just bought his other book, Tender , and stayed up all night to read it, radiating admiration. He has the same thing as Nigella and Simon Hopkinson – a total infectious warmth in the way he writes. It is a big mix really. At the moment I am pregnant so I crave anything white and deeply refined! I also like cosy comfort food like fish pies and mushy peas but also more delicate food like a whisper-thin pastry or velouté. Yuk, no nothing like that, luckily! That really is a hideous one."