What is in your kitchen? I shop at Stoke Newington and Islington farmers’ markets, Fresh & Wild, and Planet Organic. At the moment I’m getting chard, beetroot, English strawberries, yellow sprouting broccoli. I bought some lovely wood pigeon, organic quail too and fabulous unpasteurised milk – it’s so creamy. I get an organic box delivery from Abel & Cole and spelt and sourdough bread from Flour Power City or Euphorium. If I buy fish it has to be from a sustainable resource – mackerel and organic salmon. I won’t buy tuna or cod. Supermarkets just horrify me – they are too big and too sterile. The people scare me!

How would you sum up your food philosophy? Cooking is really essential. It’s one thing to buy something that’s really good for you but if you boil the hell out of it or don’t cook it enough then you won’t get the most out of it. People should experiment with the cooking textures of their food. Green beans cooked al dente take quite a lot of energy to break down. So, take them just past al dente so that when they get into the body it can get the maximum amount of nourishment. It’s the opposite with meat. If you cook a steak well done it’s going to take more energy from your body to break that steak down than you actually get back from it.

How has British food and our attitude to it changed in your lifetime? Right now, the middle classes are reaping the benefits of a culinary revolution - foraging, eating organic and sustainably. They have a much sounder knowledge of nutrition. But the working classes have lost the knowledge and ability to create good cheap food for the family - that food is now provided by the supermarkets. There is this huge explosion of diabetes and obesity casued by a lot of sugar and refined, processed foods in their diets.

What annoys you about the food culture in Britain? We don’t take ourselves seriously enough. We feel like a poor relation to France and Italy. We’ve were overshadowed by nouvelle cuisine back in the 1960s when the French arrived again. I liken it to the Norman Conquest - 900 years later the French turn up again and completely screw the way we think about our food. We produce scallops, lamb, beef, wheat, dairy, fabulous apples, brilliant pears, brilliant cheese, hams, fish galore. We’ve got an absolutely stunning array of food in this country but we have lost our confidence. That’s what really frustrates me. We’ve got it here. So what if in the winter we’ve got parsnips, swedes, turnips, beetroot and dandelion. That’s what this country is all about.

On the other hand I think a lot of people have turned away from farmers’ markets. I was at Islington farmers’ market last weekend and it just looked so slapdash. You’ve got two people behind the counter who just look like they’ve been dragged through a bush, one of them coughing and sneezing all over the food their selling me, and everything is on the floor. I think they could have a little bit more passion and show things off. It’s literally like they’re in their yard and they couldn’t give a shit! The farmers need to take the food they’re selling more seriously rather than just turning up with it and thinking "oh, I’m going to sell it because I’m in a farmers’ market." I want to support the local producers but they have to take themselves a bit more seriously. Otherwise people are just going to go to supermarkets because they feel safe.

What is Britain's best-kept food secret? Perry Cider. Pear cider coming out of some of the small artisan producers in Somerset. It is golden, crisp, and slightly fizzy. It is sweet but bitter. It’s got an alcohol content of about five or six per cent. And I tell you what, with a nice piece of cheddar, chutney and bit of bread looking out over the Somerset Levels… that’s a pretty good secret. But don’t tell anyone.

Do you prefer eating in or eating out? I mainly eat in because of frustration with the restaurant scene. My partner, Paloma, and I desperately seek a restaurant that will provide us with what we are looking for. Acorn House is how I want a restaurant to be.

What is the next big (real) food trend? It’s got to be ethical dining. People are desperately trying to find a way of not impacting on the environment so much.

More Real Food Pioneers

Times Recommends

• How to season a wok
• Chicago Rib Shack hits back at its critics
• Gordon Ramsay: Indian barbecue