What’s in your kitchen?

I have a lot of spices, unfortunately I have too many and in a sense they lose their power over time. I always have saffron, aromatic spices, orange blossom, rose water, pomegranate syrup and Nyora peppers. I like bringing back spices from the countries I visit, but then I also buy them here in the supermarkets, because I want to see what the dishes will taste like when other people make them. There is a great freshness in spices when you buy them in the markets in Spain and things like rose water and orange blossom are much more powerful. I have stocks of bulgur, couscous, basmati rice and paella. I like having dried beans, chickpeas and lentils in the house so that if I suddenly decide to cook a dish I can do it.

I’ve got an Iranian store two minutes away from where I live in Golders Green called Hormuz (020 8455 8184). It’s small but has everything and I go there all the time. When I’m looking for special dishes I love going into town and going into the Green Valley (020 7402 7385), in Upper Berkeley Street, it’s like a little supermarket and is open until midnight so I go in the evening - they have food flown in from Lebanon every day.

How would you sum up your food philosophy?

Expert View

Three or four items on a plate is enough, too many flavours confuse the palate

Angela Hartnett

• More

• Post a comment

Related Links

• Hoummos and humour

• Claudia Roden Q&A

• Real food stories

I value cooking very much. Cooking is a pleasure, if I don’t cook for a few days when I’m travelling I really, really miss it. It is a therapeutic thing. I recommend cooking with people if you can, your husband, your children or your friends, it makes cooking a social activity. Food is about being social; it’s also about being convivial. Cooking with friends is one of the great pleasures that we have; it is as nice as going to the theatre, the opera or a concert.

How has British food and our attitude to it has changed in your lifetime?

It’s changed completely. When I came here in the late 1950s as an art student the food was always bad everywhere - it was incredible… I remember meeting some Italian students who were so appalled with the food that they went straight home. Food was a taboo subject. To think or talk about it was taboo. If I asked people what they cooked, it was considered rude. People used only to cook in order to fill people up; while there were some people who cooked good English food, it wasn’t common.

Back then, people just thought that food has to be cheap, for some people that is still the case, but others are willing to pay more and they value what is good. I am always surprised and excited to see people expanding their food horizons because it was the last thing I thought was going to happen 30 years ago - I remember thinking that this country was a lost cause.

What annoys you about food culture in Britain?

While I’m so glad that things have changed, there are so many areas that are still terrible. On the one hand we’re told, and we can see, that London is the capital of food and you can get everything here. On the other hand, our top restaurants are much too expensive - food should not cost that much. I very often go to restaurants where I’ve spent quite a lot of money and think “well I make it a lot better, why should I come here?” Of course, it’s fun to go out.

For me, the worst, worst thing is the way people are eating disgusting food that is bad for their health, makes them fat and shortens their life - I do think it is serious. A lot of food is highly manufactured and contains enormous quantities of sugar and salt - this makes me angry.

What is Britain’s best-kept food secret?

There are a lot of wonderful cooks who are cooking in small restaurants and pubs all over England - you only learn about them if you come across them by accident. The problem is that food writers and critics always want to go to the latest restaurants and be the first to write about them. So the same places are written about and a lot of places miss out. There are plenty of small artisans with entrepreneurial spirit who are making home-made chocolate and cakes for a market that realises that good food matters.

Do you prefer eating in or out?

I like eating in people's homes, because you can sit down and catch up for hours at a time, but, every so often, a dinner out is great fun. When I take my family out to dinner in good restaurants, six of us sit down, so it does get very expensive. I often think that we could have got the train to Paris and eaten there for a couple of days for the same price.

What is the next big (real) food trend?

I am glad to say that I’m researching Spain at the moment as Spanish food is becoming increasingly popular. Innovation has brought the products of Spain into the limelight and made them more interesting. I’m learning so much about the quality and variety of produce as I travel from town to town in Spain, there’s so much that I never knew about, I must say that I’m amazed. I really think that Spanish food is the next big thing.

For the best local produce in your area visit the Times Real Food Directory

Times Recommends

• How to . . . carve a turkey
• 21 top tips for Christmas
• How to . . . cook for a Christmas crowd