My earliest food memories are waking up on Sunday mornings at my home in Sardinia. My mom would be in the kitchen making fresh pasta sheets for lasagne, with a slow-cooked tomato sauce bubbling away in the Aga.

I don’t believe in food trends. Like fashion, things come and go – but good, honest and fresh food is a timeless classic.

My favourite place to eat is my local Turkish restaurant. They serve the best mixed grill and freshly made flat bread. Or there’s Kyoto sushi restaurant in Romilly Street, in Soho. My most memorable meals were in the summertime with my family, when my dad used to cook a feast with his own freshly caught fish.

The ideal dinner guests for me are my family! I’m happiest when I’m at home, cooking for or with my family, as everyone has their little chores in the kitchen and everything gets done.

Cookbook inspiration? My mom would kill me if she knew, but Jamie Oliver’s fresh pasta recipe is better than hers. And Cranks helped me produce the best vegetarian chilli I’ve ever made.

Three items I always keep in my fridge are butter, eggs and fresh ginger. You’ll never go hungry if you have eggs in your fridge, and I was brought up on margarine as my mom was convinced that it was healthier – but now I know better. And I love ginger in cooking, and as a hot drink with lemon.