Yummy Mummy

Sophie Dahl is a woman of many talents and lover of Detox Kitchen. She has been photographed by Mario Testino, shot campaigns for the likes of Versace and graced the cover of Vogue six times. But her true passion is writing. And in 2010 she won a Jasmine Award for just that. Now Dahl lives in the countryside with her husband and two young daughters, as a devoted home cook, with a cooking series, two food books and cashmere collection under her apron. And she still manages to keep on top of staying healthy as a regular Detox Kitchen customer. What can this girl not do?! We managed to catch up with her to chat wheatgrass, Maltesars and loving your body.

What is your top ingredient when you are looking to give your body a boost?

Anything green - Kale, Spinach, Chard. Also when I remember I take Chlorella and wheatgrass and then gag for five minutes.

Favourite place to buy ingredients?

I do a mixture of Abel and Cole, supermarket, and my local farm shop.

What is your family's favourite dish?

Simple, cosy food. Roast chicken, fish pie, that sort of thing.

Who is your cooking idol?

Elizabeth David.

What is your ideal weekend?

My fantasy ideal weekend involves lots of sleep because I have two very young children. However, I'll take a happy family weekend, with lots of friends over, laughing and cooking, and sitting by the fire.

If you were stuck on a desert island, what one item of food would you take?

Some Maltesers.

Any foods you try and avoid?

White bread. Other than that, not really, no.

What tips would give someone trying to break into the world of cooking?

I'm not a chef, I'm a home cook really, that writes books for the most part, and occasionally do a modelling job once a decade. So I don't feel qualified to give advice really, but would guess it's the same as anything, keep doing it. Study, work in restaurants, get practical experience.

What advice would you give people on loving their body?

I would say, at 80 you will probably look at a picture of yourself in a swimsuit at 30 and think "SHIT. If only I'd known how lovely I looked!" We waste a lot of time despairing about how we look, when actually we look pretty ok.

www.sophiedahl.com