Tamzin Outhwaite tells Tom Parker Bowles about childhood biscuit rationing, the perils of on-set catering and why she has no time for cookery books
My first food memory is my mum’s spaghetti vongole. She used to make it with tinned clams, and it was a staple in our house. She was a good cook. There were a lot of lamb chops, veg and potatoes. And Italian food, like antipasto, as she was Italian.
Food was always important growing up. There was loads. I remember it being a very healthy, happy set-up, although we never had snacks in the house. Well, we had a biscuit tin, but you had to ask. There were never drawers filled with crisps. A snack was a peeled carrot.
I really liked school dinners, but then I eat literally everything. OK, I wasn’t really into liver and bacon, but now I don’t mind it. I wouldn’t eat foie gras, for obvious reasons. And I don’t really like pheasant or game. But there’s nothing I’ve ever tasted and gone, no, I’m never having that again. I adore jellied eels, whelks, mussels, winkles and especially crab.
Growing up, I was obsessed with escargots. There was one restaurant in Wanstead that did them. I loved that.
Tamzin Outhwaite says her comfort food is shepherd’s pie, cottage pie or roast chicken with all the trimmings
I remember going to Italy as a kid. When you’re eating anchovies and olives from a young age, I suppose it makes your tastebuds quite advanced. But we never left anything on our plates – if we did, my mum would always say there were starving children in the world. It took me a long time to work out that you couldn’t just send them an envelope full of food.
I’ve never followed a recipe. The end result never looks the same as it does in the picture. My whole strategy is to open the fridge and see what I can make from what’s in there. I do love cooking. I have friends that just eat to live, and I’m the other way around: a proper foodie.
Filming Red Cap, the catering was so good that I must have put on a stone. You get to have a starter, then this amazing buffet, followed by dessert and cheese. And I didn’t know how to say no. That was a big lesson. If you’re not fitting into your costume, someone might have to have a word.
Food on a set unites people. Everyone talks about what they’re going to have for lunch, then what they had afterwards. It brings people together.
Tamzin says she remembers going to Italy as a young child. Pictured: the morning view of Amalfi cityscape on coast line of Mediterranean sea
She said that when you’re eating anchovies and olives from a young age, ‘it makes your tastebuds quite advanced’
I eat out at places that serve food I wouldn’t have at home. So, sushi, sashimi and black cod. I love Japanese food.
My comfort food is shepherd’s pie, cottage pie or roast chicken with all the trimmings.
We always have cucumber in the fridge, because it’s the one thing my kids [Florence, 15, and Marnie, 11] will always eat. And some form of chicken. Lemons too – because half a lemon, a chicken breast, some rice and you have dinner. Also, lots of vegetables, salad and hummus. The kids will eat hummus, but not when I make it. Only if it comes in plastic from the supermarket.
Last week we were in Devon, walking along the cliff path, and went into Clovelly, dreaming of lobster and chips. But every restaurant – and there weren’t many – was full. We then stumbled across this little pub and they had four lobsters left. One of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. Just perfect.
My final dinner would start with a huge seafood platter. My main would probably be Japanese: sizzling mushrooms with black cod. A seaweed salad, and sea bass with ponzu sauce. I don’t have a sweet tooth, but pudding would be New York cheesecake. With a margarita and bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
- Tamzin is the founder of the nonprofit organisation We Free Women. She stars in The Tower 2: Death Message on ITV1 later this month
Source: Read Full Article
