What have you got planned for the year?
I am creating a Scooby Doo and a Peppa Pig garden for Festival Place Shopping Centre in Basingstoke, Hants. I am also doing a major event at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, the world’s biggest flower show. I am creating some really exciting live garden theatre in the central marquee. It will be amazing.
We know you are a big supporter of home-grown fruit and veg. What do you think can be done to encourage people to grow and eat more fresh produce?
We have got to start young and get kids growing produce in their parents’ gardens. I read a particularly depressing survey recently, which found that most kids thought apples came from Tesco. We have to address problems like that.
Fruit in particular is so easy to grow. As a gardener, you have to do virtually nothing: just pick the fruit when it is ripe. You don’t need to water the tree. Blueberries, currants and mulberries all work brilliantly in the average garden.
What are the ideal vegetables to grow in your own veg patch?
I am a big fan of peas - I like eating them fresh, straight from the pod without cooking. Just pick them and pop them in your mouth. Tomatoes are very easy to grow - you pick up a grow-bag from a garden centre and away you go. I would encourage people to grow their own herbs: oregano, rosemary and parsley, and also bay leaves for stews and curries.
What are your favourite fruits and vegetables and how do you like to eat them?
I am a big fan of peaches, which I like to eat fresh, straight from the tree. You can buy little mini-trees, which will grow brilliantly in a conservatory. They are great in fruit salads, too, with a bit of cream. Strawberries are wonderful too - why not try growing them in a hanging basket. They are tough as nails and can survive any weather - and they look beautiful when in flower. Again, they taste best when simply picked straight from the bush.
I love to grow my own chillies and use them to spice up a curry or a chilli con carne. They can be grown easily on your kitchen window. Green or yellow peppers can be grown in the same way and are great for all sorts of dishes.
We hear you are quite an experimental cook and your signature dish is smoked kangaroo. Any veg to go with that?
I do love a bit of kangaroo: a very underrated meat and a real pest in Australia. It tastes delicious with fresh cherry tomatoes covered in olive oil with a bit of oregano and basil.
Who or what inspires you in terms of your cooking and eating healthily?
You tend to find that most gardeners also quite fancy themselves as chef. We are outside a lot, growing the best fruit and vegetables. It is entirely logical that we are also going to want to eat and cook all the great fruit and veg we are growing. It’s the same with chefs: you often find they are also keen gardeners, growing their own veg and herbs. I draw my inspiration from all sorts of sources; people like the great Raymond Blanc, who has an amazing garden at his famous Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire. He was years ahead of his time. -
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