How could you live without chips? I could do without bread easily.

As an Aussie, my favourite holidays are skiing ones.

I do think about how different my life might have been had my mother not died so young, but I try not to delve into it too deeply, as it's like 'Sliding Doors,' isn't it? You just don't know.

You have to control your own destiny and make your own choices.

The inspiration to cook came from my grandmother and my father who were both wonderful home cooks. But I would say I taught myself. You travel, you discover the world, you explore books - it is these things that make a great cook.

Sydney-siders don't drive.

I like to introduce people to new things without scaring them.

For the children it will always be a lemonade float at the Christmas table as a special treat.

In winter I love a pasty.

I'm pretty conscious of what I eat because of my age.

Vegetarian' is just another word for 'bad hunter.'

Fact is, I'm a carnivore.

I'm not someone who jumps in a car to make for the country, I'm an urbanite. I love living in London and there's always something going on.

I can't understand why anyone would want to reduce vinegar.

I already have my fantasy job. I run a restaurant and film 'MasterChef,' both of which mean I get to cook and eat - and get paid for it.

I don't think a 12-month TV campaign really changes what anyone thinks.

I love South Australia.

There's nothing worse than a sterile house.

I think the 'Great British Bake-Off' is great.

If I go to a restaurant the last thing I want to do is sit with somebody I don't like because then the food always tastes awful.

We're all so busy we don't make time to enjoy our lives, good company and good food.

Cooking steak is a joy because it is a terrific piece of meat that has great flavour whether it is grilled or pan-fried.

My earliest memory of cooking is my grandmother showing me how to make chicken gravy on the big combustion stove in her kitchen. I still use Nana's gravy recipe.

I think restaurants and family homes and stuff are about conversation and about chatting. Food is there because you want to enjoy it and have fun with it but I'm not there to study it - I'm there to spend time with my friends.

My affinity for beef extends into my home life, so you'll notice canvas prints of cows, a cowhide rug and prints of Smithfield meat market.

On Christmas morning breakfast is always thick slices of ham, thick white toast, butter and pepper - oh and a glass of fizz!

Yes, I am a judge on 'MasterChef,' where I taste thousands of dishes, and yes I am a trained chef which has had me commanding some of the biggest brigands a kitchen has ever seen. Yes, I have travelled the world and cooked on television and at food shows up and down the country, but in my heart I am a home cook.

I'm a culture person when I'm working, so my downtime is beach time: sand, surf and a barbecue.

The most used thing I have is my wok. I prefer it to a pan or pot. It is my wonder. They're really easy to clean, I am a lazy cook like that, so it appeals.

As I'd travelled, I'd seen more and more people drinking rose. Given the amount of grapes we grow in Australia, I just said, 'Why wouldn't we be making rose?'

In our family a whole ham on the bone would be bought three days before Christmas, and then stored in a pillow case and left in the fridge so anyone can take the huge thing out and slice it.

The food I had as a child was not complicated, but by heck it was tasty. My Nanna's cauliflower cheese was awesome, her caramel slice wonderful and I am still searching for a recipe to make her apple tea cake.

I have to admit to not being a great turkey fan unless they come from Paul Kelly at Kelly Turkeys.

People think the restaurant industry is hard and takes no prisoners, but so does baking, so does retail and so does bus driving. You can't blame your job.

I want people to throw on a hat, head out into the outback and see the real Australia. You can do it how you want - independently in a 4WD, camping under the stars, or being treated like a king in a luxury homestead or on a cruise.

Sydney has the world's best swimming pool. Walk through the Botanical Gardens and you come to the Andrew 'Boy' Charlton Pool on Mrs Macquaries Road, with incredible views of Finger Wharf and the Harbour.

I never use organic vegetables. Why would you want to? The idea of taking a courgette grown in a third-world country in an organic field, packed into a polystyrene box, flown across the oceans, washed in chlorinated water, packed into a foam box, driven halfway across the country, wrapped in plastic and stamped 'organic,' what's the point?

Street stalls, be they in Korea, Thailand or anywhere else in Asia, in a covered market or simply on a street corner with a few brightly coloured plastic stools and tables, are my favourite places in the world to eat.

The culinary world is a fascinating place that has been influenced over the centuries by culture, religion, fashion, war, art, science and, more recently, globalisation.

Raft Point is among the greatest examples of ancient indigenous art we know of.

I have no qualms with people who want to be vegetarians; it's just foolish. They are missing out on the best things in life: meat, cheese, proper Christmas pudding.

Those who know me well will tell you that I love a market, and when I say market, I mean food market. No matter where in the world, they allow me to soak up the culture, to hear the rhythmic chattering of the local people and traders, and take in the all-important smells, pungent and intoxicating.

I ate some really amazing food in Thailand. I had river turtle, and dried rat, which was quite chewy and interesting and a bit like biltong.

My father did lots of things. He had an orange-juice factory. He did real estate. He did commercial selling. He was always up and about doing all sorts of weird and wonderful things and being adventurous. I always admired his self-discipline. He was very good at getting everything done. He was very tidy.

My nanna was an extraordinary lady, and a good old-fashioned cook. She'd just be pottering around, cooking dinner for 25 people on a wood-fired stove without a problem.

What I'm trying to do as an Australian is to say to people, 'You've got to go back out to Australia,' because there are rural communities that really rely upon tourism to continue to go.

I love the island of Majorca. I love the beach at Cala Ratjada, which is on the far side of the island where not many Britons go.

Fish and chips by nature are greasy, so we put vinegar on it and we like it because it helps our digestive system. The vinegar breaks down the fat.

Pumpkin and nutmeg tarts are a small, sweet version of the classic tart, a combination that is a particular favourite of mine.

I got quite into Spam once, in Korea. On their Thanksgiving, they give boxes of it to their friends. I fry it in batter with herbs wrapped around.