Anthony Worrall Thompson makes a right dog's dinner

Food labelling seems to be a hot topic at the moment...

Anthony Worrall Thompson: I think we're in danger of having too many labels that could confuse the public. We've got the Red Tractor, Freedom Food and Soil Association and other organic certificates, and then you've got all the nutrition and diet advice too. An awful lot of people are taking more of an interest nowadays, but it's a very slow process to get people to be less fat, including myself. Doing all the TV shows, eating all that chef food, I've put on about six pounds in the last month.

Carlton, in Glasgow, has a life expectancy of just 53.9 years. Is diet to blame?

Anthony Worrall Thompson: It's down to how much is eaten and how much exercise takes place. It wasn't long ago that the male calorie intake was about 4,000 and now it's down to 2,500. What frightens me is that we're eating less food and we're getting fatter. Eating less food means we're digesting fewer nutrients so we're not getting the benefits that we're used to.

What do you think of Gillian McKeith's approach to nutrition?

Anthony Worrall Thompson: She's like Gordon Ramsay in a skirt. I think it's far too in your face, far too frightening, and actually, some of it's factually quite wrong. Everyone has their own body and we're all different. You can't make up a blanket rule for everyone. She believes in what's good for her and her family but we all know that doesn't work for everyone.

What's dinner like at the Worrall Thompsons'?

Anthony Worrall Thompson: I'm very strict with what my kids eat. They say it takes several times of eating a particular food to get used to it, and eventually, sure enough they come round to eating it without batting an eyelid. Part of the problem is that families don't have the patience anymore. There have been times when it's taken my daughter an hour and a half to eat up her food. Eventually she'll give up trying to fight me.

We also have what we call 'Friday club'. Every Friday night we take the kids out to a restaurant, and the rule is you have to try something new. My daughter shocked me the other day when she said that pheasant was one of the nicest things she'd ever eaten.

Favourite fuss-free, fail-safe recipe?

Anthony Worrall Thompson: Chop a load of veg, fry it off with a bit of bacon, throw in some rice - twice as much liquid as rice - and just bung it in the oven. And it comes out as this nice pilaf. It's a great way of camouflaging veg for the kids, and you can put what you like in it. Change the flavours so one day you could have oriental, almost like fried rice, one day you could have Moroccan style. It's very quick.

What about food to woo the ladies?

Anthony Worrall Thompson: My wife and I are off to Hayman Island, off the Queensland coast of Australia, soon. I'll be charming her with some great cocktails, staring out over the sea and eating al fresco. At home I'm quite romantic. I go for lots of sharing food like oysters, and I like a good champagne. If there's time I'll leave love notes scattered around the table. But the most important thing for romantic meals is not to prepare anything too filling because maybe you might get lucky, and you don't want to fall asleep because you're full, do you!

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