I opened Leith's in Notting Hill in 1969 and it eventually worked its way into being awarded a Michelin star. At the time, there were a few women running small bistros - but I was the first woman to have a 'serious,' expensive restaurant.
I have strong hair, so if I've had a good haircut, I can wash my hair in the bath and not worry about it.
What I want to do is produce really delicious food. I want it to look nice, because when you see food you should want to eat it. You shouldn't be saying, 'Oh my goodness, isn't the chef clever, he can weave the Eiffel Tower out of carrot sticks.'
My worst habit is opening the fridge and thinking: 'I'd like to eat something.'
It's so nice to slip into the lap of luxury.
All I need for a perfect holiday is sun and some peace and quiet. Those make for perfect book-writing conditions.
Any woman will tell you after the menopause, nobody whistle at her, well - that's just the beginning. As you get older people don't want you at their parties, we all are prejudiced about old people.
I am very in favour of children having a nap after lunch because then they're not whiney and grizzly by six o'clock.
Nobody should eat too much cake.
I think the BBC likes to have Mary Berry and me around to rebut the charge of ageism.
Hua Hin is Thailand's royal beach resort and home to the king's summer palace. The local food is fantastic, the weather is beautiful, everything's cheap and the Thai people are so friendly and warm.
I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.
I'd love to look incredibly glamorous, but I am a wholesome, comforting nanny type: I think I look like an advertisement for wholemeal flour or something.
I don't like Johannesburg, where I grew up. Everybody lives in 'gated' buildings, is paranoid about crime and is always talking about being mugged. It's not a very joyful place.
In my 40s: I had two children young enough to think their parents wonderful, my business was booming, I was happily married and living in the Cotswolds with a veg garden and ponies in the paddock. Who could not be happy?
The really nice thing about the town of Hua Hin - and Thailand generally - is that it's so safe. You can walk around the night market, for example, with complete confidence.
The most followed chef is Delia Smith. She is my age and doesn't try to be entertaining, she encourages people to learn the basics.
It was hugely helpful to me, being South African. I have never felt uncomfortable in posh society because I don't see what it is that I'm meant to be bowing the knee about.
If I am tanned, I feel a million times better.
Nothing beats that sloppy kiss of a six-month-old grandchild.
