IN HER OWN WORDS: Prue Leith

As her series Cook Clever, Waste Less With Prue And Rupy (8.30pm, Ch4) concludes, we look at some things the kitchen doyenne has had to say about her life and career…

On arriving in England as a young child: ‘Aged six, I sailed from South Africa to England by steam ship with my family. It was a three-week journey. I remember crying on my birthday when I didn’t get the enormous teddy bear that was for sale in the ship’s shop, but aside from that, I had a wonderful time.’ On her rather conservative approach to going out: ‘I came through the 1960s, so I was perfectly aware of drug-taking, but I came from South Africa, and we were brought up in quite an old-fashioned way.

If I went to a rave or a party, I’d be behind the barbecue flipping the burgers. I wasn’t out there partying.’

On the early success of her first restaurant:

‘I opened Leith’s in Notting Hill in 1969, and it 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.’

On judging The Great British Bake Off, which she joined in 2017: ‘Bake Off has been a renaissance for me. I turn up, taste something and get paid rather well. What could be nicer?’

On her guilty pleasure:

‘A deep, eco-unfriendly hot bath. Preferably with a glass of champagne and someone sitting on the loo seat gossiping.’