DARREN KENNEDY

TV presenter, style entrepreneur

At the moment, a mixture of things including being quite focused on health and trying to hit the gym five times a week, means my lifestyle isn’t really conducive to drinking. This summer I went on a week-long fitness and well-being retreat in Ibiza and didn’t consume any alcohol. Dance class at 7am in the morning with Madonna’s former choreographer was pretty intoxicating.

In my university days, when I was living in France, I was practically pickled all the time, and a summer spent in Toronto was alcohol-infused. Nothing out of the ordinary for a student, I guess. Nowadays I wouldn’t drink a fraction of what I did then. I simply don’t have the time or the inclination. I work at a very quick pace between several cities so I’m often travelling and need to be on top form.

A lot of my work involves getting out and about with plenty of booze on offer, so if I wanted to I could be out boozing every single night of the week, but I consciously avoid it. I tend to try stick to sparkling water. When I’m working I try to make my time as productive as it can be, so I don’t really do midweek drinking and I’d rarely have a drink at home.

On my down time, I like to cook, have friends over and chill out and I do enjoy a few drinks with friends at the weekend. I’m very conscious of balance in my life, so I do plan time to let loose with my mates.

Wine is the devil when it comes to hangovers for me, so I avoid it at all costs. A lot of my days off are spent minding/ chasing my nephews and nieces, so on those days a hangover is totally out of the question.

The best hangover cure is anything that involves eggs, sausages and plenty of spice. I adore anything with a kick in it, with Mexican and Thai food being my favourites.

My favourite tipple is a Tanqueray 10 gin, tonic and lime, straight up. Keep it simple and clean.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the most important), I reckon drink is a 2 for me. I’d be perfectly fine without it and could easily not drink.