Erin McGregor

‘Dancing With The Stars’ mover and shaker talks about her life in food

What did your mother make you?

Her favourite thing to make every Tuesday was spag bol.

The meal you will always remember?

My most memorable meal has to have been my tea and toast after labour; that’s the nicest slice of toast and the best cup of tea you’ll ever have in your whole life.

What’s the first dish you ever cooked?

I’m not a cook. It was probably chicken curry — it was edible, but I avoid the kitchen like the plague.

What is your comfort food?

Crisps, chocolate — anything I shouldn’t be eating. Popcorn, nachos — all the things you gorge on at the movies.

What is your hangover cure?

I don’t drink that often, but when I do, I love BBQ chicken pizza from Domino’s.

What do you drink?

A couple of glasses of Prosecco. If it’s a long-haul night out with the girls, it’ll be vodka Red Bulls. The older I get, I’m just not able. My boyfriend calls me ‘two sips and a hangover’, then I get The Fear the next day.

If you could only eat three things for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Bread; rice — I’m a carb junkie — and grilled halloumi.

What is the most appetising smell in the world?

I love the smell of cooking chocolate. I remember the smell of the chocolate melting when my mum made Rice Krispies cakes when I was young. I was always dying to lick the spoon.

How important is food to you?

I love food. Especially when someone else is cooking for me. What’s your favourite restaurant in Ireland? I really love the Shelbourne, we had [my son] Harry’s christening in the Constitution Room; and I love Rustic Stone [on South Great George’s Street]. And abroad? Gordon Ramsay in Las Vegas. What do you refuse to eat? Mashed potatoes — my mam used to force me to eat them. I have a phobia of lumpy mashed potatoes. ‘It touched off my meat, I’m not eating it,’ I’d say. I never force my kids to eat anything they don’t like because of that. What is your guilty pleasure? Right now, I’m living on protein bars! I love McDonald’s chips with curry sauce. What’s your signature dish? I really don’t cook, my partner does. If you really pushed me, I’d possibly put something into the oven — like a pizza — but I try to avoid that. I just look as helpless as possible in the kitchen. I’d rather clean the kitchen than cook — that’s where we both work together.

Are you careful about what you eat?

If I’m healthy, I’m healthy; if I’m bad, I’m bad. I could be really good for two weeks, and then really bad for three weeks! I stopped eating meat about three years ago, and I suppose I was trying to be a little bit more animal-friendly. It’s hard for someone like me who doesn’t cook, because if you’re me, you live on protein bars and you eat shite! Catch Erin McGregor cutting a rug every Sunday night (for as long as her feet and her luck will last) on RTE One’s ‘Dancing With The Stars’ at 6.30pm, or catch up on the RTE player, see rte.ie/player

“My most memorable meal ever has to have been my tea and toast after labour”