Hazel Wallace, aka The Food Medic

The fitness influencer, doctor and author reveals her comfort food, ultimate hangover cure, and insanely popular signature dish

What did your mother make you?

She used to make a chicken and broccoli bake, and topped it with thinly sliced potatoes, Parmesan, and crisps. I’ve recreated the recipe in my new cookbook, The Food Medic For Life.

The first dish you ever cooked?

I’ve been in the kitchen since I was in nappies. The first recipe my mum taught me to make was an apple tart, and she first learnt it from her mother. When I was five or six, I made it for a baking competition, and won a wooden spoon as first prize.

What’s your comfort food?

Home-made soup and crusty bread, and my mum’s apple crumble.

What’s always in your kitchen?

Oats; Alpro Oat Original; peanut butter.

What do you drink?

I’m partial to a nice Pinot Grigio, or a G&T with a dash of elderflower.

Hangover cure?

Smashed avocado, with a bit of Alpro Simply Plain [soya yoghurt] mixed in, to make it taste deliciously creamy. I add this to mushrooms on sourdough toast, with a big mug of tea, and followed by a long walk in the countryside.

You can only eat three things for the rest of your life, what are they?

Peanut butter; chocolate; and strawberries.

What’s the nicest smell in the world?

Freshly baked bread.

You can go anywhere and have anything to eat with any one person. Where, what and who?

If I can go back in time, I would go back to Italy and share a pizza with my dad.

Favourite restaurant in Ireland?

When I get off the plane in Dublin, I head straight to Avoca in Malahide for their gigantic scones and gorgeous salads.

And abroad?

A little place in Bondi, Sydney, called Porch and Parlour for brunch. Sydney has so many great breakfast spots.

Worst meal ever?

I had an anaphylactic reaction to tuna while out in a restaurant at the age of 18. That was pretty terrifying!

What is your guilty pleasure?

Nachos and dip! What’s your signature dish? Salmon, sticky soy aubergine and greens. The recipe for this dishwas in my first book, and it went viral on Instagram. I like to think I convinced people that aubergine is pretty delicious, when it is cooked right.

“I’ve been in the kitchen since I was in nappies. My mum taught me to make apple tart”

Are you careful about food?

No food is really off bounds in my books. I try to eat a minimally processed diet and I also cook from scratch where possible, but I don’t beat myself up about occasionally grabbing a takeaway.

Any foods you have had to cut out or cut down on that you miss?

I’ve cut down on animal products as I believe we over-consume them in the western world, and it’s having an impact on the environment. When I eat meat, I like to know the quality and provenance.

What’s your perfect family meal?

Christmas dinner! It’s the only time my family are really all together, so that makes it what it is. Plus, I love everything about Christmas dinner — ham, turkey, stuffing, all the trimmings, and of course, dessert. For recipe inspiration, see alpro.com/uk/recipe-inspiration. Twitter; Instagram: @Alpro In conversation with Sophie White