‘Yorkshire puds; I bloody love them’

What did your mother make you? Chocolate pudding. She wasn’t much of a cook, god bless her. I was mad hyper, which might have been connected to my diet! What is the meal you will always remember? Backstage at a gig in Atlanta in the late 1990s, and eating in the same room as Beyonce. I have no idea what we ate, but it was unreal. What was your defining food experience? Living in Japan and discovering it’s so much more than sushi; because I’m not feeling sushi rice. What’s the first dish you ever cooked? Jambalaya — and it was pretty banging! What is your comfort food? Egusi soup and pounded yam. This is a Nigerian staple, made of spinach and pounded melon seeds. It’s divine. It’s more of a stew, and traditionally you eat it with your hands, dipping the pounded yam in the stew. The utensils you use, whether it be your hand, chopsticks, a fork or a spoon, to me, really affect the eating experience. Oh, and Irish stew. Could I be any more Irish and Nigerian? What is your hangover cure? There is no cure. As I get older, hangovers are hell, which is why they no longer feature heavily in my life! What do you drink? Matcha; red wine; Prosecco; water. If you could only eat three things for the rest of your life what would they be? Egusi soup; jollof rice; and tropical fruits. What is the most appetising smell in the world? Nothing beats garlic and butter! How important is food to you? Very. It’s sad that our relationship with it, for women especially, has warped into reward and denial. You can go anywhere and have anything to eat with any one person. Where, what and who? In Tobago, eating fresh seafood with James Baldwin — what an incredible mind and beautiful writing. What’s your sweet treat? Ginger molasses cake. What do you refuse to eat? Marmite. What is your guilty pleasure? Blue cheeses. What’s your perfect family meal? I would have to say egusi soup and pounded yam, or a roast with all the trimmings and Yorkshire puds. They’re something I hadn’t really had until I moved over to London, but I bloody love them! A Emma Dabiri is a writer and broadcaster. She will feature later this year in ‘Back In Time Confectioners’ on BBC2 and ‘Just Not My Type’ on Channel 4. Her first book ‘A History of Hair’ will be published by Penguin in 2018 In conversation with Sarah Caden