At the end of the day… Jodie Kidd

on cooking in the countryside, life on the a3 and dealing with daily stresses

At the end of the day,

I’ll either get the train back from London to West Sussex or a driver will take me home. I use the time to catch up on emails; that car time has become my office. I seem to spend most of my life on the A3.

My brain is like

a lava lamp. It just bubbles along all through the day, constantly thinking about how my partner Joe and seven-year-old son Indio’s days are going. As soon as I get in, I usually pour myself a glass of red wine and catch up with them. That’s our family time.

My guardian angel is

a woman called Rachel; she lives with us and cooks incredible meals. She’s been in our family for 62 years and taught me everything I know about cooking. After work, we’ll talk about what to make and have a glass of wine and a natter together.

On a Sunday or Monday,

we all sit down with Rachel and go through what we want as a family and plan our meals. You need to be more organised when you live out in the sticks and you’re cooking for four or more people.

I’ve learned never to go shopping while hungry. You buy everything then end up having to throw it away because you haven’t used it in time.

We’re cooking a lot of

Middle Eastern, Indonesian and Indian food at the moment. We love a bit of spice. But you can’t beat a good old roast cooked in the Aga at the weekend. I’m quite strict about not snacking during the day, but in the evening I might have some houmous and crudités.

It would be nice not to

have a glass of red wine every night, but it’s a lovely, relaxing habit. Then I think. ‘Oh God, I’ve had five glasses of wine this week.’ It would also be nice not to pay tax.

I think it’s really important to

have a hug every day. In the evenings, Joe and I will cuddle up and watch an episode or two of something. We’re a little way through Black Mirror, which is completely bonkers but brilliant. And we’re so excited now Game Of Thrones is back on.

I’m a night person,

whereas Joe is a morning person. It drives him mad because I’m buzzing around when he’s trying to settle down. He gets up to exercise at 6am, whereas I do it later in the day. I’m in the gym a lot and I run a good hard 5k most days and then steam off. Everyone else is exhausted in the evenings, but I’ve gone through my afternoon exhaustion and had a seventeenth wind. I’m always feeling brilliant by bedtime.

I’m obsessed with

Epsom salts and have a bath every night with salts and essential oils. I find on the days when I’ve come back from London to the countryside, I really notice the dirt on my face. I feel very strongly about doing a cleansing routine. Skin And Tonic (I’m the non-exec director) do a steam clean which you rub on and use a hot cloth to wipe off. I’ll do that followed by a lovely serum and good night cream.

I think I’ve nailed

my end of the day. There’s nothing better than putting your son to bed, having a glass of wine, a lovely bath and getting into bed with the love of your life. Jodie Kidd is an ambassador for

Skin & Tonic