Feedback with Lesley Pearse

THIS MONTH WE TALK TO BESTSELLING AUTHOR LESLEY PEARSE

Lesley never has to look very far for inspiration when she is writing. Her own life is a rich and complicated as any of her characters.

She spent her early years in an orphanage after her mother died, until her father remarried. Her stepmother, an ex-Army nurse, ran the home in the manner of a military campaign. It's no wonder that at the age of 16, she was attracted to London and spent the swinging sixties doing numerous jobs including a stint as a Playboy bunny.

What food always reminds you of your childhood?
Well, the unpleasant one is curry, because my stepmother had been in India during the war as a nurse and she made your typical English curry which was disgusting. We used to wrap it in our handkerchiefs and steal it out of the house and throw it away! When a lot of handkerchiefs went missing, in those days they were made of cloth, she began to be suspicious. So that was the bad thing. She was a useless cook because she was an officer in the army and had never had to do it. But she used to make bread pudding which we all liked, it was extremely stodgy but this was not long after sugar came off rationing. I remember the bread being soaked and then she’d make it in a big meat tin and it would last a week. Crumpets was another thing, on high days and holidays and we’d toast them over the fire, I always remember that being great. Mind you we had to use margarine, there was no butter, and I hate margarine even now, I won’t eat it - even the posh kind.

Do you have a current favourite restaurant or type of restaurant?
I like the bistro type where you’ve got the variety and different types of food. I’m not one for big stodgy meals at all. In fact, I usually go for two starters so I like places that have interesting starters. Last night I had prawn cocktail in a restaurant which was one of the best I’ve ever eaten, followed by scallops in the shell with a plate of chips on the side; that’s my kind of meal.

What food or ingredient could you not do without?
Cream… I put it in coffee, I put it in soups, mashed potato. I think there’s very little you can not put it in. It’s just one of those ingredients that makes things better.

What is the most memorable meal you can remember eating?
The first time I went to South Africa, I arrived late in a beautiful old hotel just outside Cape Town and they brought me some food including prawns wrapped in bacon, which doesn’t sound enticing but they were absolutely delicious.  Then they brought me fruit and it was arranged in a pattern, fruit I’ve never eaten before or since, most of which I didn’t know what it was but it was gorgeous. That’s always stuck in my head, the sun was going down, Table Mountain was just in front of me, and it was just fabulous.

Is there something particular you always keep in the fridge?
I usually keep Greek yoghurt, chorizo, although I’m not sure why I keep chorizo, I usually end up just eating it! Some strong Cheddar because you can do loads of stuff with cheese.

Do you have a set eating regime when you are writing?
I try not to nibble on stuff, I used to smoke, but I don’t anymore, so I don’t have any sweets within handy reach, in fact I don’t buy them because I’d just eat them. Sometimes I have fruit which I cut up and feel very virtuous. I only really eat one meal a day, to try and keep my weight down. I am getting a new puppy soon and I hope that the walking will help get some weight off. He’s a King Charles Cavalier and he’s going to be called Barney.

Do you like to cook. If so, what is your signature dish?
Only when I’ve got guests and family, because I’m on my own now.I’ve got about half a dozen dishes that I do quite well; in winter I do Boeuf Bourguignon a lot, but I’m more interested in making puddings. I’m known as the ‘Pudding Queen’ in Torquay. I do some pretty good ones, there’s a Bailey’s Cheesecake which is extremely memorable and everyone asks for it. In fact I’ve invited some people round tomorrow for dinner in the garden, and I’m just going to get Marks & Spencer’s meat pies and mash - but they’ll be waiting for a pudding, and I might make Summer Pudding.

What would be your last supper if literally anything was available to you and where would you eat it?
Something with prawns and seafood, and I’d like to have it on a beach with my feet in the sea. I stayed in a place in Greece once were they laid the tables in the sea, and it was lapping around your feet, it was September and sea warm, it was lovely. I would have any dessert, I’ve never found one I don’t like. I wouldn’t want to be in Torquay though, I think that might be a bit chilly!

Betrayal by Lesley Pearse is published by Penguin Michael Joseph on 6th July, price £22.00 hardback.