Who has been the most inspirational cook in your life?

Gordon Ramsey – his enthusiasm and passion for food is second to none.

What would be your desert island dish?

It would definitely be a roast dinner - roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, with all the trimmings, a meal I never tire of.

Your favourite pudding and why?

Apple crumble with lots of custard - the ultimate tasty, filling comfort food.

What's the most unusual dish you've eaten?

When I was living in Australia in the late nineties, I attended an outdoor function overlooking Ayres rock at sunset, and I ate 'locally scoured' crocodile, kangaroo and emu cooked on the barbeque. I also sampled some really interesting dishes cooked on the roadside when travelling through south east Asia.

Have you any money-saving cooking tips?

• Plan and organise your food shopping - plan a rough menu for the week ahead, make a list of all the items you need, taking size of portions into account.
• Shop at your local butcher, grocer, fishmonger for good quality, seasonal, local produce...you buy what you need so there’s little or no waste!
• Make sure the purchase of perishable food is kept to a minimum (only buy what you need!).
• Use reduced price vegetables that may be going out of date for fresh, tasty and nutritious homemade soups.

© National Trust

What have you got on offer at Powis Castle restaurant this March?

We try to inspire people to eat local, seasonal and sustainable food, so we always buy ingredients that are in season – it guarantees great quality and freshness.

This March, we will be serving a variety of traditional dishes such as root vegetable soup with herb bread, Welsh pork with roasted rhubarb and cheese and leek bread and butter pudding, as well as sticky rhubarb and ginger cake made from locally grown rhubarb.