FQ1: In addition to the dearly departed Julia Child, who is your favorite food personality? Jamie Oliver Jamie Oliver Jamie Oliver!! I LOVE Jamie Oliver. The way he cooks, the way he looks, the clothes he wears, the way he slides down the stairs, his basketball hoop, his stock-based soups, his lovely wife, his extra-sharp knife-s. But I worry about Jamie - I worry that he spreads himself too thinly, that he looks tired a lot these days, that he's not looking after himself as well as he should. FQ2: What meal would you have this culinary genius prepare for you if they asked? Oh I saw him do things to a leg-of-lamb once - I'd love him to come and cook a roast lamb and vegetables, with trifle for dessert. I know, not fancy, good hearty kiwi food but between him, and that, and wine - what a wonderful evening!! FQ3: If they refused, and you could eat at any restaurant you wanted as a consolation, which one would you choose? I would need a great deal of consoling. Although I could go anywhere in the world to eat, and quite frankly, am often asked - I still think the best food is here in New Zealand. My favourite restaurant is the wonderful Cin Cin (I hope they didn't pay much for their website; it's ikky, cheap looking and poorly made) at the Ferry Wharf here in Auckland. They've revamped it and I must go and experience the new decor, but I've always loved my experiences there - no the least of which were shared with truck. We were doted on by staff, first the bar staff who made truck her first chocolate martini and joined in our cheery conversation, and then by waiters - food waiters (i can still feel his breath as he whispered in my ear "It's delicious, isn't it"), wine waiters, dessert waiters and even coffee waiters. We were even treated to a fire breathing display by one of the bartenders later on in the evening. FQ KITCHEN: Share with us a favorite recipe or cooking tip. My favourite cooking tip has to be, don't chop onions after a gin and tonic (or 2 ) oh and, if the knife block is falling - let it. Catching knives is a skill you are unlikely to have. And, if you make a jelly in a mold, after dipping the mold into warm water to loosen the jelly from the sides and before tipping it onto your platter, gently pull the edge of the lip of the jelly from the side of your dish - break that seal - that seal is strong enough to keep your jelly in its container even when you shake and shake and shake the container, trying to shake that jelly loose and it will only then give way, falling onto your platter, then slithering off, wobbling over the kitchen counter and falling plop on the floor in front of the chef you invited to dinner. Ok, they are kind of technical tips, here's a cooking tip: when you're making meatballs for your spaghetti, splash-a-dash of good whiskey in with the meat mixture before rolling into balls. FridayQ

FQ1: What is an activity that you can do better than anybody else you know? Boil an egg to soft warm runny yolk perfection. FQ2: What is a subject where you are smarter than anybody else you know? Getting Away with Stuff - pick-pocketing in Science, thinking up sneaking-around things at boarding school, smoking in the toilets in the middle of the night etc etc FQ3: What is a trait you possess that makes you superior to lesser humans? I have the loudest voice around. My voice, when pitched right can cut through space and time. When I sing in church, people turn around to see who's making all that racket. When I laugh, the entire building hears me. My voice is bigger n' your voice. RAWRR!!! FQ FICTION: Which of your many stellar accomplishments should be recorded in the history books? I will be best remembered for my compassionate, considerate tolerance of others. My caring nature will be sorely missed and gratefully remembered by all those who were touched by my gentle soul.

FQ1: Where did you live out your childhood years? In a small town in the central North Island of New Zealand called Rotorua. It's the geothermal tourist attraction of the country, and is often referred to as "Roto-vegas". It wasn't so much that then. Surrounded by many fresh water lakes and pine forests, it was a town that relied on the logging industry. There was a sulpheric smell that blackened silver and that most out-of-towners thought smelled like rotton eggs. But I always inhaled the scent and exhaled with "home" when coming back from holiday. FQ2: As a child, what was your favorite toy, book, television show, and cartoon character? I honestly don't remember a favourite toy. I loved my little blue transistor radio which I would listen to at night - Sunday nights especially as "I'm Sorry, I'll Read the Again" was on. My favourite book might have been The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis, though I also really liked The Water Babies and Charlottes Web. I was also hooked on the Laura Ingalls Wilder books too. Favourite television show is easier: Dr Who. Of course there was the The Tomorrow People, Star Trek (though that was often on too late for me to see), Happen Inn/C'mon (music shows) and any cartoon from the Warner Bros especially those with Road Runner and Coyote of course. (Daffy Duck being a very close second). FQ3: Charm us with a favorite childhood memory... I keep thinking about all the time we spent at the beach as a family. Grandparents, parents, cousins, siblings, aunts and uncles. The walk to and from the beach from the bach was over stones and rocks that adult feet handled easily but seemed like a trek across the Andes to people with much shorter legs and smaller feet. But once we arrived at the spot on the gently curving, pale sands of the Bay of Plenty, our stay would be lengthy - often til after the sun disappeared behind the hills behind us, and our skin was browner'n berries with hair bleached blonde from salt and sea. FQ PHOTO-OP: Show us a photo of just how adorable you were as a child.