0:00:02 > 0:00:03Welcome to A Taste Of My Life -
0:00:03 > 0:00:07the show that quite literally dishes up people's lives on a plate.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Now, every single thing we choose to eat and cook can tell us something
0:00:31 > 0:00:35incredibly revealing about who we are and how we live our lives,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39which is why I'm going to be getting to know today's special guest,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43not only through the food they love, but also the food they hate.
0:00:43 > 0:00:48Infamous for her brash, outspoken and colourful attitude
0:00:48 > 0:00:50to virtually everything she does,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54today's guest is one of the country's louder-than-life characters.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56- So...?- Cockney culture.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58- Cockney culture.- I hate it.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00How can you hate...? It's life affirming.
0:01:00 > 0:01:06It's glorification of an uneducated, illiterate group of people.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10- AUDIENCE: Ooh! - When I find out what that means, I'll argue.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12LAUGHTER
0:01:12 > 0:01:15She trekked back into our living rooms and our consciousness
0:01:15 > 0:01:18via that most notorious of reality shows...
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Was there a clucking from the kitchen just then?
0:01:21 > 0:01:27- A feeling of slight nausea welled up inside my stomach.- Shut up. Shut up.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Today's guest is journalist, broadcaster
0:01:29 > 0:01:34and all-round mouthy media maverick - Janet Street-Porter.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37And, if I can get a word in edgeways,
0:01:37 > 0:01:39coming up in today's show...
0:01:39 > 0:01:41'Janet is utterly unimpressed
0:01:41 > 0:01:44'with some of the ingredients in our kitchen.'
0:01:45 > 0:01:46- Ooh, that smells- BEEP.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48- Ugh!- BEEP
0:01:50 > 0:01:51Oh!
0:01:51 > 0:01:54I can't believe...
0:01:54 > 0:01:58'She's pleasantly surprised by a very close and famous friend
0:01:58 > 0:02:02'and she pulls no punches telling me what she really thinks
0:02:02 > 0:02:04'of my taste in food.'
0:02:04 > 0:02:06I've scratched the surface of Nigel Slater
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and I've discovered he's a tacky, common individual.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Janet Street-Porter, welcome to A Taste Of My Life.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21You were born in Chiswick and your mother was Welsh
0:02:21 > 0:02:25- and your father, Stan, was from Fulham.- That's right.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29They met during the war, they seemed to have a very tempestuous relationship.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31When I grew up, we didn't have a lot of money.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36My father was an electrician and my mother...
0:02:36 > 0:02:38She went through a variety of jobs.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40She worked in shops, she did cleaning,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43- she was a school dinner lady. I mean, how- BEEP- grim is that?
0:02:43 > 0:02:46School dinners all year round.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49So was the food at home school dinner-ish?
0:02:49 > 0:02:53Mealtimes in our family were very, very stressful occasions
0:02:53 > 0:02:58because my father was very, very dictatorial and would issue orders.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02I always imagine my dad was a bit disappointed that the war had ended.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05He wasn't still in uniform with people to boss about.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08My dad would literally assure us,
0:03:08 > 0:03:14"You are NOT leaving THIS room until you've finished those butter beans."
0:03:14 > 0:03:16There must be a few things, though, that...
0:03:16 > 0:03:19you actually remember that you really enjoyed.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21There must be things you can smell now...
0:03:21 > 0:03:25I can smell what my dad used to cook on Mondays.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29That was the day that he cooked and Mondays I'd come home from school
0:03:29 > 0:03:34and Dad would be... When he came home from work he'd assemble this hotpot,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38which seemed to be a tin of corned beef in big chunks,
0:03:38 > 0:03:43or whatever meat was left over from the joint the day before.
0:03:43 > 0:03:49Then he chopped up onions, carrots,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52slices of potatoes - it's like a Lancashire hotpot.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55No herbs, obviously, of any description.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59He'd put it in the oven for an hour and a half and that would be...
0:03:59 > 0:04:01We'd have that.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02You can almost smell it now.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05- I can smell it. Actually, I quite like it.- Oh, you do?- Yeah.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10To get the best out of my hotpots,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13I always use meat that's still on the bone.
0:04:13 > 0:04:19I find that bones enrich the cooking liquid
0:04:19 > 0:04:21in a way that seasoning never can.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Pour in the stock to cover all the ingredients.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35I'm giving this working-class dish
0:04:35 > 0:04:39a flash of the Continent by adding a touch of pancetta.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57But like Janet's dad, I am adding corned beef.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Although it's not everyone's favourite ingredient,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03I thought it may help take her back down memory lane.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17I don't really know
0:05:17 > 0:05:21how close this is to your dad's Monday night hotpot.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24I can tell you, it doesn't look anything like what my dad cooked.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27That was always in a deep... a deep pot that was layered
0:05:27 > 0:05:31and you're cooking this on the top of the stove.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36What I don't want to do is bring up any sort of childhood trauma.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Oh, no. I'm not going to start... I'm not going to throw a tantrum.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42I'm not going to snap the head off my dolly again.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Yeah, or hide food in your pockets?
0:05:46 > 0:05:48Yeah, I used to hide beans in my pockets.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50I've got over that.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53To me, it's just something that reminds me of being a kid
0:05:53 > 0:05:57and thinking, "Oh, please, no, not corned beef."
0:05:57 > 0:05:59It fits in with this dish all right.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01This is a kind of Nigel stew.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Bits of corned beef... Eeurgh!
0:06:04 > 0:06:07It looks like dog food.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11- Sorry.- The corned beef looks exactly like dog food!
0:06:11 > 0:06:16- I didn't want to bring back the trauma of your childhood. - You've got a herb there, look.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- That's more than you got in the '50s and '60s.- I never had herbs.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29Something tells me that you probably were a very rebellious teenager.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- I don't know why I think that. - I suppose from the age of about 12,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35I became Sulky Janet.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38I thought my parents had possibly picked up the wrong baby.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42- They wanted a boy, didn't they? - My dad wanted a boy.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Then I went to grammar school, I had my first cookery lessons,
0:06:45 > 0:06:50but only in year one. Term one - letter A,
0:06:50 > 0:06:54so I did A for apples and making an apron.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59So I very quickly knew how to make apple crumble, baked apple,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02apple charlotte, apple turnover and made an apron.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06In term two, I was whisked off to do Latin.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11- So you didn't get to B and C... - I can't do beetroots, broccoli,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13Brussels sprouts or beef.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16How did you learn to cook?
0:07:16 > 0:07:17Did anyone actually teach you?
0:07:17 > 0:07:23In my first year at college, I made friends with someone
0:07:23 > 0:07:26called Piers Gough, who's still a great friend of mine,
0:07:26 > 0:07:33a really great friend of mine and he's designed two houses for me.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37He is such a close friend, I can't believe that we're still speaking,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41given that we've both got giant egos and very short tempers.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45As you know, Piers is still cooking and a very good cook.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47He's got a surprise for you.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Oh, God, what's it going to be?
0:07:49 > 0:07:52My old house.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59For Janet, I'm going to do a really rich tart
0:07:59 > 0:08:01- because this is our youth.- Oh, no!
0:08:01 > 0:08:05We didn't care about how fat things were and so...
0:08:05 > 0:08:10There's tons of butter in this and it's luscious and it's got Cognac in.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15This is one of the dishes that we discovered when we were young.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19So I'm going to measure up six ounces of flour,
0:08:19 > 0:08:25then butter - three ounces of butter - half the amount.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28I was like a stick then. You've seen the pictures of me.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30I was modelling then. I was like size...
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Two stone lighter than I am now.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35This is the pastry,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39which no doubt some book says you're supposed to put in the fridge.
0:08:39 > 0:08:40We could pretend.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45We could pretend to put it in the fridge, but I really don't see why because it's ready now.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49She was a great star in our first year - she was so, so glamorous.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52She was so savvy, she was so street...
0:08:52 > 0:08:54What we call street now.
0:08:54 > 0:09:02She was a London girl and I was up from out of town and she just knew everybody and knew the scene
0:09:02 > 0:09:07and looked a million dollars. She was so exciting to look at.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09To have her in our year at architectural school
0:09:09 > 0:09:12made our year seem fantastically glamorous.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14When we went to the school,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17everybody wanted to know about us because Janet was one of us.
0:09:17 > 0:09:23She was so much a thing. But of course, the minute Janet left and was working in magazines,
0:09:23 > 0:09:25she was all over the magazines.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28She wasn't just working in them, she was photographed in them.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32It was quite clear that she was going to become absolutely a star.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36There's a real sense... Being with her is like being with
0:09:36 > 0:09:42a kind of a dervish or whirlwind. She's very engaged with the world.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45She always knows what's new and what's happening.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48- He's being so nice.- I get very nostalgic about it, actually.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52He's a life friend. He's been through all the marriages,
0:09:52 > 0:09:53seen them all come and go.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57She is forthright and all power to her
0:09:57 > 0:10:03in this age of mealy-mouthed...kind of making friends with everybody
0:10:03 > 0:10:05by feeling your pain.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08- Janet does not feel your pain. - I don't.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13She dishes it out. Heaven's sakes...
0:10:13 > 0:10:16I think she gives a lot of hope to a lot of people.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18What's he doing?
0:10:18 > 0:10:23Oh, look! It's a J. That is so brilliant.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Sorry there wasn't room for the SP.
0:10:30 > 0:10:31Oh, that's great.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33It's fabulous.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Here's his tart.
0:10:35 > 0:10:36Oh, my word!
0:10:36 > 0:10:40# When change is hard and... #
0:10:40 > 0:10:41It tastes great.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45We haven't actually finished with Piers,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48because he's let me into something of a blast from your culinary past.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- Is it nasty?- No, it's not nasty.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Well, I may have taught Janet how to cook cassoulet
0:10:55 > 0:10:58because I was very enthusiastic about cassoulet.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00On one of her birthdays,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04I went round to her house and she was cooking the dish.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07But she had a lot of people coming.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12I discovered her in the kitchen with two kitchen sinks...
0:11:12 > 0:11:16and both sinks were full of cassoulet.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18All the bits, the beans and all the mess.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20And she was up to here...
0:11:20 > 0:11:22- I've got a bit of a shock for you.- No.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24- I'm going to put you on the spot.- Yeah?
0:11:24 > 0:11:27- I was wondering if you'd make cassoulet for me.- Oh, great.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30How many people have I got to make it for, though, Nigel?
0:11:30 > 0:11:31I'm not doing a BEEPing meal for 56.
0:11:31 > 0:11:37- It's a sink-ful, please. - I'll do it.- Good.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42MUSIC: "Le Freak" by Chic
0:11:42 > 0:11:45I have not cooked this for...
0:11:45 > 0:11:4720 years.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49For those who don't remember,
0:11:49 > 0:11:54cassoulet is a rich, slowly cooked and layered bean and meat stew.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56I think cassoulet's like riding a bike.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- You just kind of... - It just comes back.
0:11:59 > 0:12:05What do you cook things in when they get to that quantity?
0:12:05 > 0:12:07I've got some very big pans.
0:12:12 > 0:12:18I would not usually use these. These look like crappy tomatoes.
0:12:18 > 0:12:19# ..And you too will be sold
0:12:19 > 0:12:22# It's called Le Freak... #
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Put your beans and some of that in.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28When you cook these beans, this dish takes days to prepare.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32One reason I don't cook it any more is that if you're cooking cassoulet properly...
0:12:32 > 0:12:36- It's cooking with a capital C. - It's a commitment. What goes in next?
0:12:37 > 0:12:40I should chuck those in.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47# Feel the rhythm Check the ride
0:12:47 > 0:12:51# Come on along and have a real good time... #
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Layers and layers.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55- I'll just get a few more beans... - BLEEP
0:12:57 > 0:13:00- Smells fab.- This isn't a dish for anybody on a diet.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04You're going to be farting for days after this.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07# Find a spot out on the floor... #
0:13:07 > 0:13:10How many people do you think this is going to feed?
0:13:10 > 0:13:14- Oh, about eight.- No, surely more.
0:13:19 > 0:13:20How many hours has it been in now?
0:13:20 > 0:13:22It feels like about three.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28How beautiful is that?
0:13:28 > 0:13:34Well, I haven't seen a cassoulet in Great Britain for 20 years.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40It's fabulous, isn't it?
0:13:40 > 0:13:41Yes, please.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43It smells great.
0:13:43 > 0:13:49This is a dish that will not be eaten by Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna,
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Stella McCartney - meat central.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54- Fab.- Is it good?
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Are we going to fall out over this?
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Nigel, I don't think I will fall out with you.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Still to come on A Taste Of My Life.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04'Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys
0:14:04 > 0:14:06'tells us about Janet's birthday bash.'
0:14:06 > 0:14:09She had a party in a village hall.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Which was great - it looked like it VE night, 1945.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15They've gotta cook in the water!
0:14:15 > 0:14:17I know.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20You are my...you are my under-chef.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25Janet tells us what it was really like surviving on bush meat in the jungle.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28I had to do the cooking, otherwise I'd have gone mad!
0:14:28 > 0:14:32I couldn't listen to the drivel they were speaking.
0:14:32 > 0:14:38'And she reveals her greatest regret, over a final feast that will have meat fans drooling.'
0:14:38 > 0:14:43- Is there anything you haven't done before you go?- Stayed married for very long.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53- You started writing - you started as a journalist. - I got a job almost straight away
0:14:53 > 0:14:57- on a teenage magazine, Petticoat. It was fantastic!- I remember Petticoat.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59At the end of nine months,
0:14:59 > 0:15:05I was offered a job on the Daily Mail as deputy fashion editor and writing a column and I was 21!
0:15:05 > 0:15:07I never went back to college.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11When I started working in television, then I really did entertain a lot.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16Sometimes I was doing two TV shows a week and I'd have my food delivered.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18I just never went shopping!
0:15:18 > 0:15:25When I went to Sainsbury's or down the supermarket, people would follow me round to see what I was buying.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27It was ludicrous - I hated it!
0:15:27 > 0:15:33That's one of the reasons why I became a TV executive - I couldn't handle all that.
0:15:33 > 0:15:40All those dishes at that time which, in many ways, is where my heart is, food-wise - all that '70s stuff -
0:15:40 > 0:15:44we suddenly discovered the Italian or French way to cook...
0:15:44 > 0:15:50- Using olive oil.- Using olive oil and cooking them very slowly so they go sticky and sweet.
0:15:50 > 0:15:57Do you remember that wonderful dish with chicken liver or lamb's or calf's liver - the Veneziana?
0:15:57 > 0:16:02Oh, yeah. I remember going to an Italian restaurant off Knightsbridge
0:16:02 > 0:16:08with Twiggy, David Essex and, um... some bird with David Essex.
0:16:08 > 0:16:14He was looking at the menu and said, "I think I'll have that." And she went, "You don't want that, David.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17"Fegato - that's liver." SHE GUFFAWS
0:16:17 > 0:16:20- But gorgeous stuff. - I love liver and onions.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Liver is a pet hate for many, but the knack
0:16:24 > 0:16:29to sweetening up this dish is all in cooking the onions for a long time -
0:16:29 > 0:16:30almost half an hour.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41This way, the entire dish becomes a simple,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45caramelised, deeply sweet and soft delicacy.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48But when you finally add the liver...
0:16:53 > 0:16:57- Some liver Veneziana for you. - Oh, God, I love this!
0:16:57 > 0:17:00- Have you ever actually had it in Venice?- No.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05- I've always wanted to eat it in Venice.- I've had it in Venice. Tastes great.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09It's difficult to find what you haven't done. I mean, if you look
0:17:09 > 0:17:14at the radio series, the TV series, you produce, you've written, directed, presented.
0:17:14 > 0:17:20I like a challenge and also I like to reinvent myself, because...
0:17:20 > 0:17:26I'm 59 now. I accept that there have been whole decades of my life when you're kind of out of fashion.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29And after I did that show, I'm A Celebrity...
0:17:29 > 0:17:36The reason I did it was that people had a very definite idea of what kind of television I did,
0:17:36 > 0:17:41and I thought, "Hey, Janet, you've criticised reality TV -
0:17:41 > 0:17:44"get stuck in and see what it's like."
0:17:44 > 0:17:47And I completely adored being on that show.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52People adored you. It changed people's perception of Janet Street-Porter.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54- Should the onions be done first?- No.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58- Put oil over it...- They might take a bit longer.- No, they won't.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Paul, you're talking to a woman
0:18:00 > 0:18:03- who's cooked more dinners than you ever will.- All right.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06I'm short-tempered, bossy, don't suffer fools.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11I had to do the cooking, otherwise I'd have gone mad! I couldn't listen to the drivel
0:18:11 > 0:18:17- they were speaking hour in, hour out. - What about the nurturing thing? You became the cook.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20- You became...- Yeah, but I'm not a mother figure.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25- But...- I've had four husbands - no children, no pets.- You were feeding them. You've got friends.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27I've got friends.
0:18:27 > 0:18:33In the jungle, I used everything - all the peelings of all the fruit and the vegetables and everything.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36It was all made into something else - teas,
0:18:36 > 0:18:42- or stocks. We... - Like your mother used to do.- I know. It's dreadful. I'm turning into her!
0:18:47 > 0:18:50I do love cooking for friends - I really do.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53It's just a way of giving them
0:18:53 > 0:18:57something that you can't express any other way.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02You've got some very smart friends. You must have a fabulous address book.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06I've got some famous friends, like Elton John and the Pet Shop Boys.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11- But if they come round to my house, they get, you know, the way- I- cook.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16Obviously, Elton has a chef and you go to his house and you eat,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19you know, NOT fancy food, to be perfectly honest -
0:19:19 > 0:19:24delicious food - but everybody appreciates straightforward food.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29And that's what I cook - it's just like me. With me, what you see is what you get.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33- I've got a little surprise for you. - Oh, my God!
0:19:33 > 0:19:37# ..And power can give a man much more than anybody knows
0:19:37 > 0:19:40# Oh-oh
0:19:40 > 0:19:44# And I'm with Stupid, oh-oh
0:19:44 > 0:19:46# I'm with Stupid... #
0:19:46 > 0:19:49- Janet is an excellent cook. - Oh, Neil!
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Her signature dish is chicken pie.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56She's a very good cook, a very unpretentious cook.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00There's not normally fireworks in the kitchen, in my experience.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03When I've been on holiday with Janet
0:20:03 > 0:20:08and she's cooking, I let her get on with it - she prefers it that way.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11And also, she washes up as she goes along.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15So when you eat the meal, there's not that much washing up to do.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19Janet's birthday is between Christmas and New Year.
0:20:19 > 0:20:25She had a party in a village hall, which was great - it looked like it was kind of VE night, 1945.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27There was bunting and things.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30But the following morning, we always go for a walk,
0:20:30 > 0:20:35and this year, Janet announced we were going to a shooting lodge on the moors.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38This was in north Yorkshire, which was great.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43But when we got to her village where she lives, it was starting to snow.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48I knew we were going up onto the moors which very rapidly become impassable.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52Janet said, "Oh, no, it's not that far."
0:20:52 > 0:20:54- She was just ignoring me.- I did!
0:20:54 > 0:21:00Anyway, we set off and there was this blizzard blowing. I felt like Scott of the Antarctic.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05And we got there to this fantastic, just this very simple building
0:21:05 > 0:21:08and they had a roaring log fire
0:21:08 > 0:21:14and the white wine was in the snow chilling and all that kind of thing and, really, it was quite magical.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18It was one of the happiest moments of my life.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23- I know people who think of you - - I- think of you - as someone who is very London based.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27But there is this country side to you.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29The thing is, I am a very private person
0:21:29 > 0:21:32and, since my early 20s, I've been in the public eye.
0:21:32 > 0:21:39I've been photographed, written about, picked over - everybody thinks they know me.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43- And I've written thousands of newspaper columns, mouthing off.- Yes.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47But when I'm not doing that, and that is my job,
0:21:47 > 0:21:52there's this other person, which is me, which I don't reveal too much.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Because my friends see it...
0:21:54 > 0:21:59That's not to say I'm not Nasty Janet on occasion, either.
0:22:04 > 0:22:10Normally, this is where I'd take people to their comfort foods, the things that make them feel secure.
0:22:10 > 0:22:17But I thought it would be more appropriate to find a few things that, actually, you really dislike.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20You've got a few horrors on this table.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24- What is this brown thing here? - Well, it's a brown thing...
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- Oh, it's heart.- Oh, ugh!
0:22:27 > 0:22:31- It's stuffed heart.- Take it away! - Lovely sauce.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35I HATE stuffed heart! There's no way I can eat stuffed heart.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39I know it's a working-class dish that everyone says... Would YOU eat it?
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Ye...es.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44- I'd rather have that, though. - Battenburg.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48That says one thing to me - my mother.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52- It's absolutely disgusting! - Oh, but I love the little...
0:22:52 > 0:22:56- It's fake.- Yeah, but it's like the colour of baby clothes.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00- It's so sweet.- It's sweet, it's got...- It smells of almonds.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03- It's Battenburg!- I know, but... - It's common!
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Yes, but it's almost my desert-island cake.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11I've come on this programme cos I thought you were a man of taste and distinction.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16And now I've scratched the surface of Nigel Slater and I've discovered, underneath,
0:23:16 > 0:23:18he's a tacky, very common individual.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Who also likes Black Forest gateau.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22That's just being ironic.
0:23:22 > 0:23:28- Oh, you've got crumpets!- I have. - Can I have a crumpet? It's my top comfort food.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31Crumpet with taramasalata.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35- Look at that!- So, OK... - This is something...
0:23:35 > 0:23:38So this is OK and this isn't?
0:23:38 > 0:23:44- Well...- This is a pink, doughy thing and THIS is a pink, doughy thing. - I know. I shouldn't be eating it.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49But I tell you what - when you've had two bottles of wine, it's nectar of the gods.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Oh, God!
0:23:58 > 0:24:04- How good is that?- Absolutely divine. Don't tell anybody I put taramasalata on crumpets.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08Once I got off with this bloke at a party and he came back to my house.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13I couldn't possibly have sex with him - I was too busy toasting the crumpets.
0:24:19 > 0:24:25- So, Janet, your final feast - your last meal on this Earth. - One of my favourite games
0:24:25 > 0:24:29is playing Death Row Meal - you imagine you're on death row
0:24:29 > 0:24:33having the last meal you can ever eat on Earth.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35What would you eat?
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Oh...probably...
0:24:38 > 0:24:39ice cream.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44- Oh, God!- Sorry.- I wouldn't waste my last meal on ice cream.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47- I'd waste it on meat.- Well...- Meat!
0:24:47 > 0:24:49I'd have really good sausages -
0:24:49 > 0:24:54really good, English sausages with loads of pork in and no fillers.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58I'd have some... probably NOT this bacon.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01- I'd like dry-cured, unsmoked... - Green bacon.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06- Green bacon...- Yeah.- ..I adore. And then, black pudding.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08- Is this a good black pudding?- Yeah.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10I cut it like that.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14- Why are people squeamish about black pudding?- It's fantastic.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18It's just dreamy, isn't it? Oysters. Now...
0:25:18 > 0:25:23- Yeah!- I don't know where these oysters come from, but probably small oysters.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28Small, sweet oysters. What I don't like are big, chunky...
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Mmm!
0:25:33 > 0:25:39- Great! I love oysters.- It isn't a "bells and whistles" final meal.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44No. I wanna go out in an orgy of meat eating.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46You know what's in here?
0:25:46 > 0:25:48- Oh!- Here is the most beautiful...
0:25:48 > 0:25:51roast pheasant.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53That looks fantastic!
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Isn't it gorgeous?
0:25:55 > 0:26:00- That looks great, doesn't it?- It is. It's food to get your fingers round.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Oh...! God! Look how great...
0:26:02 > 0:26:07- Not too much. Still pink. - How am I doing as an employee?
0:26:07 > 0:26:10- Very well. You can come round my house...- How are YOU as an employee?
0:26:10 > 0:26:15- I can't imagine you working for anybody.- I never have, really.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19If I was a politician, only one job appeals to me - dictator.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21- Nothing less. - Why doesn't that surprise me?
0:26:21 > 0:26:26'And that's Janet Street-Porter's final, meaty dish,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29'starting with small, fresh oysters,
0:26:29 > 0:26:33'followed by lightly fried black pudding,
0:26:33 > 0:26:37'moving on to organic sausages wrapped in bacon
0:26:37 > 0:26:42'and finishing with a tender and succulent roast pheasant.'
0:26:42 > 0:26:44What is left?
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Is there anything you haven't done before you go?
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Hmm. Stayed married for very long.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53SHE LAUGHS
0:26:53 > 0:26:56It hasn't really been very long, has it?
0:26:56 > 0:26:59No. I've never managed longer than seven years.
0:26:59 > 0:27:06I've been married four times. I've had a few, you know, long-term relationships,
0:27:06 > 0:27:12but, basically, I haven't managed to stay married, but I'm friends with all of them, really.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15- What really makes you happy? - What makes me happy,
0:27:15 > 0:27:20to be honest, is finishing a piece of work,
0:27:20 > 0:27:25writing a newspaper column - I can't moan about that.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29It's thoroughly enjoyable. I lead the life I dreamt of living
0:27:29 > 0:27:30when I was a teenager.
0:27:30 > 0:27:36When I was a miserable, sulky 12-year-old in Fulham, I dreamt that I would be successful.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40And as long as I can keep eating great food
0:27:40 > 0:27:43and not have a big, fat, blobby stomach...
0:27:43 > 0:27:48- I agree.- It gets harder all the time! But I think you can do it.
0:27:48 > 0:27:54I'm not giving up men, I'm not giving up sex, I'm not giving up eating and I'm not giving up drinking.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59- And you're not giving up black pudding.- No.- So, your feast...
0:27:59 > 0:28:05- Who would you have with you? You've got five people.- Oh, God! That is SO hard!
0:28:05 > 0:28:11I'd probably have Paul O'Grady, Elton John, the Pet Shop Boys...
0:28:11 > 0:28:15Hmm...I suppose I'd have to have my boyfriend, really,
0:28:15 > 0:28:17or he'll have the hump.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21Janet, thank you for being on A Taste Of My Life.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25- That's OK. Can I get rid of this bread now?- BLEEP- waste of time!
0:28:44 > 0:28:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd - 2006
0:28:48 > 0:28:52E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk