0:00:02 > 0:00:05Welcome to A Taste Of My Life, serving up famous lives on a plate.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27By simply tasting the food of one's past,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30we can discover an awful lot about who we are today,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33which is why we're going to be taking today's guest
0:00:33 > 0:00:35on a culinary trip back in time.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Now, today's guest hit the big time early.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42By the time she was just 21, she was starring alongside Brad Pitt
0:00:42 > 0:00:44in Interview With The Vampire.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48More recently, though, she's become one of our most famous Hollywood stars,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51being photographed on red carpets the world over.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58She's acted in countless movies,
0:00:58 > 0:01:02including Mission Impossible II, Crash, and Run, Fat Boy, Run.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04You were supposed be here an hour ago, Dennis.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07- Did I get you that necklace? - It's a present from someone.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10- Who?- Me.- Dennis, this is...
0:01:10 > 0:01:13my good friend, Whit. Whit, this is my... Jake's dad.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Yes, today's guest is Hollywood actress, Thandie Newton.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Coming up in today's show:
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Thandie's mum and dad remember the Hollywood actress
0:01:22 > 0:01:24as a little girl over Cornish pasties.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29She and her cousin used to say they would be film stars living in New York.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Over her taste of success, Thandie recalls kissing Tom Cruise.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34So we did the first take.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38- It seemed to bend his slightly larger nose...- Slightly larger nose.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42There was a part of it that was so bizarre and traumatic.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47And friend and actor Ben Miller challenges us to cook some American pancakes.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50I'm going to use all my acting skills when I bite into my finished one
0:01:50 > 0:01:53and pretend that it tastes absolutely unbelievable.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00- Thandie, welcome to A Taste Of My Life. - Thank you so much.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04Now, you were born in London, but you didn't stay for long, did you?
0:02:04 > 0:02:08- You went down to Cornwall? - I don't know how my mum and dad managed to do this,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11but we lived in Zambia, and my mum was pregnant with me.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15I was born on a two-week trip back to London,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18then we went back to Zambia and my brother was born there.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21We ended up coming to England finally when I was three years old
0:02:21 > 0:02:25so my dad could help out with the family antique business.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Tell me what sort of food Mum cooked. Was it very traditional food?
0:02:29 > 0:02:33- We lived near a place called Newlyn, which is a fishing village.- Oh!
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Because my mum was so well-loved in the area, she knew the fishermen.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40We'd go to the huge warehouses
0:02:40 > 0:02:44where they bring their trawls in, and we'd get the crab right there.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48She'd know Barry, or whoever it was, you know, Worzel...!
0:02:48 > 0:02:51And we'd go with her and grab a pile of whatever we liked
0:02:51 > 0:02:56straight from the sea, and so, having crab was a real treat,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59a real delicacy, still my favourite thing in all the world.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06Shelling. Lay your crab on its back and twist the legs and claws.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Remember when cooking crab,
0:03:08 > 0:03:13its shell is thicker than lobster, and should be boiled for 15 minutes.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19Female crabs are known as hens and have less white meat than the males.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Low in calories, crab meat is an excellent source of protein.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29And, contrary to popular belief, it doesn't cause high cholesterol.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Then we'd go on these holidays to Zimbabwe.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Food in that respect literally made me feel
0:03:37 > 0:03:40the two different sides of who I am.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44My mum was someone who really spanned that, she was the bridge.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48She'd either be making the Cornish pasties and the crab sandwiches
0:03:48 > 0:03:52with watercress down in Penzance, or, if we were going to Zimbabwe,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55- she'd be there preparing the sadza.- Tell me about sadza.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Sadza is this ground maize,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02and the cooking of it is quite an ordeal, I think.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04It's mixed with water.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Sadza is the staple dish of Zimbabwe.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12The grain used is white maize, but you could use millet.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16It gets to boiling and you have to keep stirring continually.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19- It sounds like polenta. - It's like polenta, very much.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22It has to be cooked to a stiff consistency.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Traditionally it's eaten with stew, like this goat one.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28But on special occasions in Zimbabwe,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32it'll be eaten with sardines or edible moth caterpillars.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36With peanuts being a huge African export,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40the greens that go with this meal will usually be covered with peanut butter.
0:04:40 > 0:04:46I'm using cabbage, but in Zimbabwe they use pumpkin leaves or rape.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51What you do is, everybody sits around, whoever is there, family and friends,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55- and everyone is talking and dipping. - Eating with their fingers?- Yes!
0:04:55 > 0:04:59- There's a way of eating, too. - There's an etiquette involved? - There is,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02so if you didn't let me go first, I'd give you a little slap.
0:05:02 > 0:05:03No double-dipping.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06No, I'm keeping you sweet, so I'll let you double-dip.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Let's put these up our nose.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16- Let's do it after, just for a giggle.- Yeah.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19- OK.- And then put them back. - SHE LAUGHS
0:05:19 > 0:05:21So this is your sadza.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25This is my sadza. I'm reunited with the food of my youth.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30- Let's do the Zimbabwean way. Come on. I've washed my hands.- So have I.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34So you get a bit, form it into a little kind of flat thing,
0:05:34 > 0:05:38and then we find a nice bit of stew, I fancy that bit there.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42- Yeah.- I've definitely done this more times than you.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44You have, haven't you? Yeah...
0:05:44 > 0:05:45Pop it in.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- Mm!- Isn't that wonderful? - That's really good.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52- It was a happy childhood, wasn't it?- Yes, it was.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57The funny thing is that, when I was a kid going to my convent primary school,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and I really was the only dark-skinned girl in the school,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03so if I ever had any teasing along racial lines,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07I'd always think of Zimbabwe, funnily enough. I'd always think,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11"It's OK, I've got something else about me that none of you really appreciate."
0:06:11 > 0:06:12Nobody wanted to date me.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16- What do you mean? - Absolutely positive.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Absolutely true, up until I was 16.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23I was just not the one you'd go for because I was dark-skinned.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32- Tell me about Mum and Dad. - My mum, she was a health visitor in Penzance,
0:06:32 > 0:06:37so she'd go about and visit babies that had just been born,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40or elderly people who needed care.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43She was actually top and tailing people's families,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46so it was a real privilege to be her daughter.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48And whilst Mum looked after the locals,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Dad was running the antique business.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53I used to go every Saturday to my dad's shop
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and polish the silver and brass, that was my job.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Talking of your mum and dad, I've got a little message for you.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Well... OK!
0:07:04 > 0:07:06We're making a Cornish pasty.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Wednesday was pasty day, Friday was bath night.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12The secret of a good pasty
0:07:12 > 0:07:14is 20 minutes of absolute bliss
0:07:14 > 0:07:17followed by two hours of abject misery.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20That's all because of the weight of the pastry.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23My memories of Thandie as a five-year-old
0:07:23 > 0:07:28is a very pleasant child who always did what you asked her to do.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31She was good with her little brother. They played well together.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36She was a joy to be with at all times, and she wasn't difficult.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39She'd go to bed and she'd sleep without...
0:07:39 > 0:07:42No, no, she was just a model child, really.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47She'd write little plays and things that her cousin and her
0:07:47 > 0:07:49would put on, so if we had dinner party,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52at the end of it there would be this performance.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55She and her little cousin, Teresa,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58always used to say they would be film stars living in New York.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01They would put on this American accent
0:08:01 > 0:08:05and really, sort of, entertain everybody, you know?
0:08:05 > 0:08:09A very acute sense of humour and often involved laughing at the wrong things.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14- Like, if Thandie would trip over... - I got that from him! - ..and sprawl across the red carpet,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- she'd find that hilarious. - SHE LAUGHS
0:08:17 > 0:08:19I get a lump in my throat.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21I feel it very deeply.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25If she's playing a role where she's hurt, I empathise.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28I feel it very deeply. Almost to the point of tears.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32There's a measure of disbelief. I can't believe this is my daughter that I see on screen.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34I'm very proud of her, you know?
0:08:34 > 0:08:37She has this great sense of sharing with people.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42She has other people's children and she likes to get people together.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46I'm really, kind of, proud that she's become such a good mum.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Turn my little clock, otherwise I forget.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53She's so extraordinarily caring.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57I see her with her children, and small children can be exasperating.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00She seems to understand
0:09:00 > 0:09:03the nature of children, much better than I ever did.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06She always puts other people before herself.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12- That's a great quality.- Stay as you are. You're great, and, erm...
0:09:12 > 0:09:16and stay rooted to your originality, you know?
0:09:19 > 0:09:21- That's lovely. - HE LAUGHS
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Oh, I'm so moved. That's just...
0:09:25 > 0:09:29- Oh, and here they are! - Some pasties for you.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32- I need a bite.- Are you gonna pick them up, or...?
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Look at that. Oh, the pepper!
0:09:36 > 0:09:40One of the secrets is the pepper, a large amount of pepper in there.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48How did you find boarding school? Was it a naughty St Trinian's type?
0:09:48 > 0:09:51We were so naughty, it was amazing.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Why did I know that? I knew that!
0:09:53 > 0:09:56We were always so desperate to eat snacks at night,
0:09:56 > 0:10:01we were allowed to have spreads that we took down for breakfast the next day, like honey.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04This is the God's honest truth, we used to make sandwiches
0:10:04 > 0:10:11using tissues as the bread, and then spread chocolate spread or honey
0:10:11 > 0:10:14onto the tissue, put another tissue on top and eat them like a crepe.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16- Oh, yum!- Actually ingesting the tissue.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19We used to save our bubble gum on the edge of the bed too,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22piles of bubble gum, to, sort of, just pluck away.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27"Oh, today I'll have the big juicy brown one from three weeks ago."
0:10:27 > 0:10:30- Kids are wonderful. - We were desperate! - Tell me about the food then.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35I'll never forget the first time I tried pesto, for example.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40Just the idea of getting a herb, mashing it up with a nut,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44and putting cheese in it. It was just...like... It was a miracle.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48- It seems incredibly exotic. - Really exotic, and happens so fast.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52You would think that something that tastes that complex and complete
0:10:52 > 0:10:54would take a long time to prepare.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Pesto originates from Genoa in Italy.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01The word derives from the Italian verb "to crush".
0:11:01 > 0:11:04You can use pecorino or parmesan cheese.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06A great fast food,
0:11:06 > 0:11:10pesto can be stirred into salads and almost any pasta.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13And pesto can be frozen.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16But then the crowning glory was always the puddings.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19My absolute favourite pudding was creme brulee.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21I just couldn't believe what had happened.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Which sounds wonderful, but you've no idea what you'll get.
0:11:24 > 0:11:25It sounds like a, kind of...
0:11:25 > 0:11:27like an outfit you'd wear.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- A creme brulee. - "She was wearing a creme brulee."
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Or a hat or something,
0:11:32 > 0:11:34because when you go to have a dip, it's hard.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38You think, "Oh my God, I'm going to make a massive faux pas now!"
0:11:38 > 0:11:39Or "It's not meant to be like that!"
0:11:39 > 0:11:44The custard in creme brulee is usually flavoured with vanilla,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47but you could use chocolate or liqueurs.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Though I'm using rhubarb,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52you can put all sorts in the bottom of a brulee -
0:11:52 > 0:11:54apple, pear or even plums.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58- The best ones don't give initially, do they?- No.- They don't.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02- No, a little bit of brute force. - Crack that thing open,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05and then you've just got this... SHE SIGHS
0:12:05 > 0:12:08And there we have it, that was, erm...
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- Ooh, I need a bit of a fan now! - A very sexy food, creme brulee.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15A sexy food! You know what? She doesn't easily succumb.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17She just holds off, the creme brulee.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20She doesn't let you crack her open but then, push her a bit further
0:12:20 > 0:12:22and there she is. You can cut that!
0:12:22 > 0:12:26Once you've poured your custard over the top,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29leave to sit for at least half an hour in the fridge,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32and then add sugar. When blow-torching any brulee,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35make sure you don't heat the custard beneath
0:12:35 > 0:12:38and always eat within the hour.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40Really, pesto... Mm, delicious,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43especially when it gets between your teeth. Why do I go for this green stuff?
0:12:43 > 0:12:47- By the way, you had spinach in your teeth all interview, yes.- Did I?
0:12:47 > 0:12:50That was to make myself seem more accessible and normal.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54- So not a precocious teenager, then? - No, not at all. Very shy.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56I think that partly came from not being...
0:12:56 > 0:12:59not having any, you know, suitors, boyfriends.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03I wasn't the go-to girl, so I never really considered myself.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08I didn't think I was gross, I just wasn't on the radar in that respect.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11- That's a big brulee. - It is a big brulee.
0:13:14 > 0:13:15Oh!
0:13:15 > 0:13:19Look at the little... the little spots of vanilla. Mm.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25- That's amazing. - This is bliss.- Absolute bliss.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Still to come on A Taste Of My Life -
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Best friend Jess recreates the tricky dish
0:13:30 > 0:13:34that Thandie suggested she cook for a hot date.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Rockefellers. Oyster Rockefeller. Oh, yeah!
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Friend and actor Ben Miller introduces us to Thandie the cook.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44I'd say like a foreman, but it's more like the, sort of,
0:13:44 > 0:13:46leader of some kind of prison chain gang.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51And Thandie opens up - not - on her high profile co-stars.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54- Did you go on a date with Brad Pitt?- Shh...!
0:13:54 > 0:13:56(I read that you went on a date with Brad Pitt.)
0:13:56 > 0:13:58- That was a long time ago. Erm...- Anyway...
0:14:02 > 0:14:06Are you a reliable friend? Some of my best friends are a bit flaky, to be honest.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09From my boarding school days, I have a very close friend.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11- You've still got friends from school?- Yeah.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15- Talking of your friends, I've tracked one of them down.- Oh!
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Oh, sweetheart!
0:14:20 > 0:14:22SHE LAUGHS
0:14:22 > 0:14:23Thand, you may well remember
0:14:23 > 0:14:26that I asked you for some date advice
0:14:26 > 0:14:29a while ago? And you told me
0:14:29 > 0:14:31that it was a very simple dish. Rockefellers.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Oyster Rockefeller. Oh, yeah!
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Thandie and I have made many dishes over the years,
0:14:37 > 0:14:38but this particular one
0:14:38 > 0:14:42was something she suggested I cook for a date.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45So now I have to shuck this oyster.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47The thing is, I trust Thandie implicitly,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50so when she tells me something is simple, I believe her.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55We've been friends since we were 11 years old,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59and we've shared, basically, all our experiences.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04When I first gave birth to my daughter, Thandie would come round.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Such a light, basically.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09She'd show up with bags full of food.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12Ready-made stews that she'd created.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16I think it was my partner who wept as she left the first time,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19and said "Thank God for Thandie," like she was Mary Nightingale.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Mary?! Florence Nightingale!
0:15:21 > 0:15:26She had eating issues when things were difficult, I had eating issues.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29I remember one time really, really clearly.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34I had come out of anorexia and I was into another, sort of, strange stage.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38I'd eaten way too much food one evening and I called her in.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41I had a big Snickers bar in my hand, and I said, "Thandie..."
0:15:41 > 0:15:43I reeled off all the foods I had eaten.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46She just said, "Think about it. Why? What's up?"
0:15:46 > 0:15:49She talked me down from the Snickers!
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Actually it was a really important moment.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55- SHE LAUGHS - It's sulphuric!
0:15:56 > 0:15:59But this...is sexy.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Apart from getting wiser,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04she hasn't changed one little bit.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08She's still the unique, strong, really - I mean,
0:16:08 > 0:16:12don't look at that slim person sitting with you on the couch, Nigel,
0:16:12 > 0:16:16- and think you're dealing with a wimp!- Oh, I know!
0:16:16 > 0:16:18She's...a force.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23She's unfailing, really. Thandie has never let me down.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25Whenever I've been...
0:16:25 > 0:16:28At the most important moment, you know, we're sisters.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31We have children who will hopefully grow to be close as well.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34I just wish that everybody had the opportunity
0:16:34 > 0:16:37to have a Thandie as a friend.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- Lovely friend.- Oh...!
0:16:46 > 0:16:47I'm going to cry!
0:16:49 > 0:16:51- Ooh!- He wasn't good enough for her anyway.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53But look at these.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Oysters, green goo, what could he possibly...?
0:16:57 > 0:16:59I think it worked out just great
0:16:59 > 0:17:03that her oysters Rockefeller didn't turn out good. He was dreadful.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Delicious!
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Whilst at Cambridge university,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Thandie's film career started to take off,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15with five movies in three years.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18I remember one time going to New Orleans
0:17:18 > 0:17:21for a night to shoot Interview With The Vampire,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25and my death in that movie, I sort of ended up
0:17:25 > 0:17:27falling into a gigantic plate of prawns.
0:17:27 > 0:17:32Thandie has since gone on to work with world-renowned film directors -
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Bernardo Bertolucci, Jonathan Demme and Ismail Merchant.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40I've worked with some extraordinary film-makers.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42I remember when I made a movie, Jefferson In Paris,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45- with Ismail Merchant, who's no longer with us.- Yeah.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47It got to the end of the movie,
0:17:47 > 0:17:49and there was some issue about...
0:17:49 > 0:17:51They needed to shoot for an extra week
0:17:51 > 0:17:55and there was an issue about could they pay everybody, and Ismail said to me,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59"Thandie, I'm going to throw a huge feast in your honour."
0:17:59 > 0:18:04So I arrived at this banquet and he had been the chief chef. I turned up.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07I'd got myself dolled up, I'm the guest of honour.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09How many were there on the last night?
0:18:09 > 0:18:14So many people who were having a substitute feast in their honour instead of working.
0:18:14 > 0:18:15He was very a clever man,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18but I remember on that particular night having sardines
0:18:18 > 0:18:21with these spices.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27It was miraculous, and again,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30I learnt about a whole cuisine
0:18:30 > 0:18:33from working with Ismail Merchant.
0:18:33 > 0:18:34Making any spice dish,
0:18:34 > 0:18:38fry your spices first - it unlocks their flavour.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41This Ismail Merchant dish
0:18:41 > 0:18:46is a fusion recipe, bringing Indian flavours to a non-Indian fish.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53This simple dish is all about creating an aromatic tomato sauce
0:18:53 > 0:18:56and then simply baking the fish in it.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00And did you know, there's no such fish as a sardine?
0:19:00 > 0:19:03The term refers to various fish of the herring family.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08I remember Gwyneth Paltrow and I sighing,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11thinking, "How will we get into our corsets tomorrow?"
0:19:12 > 0:19:15You've had some amazing co-stars.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise. Didn't Tom Cruise teach you something?
0:19:20 > 0:19:23I'm sure I read somewhere that he was a great helping hand.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28He did teach me something that I wouldn't want to do after a plate of sardines,
0:19:28 > 0:19:33but he did give me a very interesting master class in screen kissing.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34Tom Cruise taught you to snog?
0:19:34 > 0:19:38- No, not snog, not with tongue. - Not even a bit?
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Because we were doing a scene where it was Mission Impossible II, a love story.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46At the end we come together in this passionate embrace, and we have to kiss.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48So we did the first take and he said,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51"OK, let's go and look at the monitor."
0:19:51 > 0:19:52So we jogged, - he jogs everywhere,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55doesn't waste time - so we jogged back to the monitor,
0:19:55 > 0:19:56and we watched it back.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00So I'm looking and he says, "Thandie, God, no, you're too enthusiastic!"
0:20:00 > 0:20:02SHE LAUGHS
0:20:02 > 0:20:05"You've got to hold back." And I could see what he meant,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07because I don't have a very big nose,
0:20:07 > 0:20:12so I can kind of ferret my way into a kiss, I suppose.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15And, erm, I was really doing that in such a way
0:20:15 > 0:20:19- that it seemed to bend his slightly larger nose.- Slightly larger nose.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23So we did the kiss again. Jogged back to the monitor, had a look,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26- still something not quite right. - He was pushing his luck.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30We did jog back and forwards. There's nothing like jogging back and forwards
0:20:30 > 0:20:34to really take away any kind of embarrassment.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37I think there was a part of it that was so bizarre and traumatic,
0:20:37 > 0:20:42- that I can't really...- Because it's such a personal thing for someone to analyse.- I know, so odd.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46- To point out every little nuance and detail.- It was bizarre.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50"You're not doing my nose any favours, could you do it another way?"
0:20:50 > 0:20:53I know, that's true, actually, cos my nose looked fine.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55It was about him. Did you go on a date with Brad Pitt?
0:20:55 > 0:20:59- Shh.- (I read somewhere that you went on a date with Brad Pitt.)
0:20:59 > 0:21:03It was a long time ago. Yes, I did, a long time ago. Anyway... Erm...
0:21:03 > 0:21:04Anyway...
0:21:07 > 0:21:11- Do you like a challenge when you cook?- You mean a messy, sort of...?
0:21:11 > 0:21:14- Well...- Is this one of those shows where I have custard on my head?
0:21:14 > 0:21:19Are you happy if something takes you out of your cooking comfort zone?
0:21:19 > 0:21:22It's fun. It can be like a magic show.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Those molten chocolate cakes, I remember doing that.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28- Yes, those magic cakes. - Putting your fork in and you think,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32- "How the hell did that happen?" - OK, well, I've got another message.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34OK!
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Thandie is irritatingly perfect. What particularly irritates me
0:21:38 > 0:21:41as a comedian is she's extremely funny.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Though I don't think I've ever seen Thandie cook.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48I think mainly when we come round it's Ol that does the cooking,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51and Thandie is kind of there in a supervisory capacity,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54almost like... I would say, like a foreman,
0:21:54 > 0:21:58but it's more like the leader of some kind of prison chain-gang.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03I know that Nigel shoots from the hip with his cooking,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06he's very much what he fancies in the shop that day.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Thandie, I think, could really whip him into shape.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11So I thought what I'd do,
0:22:11 > 0:22:16one of my most successful meals that I ever cooked for Thandie
0:22:16 > 0:22:18was a, sort of, American breakfast,
0:22:18 > 0:22:24and I made American pancakes with blueberries and loads of maple syrup.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29- That's my challenge to Thandie, to cook an American pancake.- Wow.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31- Oh!- Thanks, Ben.- Yeah!
0:22:35 > 0:22:38- Ben's challenge.- Ben's challenge. How can you accept a challenge
0:22:38 > 0:22:44- from a man who makes a cup of tea by pouring the milk on to the teabag?! - No, no, no, no!
0:22:44 > 0:22:47So, Ben, I'm taking over.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49I used to pretend that I was a cookery expert,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Delia Smith-type, when I was little.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57I'd make things and talk to the tiled splashback, that was my audience.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00How things can change.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01Have I made this too thin?
0:23:01 > 0:23:05Yeah, you see, you should have stuck with me. God, this is a disaster.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Ben, where are you? Oh, dear!
0:23:07 > 0:23:11- Gosh, mine seems to be smoother than yours.- Oh, you're so evil!
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Mine is going to be really, really good!
0:23:13 > 0:23:17A whole egg, or just egg yolk? Whole egg.
0:23:17 > 0:23:18I'm going to do one-handed.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22HE LAUGHS
0:23:22 > 0:23:23That's why we have aprons.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27- I'm going to make a Thandie Special. - Which is?- Which has got lumps in it.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31I'm going to use all my acting skills when I bite into my finished one,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34and pretend that it tastes absolutely unbelievable.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38I'm going to do a chocolate and lumpy flour pancake.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40I think I've put too much butter on there.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44I didn't think that came into your vocabulary, too much butter.
0:23:45 > 0:23:46OK, pancakes.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51- I'm already miles ahead.- I've heard you're a bit of a practical joker.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53It's true. I get that from my dad.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56We used to go on long train rides up to school.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00We'd eat grapes and save the pips in a little pile.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04When they got dry, we would open a book and pretend we were reading it,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08and get a pip and flick it, and see where it landed.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11The best, obviously, was the back of the neck.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14People would leap out of their seats and look around,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18and at that moment, you just very carefully
0:24:18 > 0:24:20turn the page as they turn to look at you.
0:24:22 > 0:24:23- Oh!- Oh!
0:24:25 > 0:24:27See the quantities of smoke.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30From Nigel's pancake! Mine - no smoke.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34- Just a lovely perfect pancake. - It is the perfect pancake.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Just get my plate, ladies and gentlemen.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42And look at that!
0:24:45 > 0:24:47You know, I think it's Nigella that says,
0:24:47 > 0:24:51- the first pancake, you can throw away.- Yes, she does.
0:24:51 > 0:24:52It's the angels' pancake.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55You mustn't be embarrassed about throwing it away.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58- You can have some of mine. - Can I? Let's do it with bacon.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Do I want bacon with my chocolate pancake?
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Oh, look at that. You're right, it does look nice.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07There's something in its imperfection that makes it utterly perfect.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Oh, lovely.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Bathed in maple syrup.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17- A little bit more chocolate... - That doesn't look bad.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19- It looks delicious. - It's got a certain wobbly...
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Let me help you. I'll put mine down, I've already eaten mine.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25This bacon looks delicious.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30- Can I?- Of course.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33- Mm.- Good?
0:25:33 > 0:25:34Mm!
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Mm! Mm!
0:25:37 > 0:25:38Perfection.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43- Lovely.- Very good. Thank you, Ben, for that.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Good luck, Ben.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Time for Thandie's final feast.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49And kicking it off, a whiskey sour.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57This drink contains bourbon, lemon juice, sugar and a dash of egg white.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59A classy way to kick off your last meal.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08- So, your final feast.- And some people might find this intimidating,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12this vast amount, but I'm just excited beyond words.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Scallops with... What's that, garlic?
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Delicious. Sweet and gorgeous.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Scallops. Frighteningly simple and quick to cook.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24I'm making a garlic, shallot and hazelnut butter
0:26:24 > 0:26:28to coat the scallops before placing them under the grill.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Next up it's a butter and coriander-roasted chicken
0:26:35 > 0:26:37with some shoe-string chips.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Give us a pile of those. Oh!
0:26:40 > 0:26:44- Mm.- What is that over there?- I do believe it's pistachio ice-cream.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47What's great about this, in my house anyway,
0:26:47 > 0:26:50- is I'm the only one who eats it. - That's a good position to be in.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Pistachio is just one of a number
0:26:53 > 0:26:55of increasingly unusual ice-cream flavours.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59You can do exactly the same thing with green tea or avocado.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03For a well-flavoured ice-cream, always over-flavour your mix,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07as freezing the mixture dulls the flavour.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Tell me, what do you think of as your greatest achievement?
0:27:10 > 0:27:12My absolute greatest achievement
0:27:12 > 0:27:16was giving birth to my children, bringing them into the world.
0:27:16 > 0:27:17Something just switched in me.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22I just realised that if I didn't fear, I could do anything.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26You may as well, because, by being anxious or fearful,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28it doesn't actually change anything.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31It doesn't change anything. Do you regret anything?
0:27:31 > 0:27:33I think if you'd asked me that question...
0:27:33 > 0:27:37maybe ten years ago, there would have been so much.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41I was very tricky in relationships in my early 20s
0:27:41 > 0:27:44because of not really thinking I was worthy,
0:27:44 > 0:27:47or having been introduced to relationships in a very, kind of,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50manipulative and destructive way.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53But I think one of the reasons why I felt so hard on myself
0:27:53 > 0:27:56is because I knew deep down that I wasn't governing my actions.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00It was a result of not loving myself enough,
0:28:00 > 0:28:01not appreciating myself enough.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05- Is there anything you've never tried?- Deep-sea diving.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Truly. I'd love that.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10We think the world ends somewhere round the shore.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12There's a whole universe under there.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14It's a shame we can't breathe under there.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17I don't feel comfortable, the thought of, erm...
0:28:17 > 0:28:21- relying on a little tube and a canister.- No.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23No, sorry, it's a bit spooky. So have you enjoyed today?
0:28:23 > 0:28:27I've loved today! I've loved talking to you,
0:28:27 > 0:28:29I've loved making food with you.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Thandie Newton, thank you very much
0:28:32 > 0:28:35- for being a guest on A Taste Of My Life. - Thank you for having me.
0:28:35 > 0:28:36Here's to you.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:48 > 0:28:51Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk