Quotes from Monica Galetti

I was very much a tomboy in my younger days, which stood me in good stead for a career in male-dominated kitchens.

In the kitchen at work I try not eat all day long but sometimes you can't help it. You've just got to taste seven different ice creams and sorbets, or make sure the seasoning is right on a dish.

I believe you've got to move with the times but that doesn't mean you have to go crazy stupid and employ every kind of technique under the sky. Learn how to cook in an oven and in a pan first, and then you can play with the toys.

At first, I found the feedback quite harsh; having people judge you and say you're horrible is difficult. I was being called the Simon Cowell of the cookery world and the female Gordon Ramsay. I mean, what? From all I knew, that was simply part of being a chef; it was the way we talked in the kitchen.

I was raised in the Pacific Islands, so I remember picking fruit every morning for breakfast or collecting the eggs from the chickens in the garden. It was a very simple life, but we had all of these fresh ingredients on our doorstep.

Food is about the flavours that work well together, but when you've got great ingredients half the job is done for you.

There are many Summer ingredients I love: one of my favourite times is when the cherries are ready!

I absolutely adore beetroot in all shapes and sizes - I even grow them when possible.

When I was really young, I thought it was really cool to wear red and yellow bike pants with one red sock and one yellow sock.

I try to live my life without regrets, but I guess I regret not travelling a bit more.

Being born in the Pacific Islands, the most travelling I did when I was little was getting the ferry over to the next island.

Cooking with my daughter is a treasured part of my life, as I don't get to spend as much time with her as I would like to.

When you're buying your whole fish, check that the eyes are clear and gills are a bright red colour and that there is no 'fishy' smell.

I've seen many amazing chefs, girls, come into the kitchen and then give it up to be with their boyfriend. Would he do that for her?

I absolutely cannot live without my set of kitchen knives - I would be completely lost without them.

There's always been more men than women in the profession... I think at certain points young women think 'I want a family' and they can't balance the two.

My mum is the youngest of 14, so I have a huge extended family.

The people of Samoa have a gentle way, and they have the humility that comes with managing to get by on the very basics of life. In London and New Zealand we are spoilt and we forget that.

We always had a lot of pak choi because my dad grew it in his vast vegetable garden in New Zealand - he grows everything, everywhere!

I always go for something like mac and cheese if I'm hungover. Pasta is great for soaking everything up.

There was always Marmite in our house. Don't mess with the Kiwis and their Marmite; it's serious stuff.

I like to adapt some of the traditional dishes from my childhood from both NZ and Samoa using British ingredients and European cooking methods.

We had to move to New Zealand when I was eight for a better life.

My first travel experiences were around New Zealand. The scenery is stunning at Milford Sound and Potts Glacier.