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I wrote my first book, Virtually Vegetarian, over ten years ago. A celebration of vegetables and vegetarian cooking, it placed vegetables firmly centre stage. It was the beginning of the trend towards healthier eating and healthier living, with the emphasis placed on eating a good, balanced, vegetable-based diet and reducing the consumption of meat. Looking back, I suppose it was quite radical. When I started cooking professionally, it was hard, if not impossible, to find a decent vegetarian meal. So-called top restaurants concentrated on the main course - meat - and never the vegetarian option. When I became head chef at one of London’s most expensive restaurants, I was happy to cater for meat eaters and vegetarians alike. Other chefs often asked me why I bothered. After all, vegetarians didn’t want to eat at such grand establishments, did they? They were just a fanatical lot who didn’t have enough to worry about! I saw it differently, however. Why shouldn’t vegetarian dishes be interesting and imaginative?