Gizzi Erskine on the best olive oil, butter and Sunday roast

Gizzi Erskine on the best olive oil, butter and Sunday roast
Source: Daily Mail Online

What's your favourite brand of olive oil?
Picualia. It's made from the first Spanish harvest, fluorescent green and so peppery. Because it's pricey, I only use it as a finishing oil. For cooking, use a cheap one. If you're using expensive olive oil to cook, you've fallen for a PR scam.

Restaurant you want to go back to?
Cervejaria Ramiro in Lisbon. The fish is outrageously good. Order the clams, then the spicy dressed crab, then the percebes barnacles. They look like dragon's feet but taste amazing.

Best bread?
Honestly? Crap white bread. Toasted supermarket bread with a thick layer of butter is the perfect breakfast.

And which butter do you put on it?
Guernsey butter - the best in the world. It's made with really creamy cow's milk.

Condiment that improves any meal?
Worcestershire sauce. I'll put it on anything: cheese on toast, shepherd's pie, macaroni cheese. And in a Bloody Mary, of course.

Favourite bakery?
Dusty Knuckle: there are a few across North London. Their baguettes are insane.

Dream foodie holiday?
I'm desperate to go to the Philippines and try lechon. It's their national dish: basically a whole suckling pig that's been cooked over charcoal, with really crispy skin.

Best place for a Sunday roast?
Island at Mare Street Market, Hackney (where I'm creative director). The food is cooked by two Michelin-starred chefs but the setting is so relaxed (£34, island-restaurants.com).

And the best bit of a Sunday roast?
The gravy. I start prepping mine four days in advance and make two elements: a red wine and beef reduction, and a bone stock. Combine them together and it's perfect.

Most useful kitchen utensil or gadget?
I'm a knife fanatic. I once left my favourite knives (collected from all over the world) on a TV set and have been searching for the perfect ones ever since. If you love cooking, go to the Japanese Knife Company. The staff are so helpful if you're not sure what you need.

Go-to takeaway coffee?
I'm eternally disappointed by UK coffee. But there is an Asian spot called Midnight Pantry in King's Cross that makes amazing Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk. It's very sweet and reminds me of those sugary coffees you'd get as a teenager in Starbucks.

Bougiest buy in your store cupboard?
I always have caviar in the fridge. I get sent a lot through work, so I even had plenty when I was completely skint fairly recently. If I fancy, I'll crack open a tin and have it as a starter. Exmoor (from £14, exmoorcaviar.com) is the best.

You can only eat one kind of potato for the rest of your life - what is it?
I'll say roast. Because then you can squish it down and get mashed potato, but it still has the crispiness of a chip.

Secret ingredient?
Sherry vinegar. Balsamic is over, in my book - it's way too heavy. Sherry vinegar brings a salad alive with beautiful flavours and a gorgeous red colour.

Preferred tinned fish?
Pinhais sardines fresh from Portugal. But if you're new to buying tinned fish, try a selection box from thetinnedfishmarket.com (from £15.95). They're a great starting point.

Repeat Deliveroo order?
A kebab from Gunes in Walthamstow, East London. It's made on an authentic Turkish grill and the meat is still pink on the inside, crispy at the edges. Ah, it's so good!

Top chocolate?
Up-Up Sweet Orange Milk Chocolate. I get it from the fancy corner shop down my road.