#INSPIREDBY DAVID LOFTUS

David Loftus is a go-to food photographer, but so much more than that. He has won multiple awards, is revered globally for his stunning portrait photography, helped propel Jamie Oliver’s career to new heights, and penned a memoir "Diary Of A Lonely Twin".  

What was one of the very first dishes you remember eating?

Banana and custard with my twin brother John, we drank it up by the gallon.

Who is your food hero?

Alexis Soyer, the original celebrity chef, Reform Club head chef, first to form a 'soup kitchen' and risked his life to invent a 'field stove' in the Crimean War when he heard more soldiers were dying from malnutrition than from wounds.

What is your guiltiest food pleasure?

Sahari Gris, Whispering Angel and Kitkats (I’m coeliac).

Which restaurant to you long to return to?

First will be the 'Colbert', for oysters, then Darby's, for more oysters.

What would be your last meal?

More oysters, followed by Robin Gill's sourdough (last meal so who cares about being coeliac) with scrambled Burford Browns, grated black truffles, papaya and lime for desert, palette cleanser of pistachio ice cream from Rocambolesc.

What dish do you cook the most at home?

My pasta with a kind of pesto I make with the heads of tenderstem, walnuts, good oil and parmesan, which, luckily my wife will request frequently, as 'please

can we have your signature pasta'.

What restaurant T-shirt would you wear?

My son Paros wears the 'Phat Phuc' tshirt, for obvious reasons, but they also make his fave noodles, in the Kings Road. I'd wear 'Freakscene', Scott Hallsworth's Soho pop-up, as he's a genius, a gent and a fellow punk rocker.  

Favourite vegetable? 

Artichoke alla Romana or deep fried must be close to vegetable heaven, there's a little restaurant in the Jewish quarter in Rome that cooks them whole, slowly, in an oven, crushed under a brick… nirvana.

Most-used condiment? 

Whole grain mustard or my home-made red wine vinegar 

Most over-rated dish?

Beluga caviar and foie gras... both cruel, both pointless, and, both on occasions foul to eat. 

Favourite restaurant not in the UK?

'Ekstedt' in Stockholm, Niklas is a modern day Foody hero for me 

Favourite fast food joint?

‘Freakscene’ is the nearest I get to ‘fast food’

Quick Fire

Breakfast in bed or Hotel restaurant? 

Hotel Restaurant, I always like to watch the guilty looks of trysting couples 

English Breakfast Tea or Long Black Coffee?

English Breakfast, always 

Martini - Gin or Vodka?

Vodka, dirty 

Ketchup or Mayo? 

Mayo, ketchup is the work of the devil 

Stella or Boli?

Both give me headaches, rose all the way

London or New York?

Tricky, have spent my life around Chelsea but love New York, London says 'home', New York says 'party'. 

City break or Hideaway?

I do both, but for romance, definitely hideaway, with Ange.