INTERVIEWER: Minty, how's it feel to be a television star?

MINTY: Get away with you! I'm not a star by any stretch of my imagination. I'm Minty from Reading, like I always was. I'm just like you or me, really. Maybe with a bigger house. But I don't go round saying, 'I've met Sir Elton John', any more than he goes round saying 'I've met Minty Marchmont.' Though it was lovely meeting him. He was shorter than I expected but just as nice and gay.

INTERVIEWER: Have you had a good reaction to the series?

MINTY: It's been fantastic. Sales of fennel rose by thirteen per cent after the first show went out. I think that says a lot about the power of television. And the power of fennel, obviously.

INTERVIEWER: What's the main thing you've learned from Simon?

MINTY: Simon has that confidence that comes from being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I think, to be honest, he's taken the spoon out of his mouth, you know, and let me have a lick. And that's made me more confident too. I think I could be on my own now with anyone. The Queen. Delia.

INTERVIEWER: What have you learned about food, though?

MINTY: I think I've learned that food's the most important thing in life. I mean if this house was on fire, Simon would save his jus pot before he saved our dog or me. I think that's good really, because he trusts me to save myself. He knows he can rely on me to not die. And I won't! I'm his rock. He even calls me 'Rock' sometimes. But he makes it sound feminine.

INTERVIEWER: How does your relationship work in the kitchen?

MINTY: It's all about trust and sharing and respecting each other's space. My space is by the Aga or the slicing machine or the Mouli or dragging the turkey out of the Merc. We can't both do that, can we? It's too heavy. So while I'm taking responsibility for that side of things, Simon can have his ideas.

INTERVIEWER: What's been his most brilliant idea, would you say?

MINTY: He never stops, does he? He woke me up at five this morning and he sort of whispered in my ear, quite loudly, 'Venison and pomegranates'. And suddenly we're off! I'm driving round our estate with our estate manager, looking for deer to kill...and he's off to California to source the pomegranates. It's just fantastic fun. It's hard work but it's fun. I'm very lucky. I've come a long way in my life and now I've stopped. I've got a television series, an exciting husband, an Aga and a dog. This afternoon, I'm meeting our parmesannieri to go through the latest reggianos. If we had peace in the Middle East, life would be perfect.

INTERVIEWER: Why the Middle East in particular?

MINTY: That's where we go to buy dates.

INTERVIEWER: Right. Minty Marchmont, thank you very much.

MINTY: Thank you. (to camera) And thank YOU.