“As long as I have a market nearby I can happily cook for hundreds!”

Tom Parker Bowles, lover of all things edible, talks table manners, vegetarianism and best of British

Despite being an ardent fan of cuisine from around the world, Tom Parker Bowles is best loved in the UK for his enthusiastic support of our nation's food heritage. An advocate of buying local – and a passionate promoter of the ‘British is best’ motto – his interest in the history of our food knows no bounds. We caught up with him to find out more about his love of British grub and traditional home cooking.

I grew up in the country, my mum cooked and my dad spent a lot of time gardening, so I had a good understanding of local, seasonal and organic before they became buzz words and prices shot up. I grew up happily eating home cooked food, but then I was sent off to prep school and the dinners were all the things that English cuisine is infamous for – grey, gristly, dull, institutional – and it's that which turned a healthy appetite into greed and an obsession with quality produce, particularly freshly-caught fish from my dad, homemade pies, stews and puddings.

Growing up in the country, there weren't any restaurants nearby. There wasn't a gastropub in every village like there is now, but there was a definite sense of seasonality – we'd have asparagus in the spring, tomatoes in the summer, and game during autumn and winter. For me the two great seasons are spring and autumn. We all wish we lived in LA or the Bahamas, but the truth is that we'd get bored without the seasons.

I hate finger wagging and bossing people about regarding their food, but the fact is that British animal welfare standards are very high compared to the rest of the world. When it comes to buying meat, the very least you should be looking for is a product which has been produced in Britain, preferably with the Red Tractor or Freedom Food mark, and is from your butcher. The UK is full of producers who work for the love of good meat, rather than to turn a profit; they bring up animals in the proper way, reared slowly. For me, buying the best means buying British.

I’m very bad at baking because it involves science and patience, whereas I have lots of energy. Cooking calms me. Wherever I am, as long as I have a kitchen and a market nearby I can happily cook for hundreds. I always use British chicken, wherever the dish I'm making originates from. I'm a stickler for manners and think pleases and thank yous are incredibly important, but table manners aren't top of the agenda for me. Having friends and family over for a relaxed dinner is my idea of bliss and I think the bonding nature of food is incredibly valuable. Simple is best; in my younger days I tried out all the gadgets in the world, but these days I'm all about wooden spoon cooking. That, a good knife and chopping board are absolute necessities.

My dream British meal would be Severn & Wye smoked salmon and potted shrimp followed by a really rare roast rib of beef from Peter Hannan or shepherd's pie then treacle tart, apple crumble or a sticky toffee pudding. Officially we didn't create the sticky toffee pudding, the Canadians did, but we've perfected it so I think we should be able to call it our own! I travel a lot and people are always dismissive of British food, but when you think of how far our gastronomy has come it really is incredible.

When I was young and started off as a food writer I looked down my nose at vegetarians, but as I've grown older I've moved towards it. There are superb veggie chefs out there spreading the word, and Britain is embracing it because it makes sense from so many angles – budget-wise in particular. I don't do it to feel pious or virtuous, I just genuinely love vegetables and think they're under-appreciated as a foundation for an awful lot of meals. We have an ideal climate for growing vegetables – peas and broad beans with a sprinkling of sea salt make for a delicious light lunch.