Under the grill: Lesley Christensen-Yule

Lesley Christensen-Yule. Photo / Supplied

Food consultant and co-author of the NZ Cook's Bible.

The one ingredient I can't do without is ... Salt. Well it's one of those things you can't live with and you can't live without. Too much is bad for you, but when there's not enough, both food and life seem bland.

The one piece of equipment every kitchen should have is ... a great big wide, high-sided pan that can be used for both stove top and oven.

The one dish everybody should know how to make is ... scrambled egg on toast for breakfast. If that's the only thing you can cook, then at least you can start the day well.

If you're teaching the kids to cook, the best dishes to start with are ... spaghetti bolognaise and a crisp green salad. They get to learn how to cook mince, how to boil pasta and how to balance the meal with fresh vegetables. What's more, they love to eat it.

I have $20 and four people to feed, I'm making ... hot pasta tossed with a big dollop of basil pesto, sprinkled with a little parmesan and a good grinding of black pepper. Serve it with seasonal salad leaves dressed with lemon juice and a splash of good olive oil. Last but not least, a loaf of crusty bread.

I'm tired and hungry, I am ordering takeaways from ... one of the many fab Indian restaurants in my neighbourhood. Living in Ponsonby means I'm spoiled for choice but usually it's takeaways from Moti Mahal in Freemans Bay because they do a free delivery and when I'm tired that's an added bonus.

The best meal I have ever eaten was ... roast hogget cooked by mum when I was a kid. I remember one day in particular, the fantastic aromas of a roast meal wafting from the kitchen and when I asked what was cooking, farm-girl that she was, Mum described it as a grown-up lamb but better, cheaper and much tastier than lamb. How right she was. Alas, it seems impossible to find hogget these days.

The dish that typifies New Zealand cuisine is ... the pink lamington. Not one of my personal favourites but they've been around as long as I can remember. New Zealanders have always been into home baking and looking back through our culinary history there's always been more books on home baking than anything else.

The person I'd most like to cook for is ... my dad. He's the person who first sparked my enthusiasm for fine dining. He has exquisite taste and best of all, when he comes to dinner he always brings a fantastic bottle of wine.

Oh dear, it's my last meal, I'm eating ... pungent, creamy goat cheese slathered on a torn-off hunk of crusty bread, drizzled with a little New Zealand extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of fresh thyme.