Does Margot Henderson OBE need an introduction for you, the discerning food and wine-lover reading this? She is as integral to British restaurants as sticky toffee pudding or worrying about how much to tip. She was born in Wellington, NZ, in 1964, but moved to the UK when she was just 20, drawn by the vision of Cool Britannia. As a child she had learned to cook at the feet of her mother, who was a food writer, and the skills stood her in good stead once she arrived in London. She worked her way up through a succession of the capital’s best restaurants, including 192 and the Quality Chop House, before she met another promising whippersnapper, Fergus Henderson, at a lunch at The Eagle in Farringdon.

The rest is culinary history. Fergus and Margot got married — they have three children — and opened the French House on Dean St, in Soho, where they cooked to wide acclaim until 1994, when Fergus left to found St John with Trevor Gulliver. Margot continued with a new partner, Melanie Arnold. It proved just as fruitful a union. They opened Rochelle Canteen, in Shoreditch, in 2004, serving a daily changing menu of beautiful seasonal British ingredients. She and Arnold also have a successful catering business. Henderson recently opened the Three Horseshoes, in Batcombe, taking her talents down to Somerset.

One career highlight?

Twenty years of Rochelle Canteen, building the team — and it’s better than ever. Mondays are rocking, even at lunchtime..

And a lowlight?

We lost Rochelle Canteen at the ICA through covid. We went into voluntary liquidation. It was heartbreaking and exhausting. We loved that place. It was great, but we were diving, so we just had to get out.

What food did you dread growing up?

My mother was really into making brown food. For birthday parties instead of jellies and pavlovas she’d make brown biscuits and serve them with honey. I used to dread birthdays. It’s sort of what got me into cooking. I’d say Mum, we need white sugar and white flour and we’re going to have fluffy things for one day of the year.

What’s a weird food you secretly love?

Wotsits. I even like the way they stick to the roof of your mouth. Even the own-brand ones. I buy them but I’m always slightly embarrassed. I’ll be in the supermarket and bump into a chef and they’ll be like ‘what crap have you bought today.’ The whole family has a bit of a crisp problem.

Wine with a fast food?

A St. John Macon with a cheeseburger. It would be great if McDonalds sold St John Macon. Great for business, anyway.

Overrated trend?

Slates and smears.

Death-row meal?

Sushi. Tuna, yellowtail, uni uni uni, with a good bottle of sake.

Who would be your ideal dinner date?

Elizabeth I. I was very fond of her as a child. I think it’s a ginger thing. I think she’d get it. We’d go to St. John. She’d like all those bones and stuff. We might have to get a few people to carry her frock up the stairs.

What’s the worst meal you’ve ever made?

In New York once we were cooking a dinner for 300. We were doing quails, and you need to give them a good sizzle. We couldn’t get the ovens hot enough, so in the end we had these pasty-looking steamed quails. The stress was awful.

Any tattoos?

I don’t have any, but lots of people have tattoos of Fergus’ head. Fans. People are obsessed with him. The St. John pig is quite a common tattoo, too.

Can you recommend a restaurant I won’t have heard of?

43 Sichuan Kitchen on the South Lambeth Road. It’s delicious. There are lots of people who really love Sichuan food in there, and it’s not too crazy spice-wise.

Who had the biggest influence on you?

Apart from Fergus? Stephanie Alexander, Alice Waters, Elizabeth David. Actually I’d like her at lunch with Elizabeth I, too. We’d all be shouting and drunk.