PRESS UPDATE : MAIL+ MAGAZINE.. MY LIFE IN FOOD ... MARCH 26TH 2023 ..

MY LIFE IN FOOD

JOAN COLLINS

The screen icon tells Tom Parker Bowles about her soap-opera diet, dining in the company of Sinatra and her farewell dish: baked potato with lashings of caviar...

My first food memory was of my mother opening a small can of peaches at the dinner table. It was just after the war. She told us we were all sharing it for dessert, and I remember thinking, that’s not very much. But then again, we didn’t have much food back then.

My father was a very good provider and we never lacked for anything. We all ate so much less in those days, and never had any leftovers or rubbish. We had to finish everything on our plate, otherwise we were told that the children in India would starve.

School food at Francis Holland in Regent’s Park involved cabbage, boiled potatoes and a lot of overcooked meat. I wasn’t keen on any of it. But I’ve always had a healthy relationship with food.

While I was at Rada, in London, I was taken out for lunch at The Ivy, aged 16, by a fellow Rada actor. It was my first proper posh restaurant and I remember being absolutely overwhelmed by the glory of it, how beautiful it was.

When I was filming Dynasty, the catering table was full of the world’s most fattening foods. Hot dogs, cakes, buns and biscuits. But the four leading ladies were not allowed to touch any of that. They had a special table just for us, with carrots, celery and low-fat cheese. The camera adds 10lb and we had to keep a good seven or eight pounds below our usual weight. Sometimes we cheated, of course. We’re only human.

When I first got to Hollywood, I was only 20, and I went to the magnificent Romanoff’s restaurant. It was run by Michael Romanoff, who said he was a prince, but everyone said he wasn’t really. Anyway, it was the most extraordinary restaurant, all banquettes and booths, and you would see Lana Turner, Cary Grant and Fred Astaire. The food was wonderful. It was the first place I had steak Diane, a dish I still love, which they flambéed at the table.

The iconic Chasen’s in Los Angeles was another favourite, and you’d always see Frank Sinatra or Natalie Wood there. In fact every star was there. They’d all have their own tables. They [Chasen’s] were famous for their chilli, which was superb. But in those days, everyone used to go out all the time. Now glamour in Hollywood is very passé. Or ‘outdated’, as they love to say.

In the good old days of flying, a trolley would be pushed down the aisle with a whole rib of beef, Yorkshire pudding and all the old English dishes. But I’m very allergic to shellfish, so I have to be careful. I was once on an American flight and ordered the chicken surprise. Biting into it, I realised the surprise – it was filled with shrimp. Thank God I had my EpiPen.

I can cook, and I have a few speciality dishes, like my spaghetti bolognese, which I learned to cook in Italy, when I was making Esther and the King [1960]. We have a cook at our house in the South of France but we don’t in London or LA. I used to cook a lot more, but my husband Percy started helping me and I finally said, ‘Why don’t you do it?’ So he does, and I can sit and watch TV. He’s a very good cook, but I do insist on making my spaghetti bolognese.

I hate shellfish because it will kill me. And I’m not keen on sushi, which everyone seems to love. Nor do I eat trendy things like tofu and kale that have no taste whatsoever.

I’m very partial to Mark & Spencer’s coronation chicken. I will be having it on the day of the coronation, which I will be watching avidly. I remember the last one. My favourite comfort food is scrambled eggs on toast.

My last supper would be potato paisan, which is baked potato with sour cream and tons of caviar. So delicious.

Joan Collins is on Instagram @joancollinsdbe. My Unapologetic Diaries, her latest book, is out now (Orion, £9.99)