I tend to get up as late as possible, but if I'm staying in London - the Dorchester hotel is my favourite haunt - I find a nearby pool and go for a swim, ideally for an hour.
My home nowadays is Catus in south-west France but I also spend a lot of time in Paris. Regardless of where I am, I like to start my day with green tea and no breakfast. I haven't touched coffee for 20 years - I just decided I didn't need the caffeine one day.
I'll put the television on once I'm up to get the latest news. I'm a bit of an information maniac. I love my broadsheets and if I don't have any appointments that day I sit and read for hours, otherwise I go through the papers and tear out the bits that interest me, putting them to one side for later. I also love books and read anything, from complete junk such as James Patterson to quality stuff such as Berlin - the Downfall 1945 by Antony Beevor.
As I'm consultant chef for Noble House Leisure, which contains the Jim Thompson's, Arbuckles, Yellow River Caf‚ and Sri restaurant brands, I'll check my e-mails and answer any questions the group chefs may have about menu changes.
In my capacity I suggest, advise and have final sign-off on any changes made to the group's menus. I feel I know the UK market well, so I always aim to keep our menus at the cutting edge while avoiding the mistake of scaring people away. An example might be combining black bean sauce with lime or lemon zest, not just for the sake of being different but definitely to avoid resting on our laurels.
I rarely call chefs directly, as an e-mail is very efficient at answering any queries they have. I guess we're very last-minute in our approach as an industry, so the process of responding can take up most of my morning if a lot of queries have arrived at the sme time.
I stick to my morning routines of papers and e-mailing wherever I am, and honestly wonder how I coped before we had the ability to stay in touch in such a way.
Without fail, it's lunch at 1pm. I might be meeting a journalist in Paris or a publisher in London, but this doesn't change. Lunch can be two hours, and there's always wine involved - I don't believe in not drinking during the day.
Of course, as part of my role at Noble House it pays for me to expose myself to as many new ideas as possible. I'll pay particular attention to the decor, service and menu presentation - as well as the food - at restaurants, quietly stealing ideas as I go.
The operational managers don't have the time to do this sort of fact-finding, so I see it very much as part of my consultant's role.
When I first came to Britain 32 years ago the public were timid when it came to what they'd eat when out. Now you're all very open, especially towards Oriental cuisine, because you enjoy spices.
I honestly believe that food is more exciting and diverse in the UK now than in France.
After lunch I'll visit any new stores in the area I'm in or maybe take in an exhibition.
Recently I went to an exhibition in Paris at the Pompidou Centre. It featured calligraphy and gave me something to discuss with Noble House's design people. We might not use it, but it's good to bounce ideas off of each other and keep feeding our knowledge.
By late afternoon I'll start to tie up any loose ends in preparation for an aperitif and an evening of entertaining.
If I'm travelling, I'm generally very relaxed about it and will have everything ready and organised so that I can get straight out of bed the next day, grab my stuff and leave.
I deal with all the travelling by "power napping". I can be happily reading, and next thing I've dozed off for 10 minutes. When I awaken I feel refreshed again, which is great.
My new book took me about nine months to write, and I always test the recipes before signing them off. This is courtesy of a Californian friend, who prepares them based on my instructions and then takes photos of the final result to check it's what I intended.
Spending time in Catus is a good idea when trying to write, as there are few distractions. As to how I go about writing each book, I don't plan it all out, I just get stuck in. When I first started writing books I used to feel uneasy, until an editor suggested I write the way I speak - and it all fell into place.
Interview by Chris Druce
Just a minute...
Tell us a secret about yourself
I'm very sexy.
What's your pet hate?
Brussels sprouts.
FactFile
Noble House Leisure
69 Alma Road, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 3HD
Tel: 01753 483800
Web: www.orientalrestaurantgroup.co.uk
Founded: 2000 by Robert Breare (also owns Noble House Pub Company)
Brands: Yellow River, Jim Thompson's, Arbuckles and the Oriental Restaurant Group
Employees: 6,000