'I am based in London but I often go to Belfast and on every visit my first phone call is always to Deane's. It's right in the heart of Belfast and everything tends to go on in the area. It's only in the last few years that restaurants like this have taken off there. Everybody used to go to pubs, and still do, but there is a real restaurant culture since the peace process began. As the quality of the food has increased there is more competition, and people go to restaurants as a pastime.

My mother would have a fit if she knew I spent a lot of time at Deane's. She grew up in a different kind of culture and disapproves terribly of going to fancy restaurants. When I was a child we rarely went out to eat. It just wasn't the done thing. Mind you, I've taken my parents to Deane's Brasserie and they seemed to enjoy it. My father cooked for the family because he was a teacher and got home before everyone else. I didn't cook for years and it was my wife who taught me how to. Now I prepare most of the food in our house for my wife and daughter and I can't get enough of it. I made my first cake yesterday for my wife's birthday. It took an age to make: you could have built a bakery and made enough cakes to fill it and sold them all in the same amount of time. The Irish are pretty good at cooking potatoes and I do them very brilliantly: I mash them and I do great roasties. I love wearing an apron and having the kitchen to myself with a bottle of wine open.

I always read the sports pages and then turn to the restaurant reviews. I read them avidly. I don't go out too much when I'm at home in London, but when I'm away on location I will go to lots of restaurants. I practically always eat by myself as I think you can enjoy the food more when you're not talking. I love the idea of sitting there with the paper or a book.

I tend to go to Michael Deane's with friends and then we'll go for drinks at the famous Crown bar afterwards. The menu is quite extensive at Deane's so you have an opportunity to try foods from all over the world. Upstairs is the Michelin-starred restaurant which is just stunning - I go when someone is taking me there - but because the brasserie is so fantastic I often don't think about it.

My lunches there are likely turn into a very long affair. I hate stuffiness and the waiting staff are incredibly welcoming. Their service is magnificent without being too ingratiating and subservient. It attracts such a mix of people and there is a great atmosphere. My favourite dish varies as often as they change the menu. One day you can go in and you can have something quite fancy like a risotto or a shank of lamb, the next you'll have a fantastic fish and chips and sausages and mash. There isn't much of an Irish slant, the chef's - Michael Deane's - food often has an Asian influence, but he does things like a good black pudding.

Deane's food has really educated the palate of a lot of people in Northern Ireland. It's interesting that once they've eaten there people will definitely return to the brasserie. Although there are lots of restaurants that have sprung up in the last few years, Deane's is still the one for me.'

Deane's restaurant and brasserie
Location: 34-40 Howard Street, Belfast, BT1 6PD
History: Michael Deane worked in Claridge's, London then, in 1997, he and two partners opened Deane's. It was established as a two-tier restaurant with a Michelin-starred restaurant on one floor, and a brasserie on the other.
Awards: Brassiere: Bib Gourmand from Michelin; Restaurant: One Michelin star and three rosettes in the AA Guide
Food at the brasserie: Seafood risotto - basil pesto and parmesan: £5.50; Roast chicken forestiere - garlic, mushrooms and bacon : £10.25
Food at the restaurant: Clear broth of mushrooms, shellfish, chilli and lemongrass Beef fillet, parsnip mash, Clonakilty black pudding, horseradish and thyme. Two courses cost £29
Famous customers: U2, John Rocha, Loyd Grossman, Eamonn Holmes, Sophie Anderton, Jason Donovan, Jean Kennedy Smith.
Opens: Monday-Saturday 7.00 pm- 9.30 pm; Thursday-Friday 12.30 pm-2.30 pm
Telephone: 028 90 560001