Emma Bunton likes dancing on the tables in restaurants

About seven or eight years ago, my friend Maz was in a theatre production in Central London and she said 'I know this nice little Italian place in Soho,' and it was Little Italy on Frith Street. It was a Saturday night so it was packed, we sat down to eat and at about midnight they put Sinatra on and everyone started dancing and singing along! It's wonderful, and that's what I love about it here. It's warm and friendly, and the emphasis is on enjoying yourself. Every time I walk through the door they ask how you are, they remember the last conversation you both had. And it's not just because I was in the Spice Girls or whatever, they treat all their customers very warmly. I couldn't believe it when they said they opened a sister restaurant, Nolita in Hatfield - it's about five minutes from my house! I had my thirtieth there - it was great!

The early days of the Spice Girls was when I got to eat at some amazing places for the first time. The first time I tried an oyster was after I'd joined the Spice Girls. We were taken to that restaurant with the big Michelin man outside [Bibendum]; Mel B and I were always the most adventurous and we both tried oysters for the first time, but I don't think she took to it. But I took to it quite well!

I love Claridge's, it's somewhere you go for very special occasions. Jamie Oliver's restaurant 15 is brilliant, too - it has a great atmosphere - but there's just something about Little Italy and Nolita that keeps me coming back. It's like a home from home. Chris Moyles and Paul Robinson, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur, were there the other night.

I love my food but if I have a shoot coming up or a video then I can be very disciplined, I won't have pasta after 6pm or I'll lay off the white bread. When I hang out with my girlfriends it's about meeting them for lunch or staying in to have pizza, it's built around eating. It's really boring to turn things down or say I can't eat wheat after six. Trouble is, the evening is my favourite time to eat!

Turning 30, I've noticed that things don't move in the same way as they did. It used to be that if I was bad one week and I trained the next week, any extra weight would disappear, but not any more.

Both my mum and dad were great cooks when I was growing up. Well, my dad was, my mum would try, bless her. As a family, we always tried new things and experimented with food. I remember being in Spain when I was about six and all the kids wanted burgers and chips and I remember digging into prawns and garlic. I've always loved trying new foods. I mean, I really like jellied eels. The only things I really dislike are peas. And my mum still gives them to me!

Restaurants were always a real treat when I was growing up. My brother and I would have to share food because we couldn't really afford to splurge, and so now when I go out to eat I treat it as a luxury and I feel lucky. My favourite foods are those that I remember having a lot when I was younger - the classics that my dad would cook; shepherd's pie, roast dinners and spaghetti bolognese. He made a shepherd's pie to die for, with a tiny layer of cheese and a bit of tomato.

I do like to cook myself, well I try, but my boyfriend really is the best cook in the world. His speciality is Thai green curry. I love the process of going to the supermarket and getting little bits and pieces, planning a meal and coming home and cooking it. When I was growing up we always ate around a table, save for Saturday night, which was a tray dinner in front of the TV as a treat. I think that's why I enjoy food, because meals were, and still are, a family event. We'd go to my Nan's on Sunday, she'd always make these lovely cherry pies; now on Sundays I go to my dad's house. I think of him sitting at the table on a Sunday when I was little and he would eat half and then leave the rest for later.

I think a happy childhood gives you a balanced view of food and of yourself. I eat what I fancy and I feel good about it. I feel lucky that I escaped all the size zero nonsense when I was younger. I've had times with the press, especially during the Spice Girl days, when they've called me fat. Of course it does hurt, but having a great family and having normal, non-famous people around me keeps me grounded. If I was going over to my girlfriends and we got a pizza in and I turned it down because of my weight, it would be, 'What's wrong with you?' Luckily, my mum, grandma and dad are always the first to shout me down if I complain about putting on weight. And then I think, actually I'm healthy and I like the way I look.
Interview by Rosie Swash

· Little Italy, 21 Frith Street, London W1, 020 7734 4737

Amy Winehouse on drink, weed and soup

I stopped smoking weed about two years ago when I started going to the gym. Because I guess I've written 'Addicted' and it's come out on this album [Back to Black], it would seem like I still smoke and have days where I think, 'Oh, should I buy a quarter?' But it's not even a factor any more. I wrote that song about three years ago.

But my drinking replaced weed. I still have a problem - well, I have had problems with drink but I haven't had a drink in a few days. Is the problem exaggerated in the papers? I don't know ... No. I'm a terrible drunk. I dunno where that comes from - boredom?

'Rehab' came out of the fact that I always have been able to deal with things myself. If you can't look after yourself then no one can. That's what I think. The only place I've ever been to talk about the substance problems I have - whether with alcohol or food - I've never actually spoken to anyone, I've never been consulted. They talk at me, I go, 'Thank you for your time,' then I leave. I just went to please people around me. I went to walk in and walk out. Revolving door syndrome.

But no, God, I didn't drop four dress sizes to size 0. Size 0 is an Americanism, it's not even a real English term. It'd be like a UK size 4, which I've never been. At my smallest I was an American size 2, which is six in the UK. But I was never even a 12, so I dropped two dress sizes. It's a joke. It just makes me laugh when people say things like, 'you were a spokeswoman for curvy girls, and you were a really good role model - and now look at you, you're a state ...'

I'm like, 'What, I used to smoke weed from fucking eight o'clock in the morning till three o'clock in the morning. And when I stopped and started going to the gym I lost a bit of weight and looked better - but I'm a terrible role model?' It's a joke.

Anyway, I think if you're a girl, the best role models are women you know, strong women around you - your best friend, your mum, your nan, your aunties. However someone is portrayed in the media, you don't know them personally. If you latch onto someone, a famous person, to the point where they'll fuck you up and you don't even know them, you're a knob anyway. I eat ridiculously healthily. Just now I'm drinking a carrot, beetroot, celery and ginger throat juice - it's gross. I'm gonna have red poo. But I've got to, I'm not well, I came back from Miami after New Year with a bug.

My boyfriend Alex is a chef, and he can cook anything. But he doesn't cook for me, I cook for him. I do great chicken soup, or meatballs. But West Indian food is probably my best thing. I learnt from my mum, but she stopped cooking when I was quite young, so then I learnt from my grandma. I'm very enthusiastic about it. And Alex is really good because I have someone who I can really make something for and you know they'll appreciate it and they'll give you really good criticism. As I'm cooking things I'll be like, 'When should I put the thing in, baby?' 'Now!'

I love being on tour, and I do tend to look after my voice. One of my crew makes me really nice ginger tea. And Alex always tells me to avoid dairy - I was gonna get a smoothie with yoghurt in it but he told me not to 'cause of my voice.

When I was smoking a lot of weed I didn't have a munchie diet so much as I just ate bad. I'd get up, smoke two big spliffs then be like, 'hmmm, I should eat something ...' So I'd go and have a fry-up. Then I wouldn't eat anything all day. Then I'd eat pasta at two in the morning. Just ridiculous.

I don't know why I was so into spliff. It's a teenager's thing, innit? I can't smoke now 'cause my energy just crashes. I'm a gym girl. I'm not a lazy person any more, I like getting up and going. I'd rather walk somewhere or run somewhere. I'd train every day if I had the chance. On tour I'll try and find a gym locally.
Interview by Craig McLean

Wynton Marsalis's favourite table in Britain is at Ronnie Scott's

There's a whole jazz history here Ronnie Scott's. I grew up eating jambalaya, gumbo, etouffe - New Orleans dishes. When you're from New Orleans you can't think of it anywhere else. Music and food is part of the same culture there. You play a parade, you go in a bar and you eat something. It's not consciously integrated, it just is

If I have a choice I won't cook, although I can. Normally, my house is full of people and we've had parties with all nationalities.

We used to have arguments on the road about which country has the best cuisine - Italy, Japan, China - the band was always arguing about it. So we had a kind of competition. I contended that Japan has the most original cuisine but they lost because their desserts are not good. China has the most comprehensive cuisine but their desserts are not stellar. The French had the tastiest cuisine in terms of sauces, excellent baked goods and desserts. But we concluded that the Italians were the best all round - fried foods, pasta, olive oil, gelati, wine - and because it travelled well, they won. The band argued this hotly for a year. I wanted to advocate New Orleans but we were ruled out because we don't have a wine. But for food I'd put it up against any nation anywhere.

Alcohol? I have a little taste of Armagnac and Calvados. That keeps everything going along nicely. I have so many good restaurants in my neighbourhood in New York, I'm spoilt for choice.

I ate all kinds of weird shit in China. I had a bet with a guy in a restaurant in China. He bet me that when they sent these trays around I would stop eating before him. Like a fool I took him on. By the time I'd eaten a locust with some kind of glaze on it I'd lost. He was eating all kinds of strange shit. I couldn't go on. In Turkey, some guys were eating the balls of animals. I had half and left the rest.

One of my best friends is David Kinch, who is a great chef. When we were in high school together he always said he was going to be a chef and I always said I was going to be a musician. He has a restaurant called Manresa out in the Bay area in California. Wait a moment, I'm gonna call him. [He calls Kinch on the phone].

I'm talking about food with brother Neil and he's asking me about how food inspires music. Tell him about the book, David. [He passes Kinch over to me]. 'Our idea is to come up with a cookbook with recipes inspired by Wynton's music. It will work both ways: he'll play something and I'll come up with a recipe to accompany it, and I'll cook something that will inspire him to compose music. I have a menu ready for him. No, I'm not going to tell you what it is. I don't want him thinking about it before he's tasted it.'
Interview by Neil Norman

· Ronnie Scott's, 47 Frith Street, London W1. 020 7439 0747

Paolo Nutini's favourite table is in his family's chip shop in Paisley

The shop has been here for 120 years. My great-grandfather started it when he came over from Barga in Tuscany. I'm not sure why he chose Paisley. He called it Castlevecchi, which was his surname.

Essentially, Castlevecchi is a chip shop. It's become an institution in Paisley. We've got people who've been coming in here for 50, 60 years. The food isn't rocket science, but it's not as easy as it seems. There's a skill to making it. I've tried eating in other joints and this is definitely the best. When I was a kid I used to come in after school and have a hamburger or a sausage supper. My friends loved it because my dad had soft drinks on tap. He used to mix them all up for us and call it Beetlejuice. I didn't realise it was just a big cocktail of soft drinks. I thought it was a cool thing only our shop had. I don't eat meat any more so now when I come in I have fish and chips. I miss meat though.

When I left school to start singing, I did a few shifts here for a couple of months. I don't think I fully appreciated my dad until then. He's worked in front of the same fryer for 33 years. I feel a bit disappointed that I won't be working here, that I'll be breaking the family line. I did offer to come and work here and Dad said if I did, he'd shut the shop. My childhood sweetheart, Teri, is a recurring theme on the album. We first got together when I was 16 and went out for just under a year. When we broke up, she got together with another guy to spite me. Last Request is all about that.

I've been lucky that the record company have taken us to some of the best restaurants in London. Personally, I like keeping it simple. I took my mum to a French place in Islington and spent a fortune on all these tiny portions. I was still so hungry when we left I went straight to Flaming Nora's kebab shop. The French place was a joke.
Interview by Nicole Jackson

· The album 'These Streets' is out now. Castlevecchi, New Street, Paisley, Scotland

Beth Ditto the lead singer of The Gossip talks fat and muffins in her kitchen in Oregon

People come and get their hair done in my kitchen. It's like a little salon. The bob is my jam. It gets too hairy to feed my guests cookies or anything, but I have often got some muffins freshly baked. I live by myself, but I like to keep a cake around, in a pretty little cake case, too. I'm kind of like a grandma like that. You come round, get a haircut, some cake, and an extremely wet kiss. They trade me a lot of cake, too, or take me out for dinner in exchange for the haircut. I get paid in favours. Yeah, I have hippy tendencies for sure.

That doesn't extend to my eating habits though. I don't have the willpower for that granola shit. I'm not vegetarian by any means. I'll eat a McDonald's hamburger in a flat second. But I don't do that a lot - I try to eat healthy. Unless I'm on my period, when the only things I want is meat and chocolate. If they made a taco which was meat with chocolate sauce, I'd be so happy. I wish I could be vegetarian though, because the meat industry is so fucked up and animals get treated so poorly, and it does seem crazy to raise things in order to kill and eat them. So I eat a lot of tofu, and try and make sure the meat I cook had a happy life before I eat it. It's probably all about my guilt, but still. But my willpower is shit. Like, my last meal would be a hamburger. With pickles.

I live in Portland, Oregon and grew up in Arkansas. My mom was a really super-working mom, so I ate a lot of Hamburger Helper when I was little, which is a box of noodles that you just have to add hamburger meat to. It's amazing in its own hydrogenated, processed way. There wasn't a lot going on in the food department at home in Arkansas though, because there were seven kids, and my mom had to be really smart with what she bought. I ate a lot of scrambled eggs too. I learnt to make them when I was eight.

On Saturday mornings my mom would make this thing called chocolate gravy which was basically just cocoa, sugar, milk, and butter and flour and it was amazing. I haven't made that for ages, but one of the best things I can cook is really good normal gravy - my tip is to save your baking grease. I'm 25, and a pretty good cook now - I make excellent Southern food, like fried chicken and okra. Real Arkansas stuff.

People shoot squirrels in Arkansas and take them home to skin them, freeze them and eat them. In England people hunt foxes don't they? That blows my mind. And then they don't even eat them. The first time I got stoned, I was smoking pot out of a Coke can with my cousin when we were skipping school, and he poked his gun out of the window in his bedroom, and started shooting squirrels out of the tree, because he had the munchies. Even though there were probably Rice Krispies in the cabinet. I haven't eaten squirrel in years though. What does it taste of? Chicken. I've heard humans taste the same - though I reckon we'd taste more like cow.

Food is very important in my life. I hate people who won't eat. I need to eat every three hours, especially on the road, otherwise I get so irritable. We don't ask for anything hard to get from our rider, but I would like to add flapjacks. And brownies. And this vegan cake called Irish Oatmeal cake. I don't know what makes it Irish, but I'm not complaining.

Before I moved out of home I didn't even know some foods existed. I never thought I'd like sushi, but now it's one of my favourite things. Like, I never thought I'd crave cucumber rolls. I didn't have a bagel until I was 19.

I didn't realise there was such a thing as fat politics until I met some people who could actually articulate why I was being oppressed as a fat female. And that was really intense for me because I was a feminist, and it turned into a kind of way of life. I was out too, and people actually started to treat me as if I was attractive instead of shaming me for my weight. I've always been this big. And that's the thing about being big - you're not some waif like Nicole Kidman who can lose weight 'for a part' - 90 per cent of diets either fail or you gain the weight back in six months. Why would I put myself through that hell?

And I got so much healthier when my outlook changed. The stress of worrying about my weight was worse for my body than the fat was. There are places in the world where people choose to starve themselves and eat toilet paper to stay thin, and then there are other places where people are desperate for food. As soon as I realised there were people in the world like me, I instantly got healthier, and happier.
Interview by Eva Wiseman

Damon Gough on why he's playing in Britain's best chip shops next month

Chippies for me are Friday teatime. In the early Eighties, every Friday teatime was fish and chips and Monkey on the telly. It's good to keep these traditions alive. It's almost like the backbone of a culture - not just the fish and chip shops but all these things, collectively, form what a society is. I mean, the great chip shop is one of the last bastions of British yesteryear, alongside the record industry. It ties in with my album, Born in the UK, because it's a uniquely British thing, so we ran this competition on my website which involved 10 chippies round the UK and whoever got the most votes we decided to do gigs in, so we're playing in Grimsby, London and Bristol.

It's important to embrace the future though. It's easy to say everything was great when you were younger because the older you get, the more tarnished your memories become. But I think there's a real case for values being lost because of the speed that technology moves. I think there's far too much going on - so much information that we feel we have to grasp hold of it in order to be involved. And it's virtually impossible, so you spend all your time chasing it and no time nurturing the few gifts you might have been given by nature. It can be quite damaging.

I love healthy food, but I wouldn't denounce the Pot Noodle. I remember when they first emerged - it was quite a revelation. You could pretend you were making your own little meal just by adding a sachet! The beef and tomato one was the best. It felt like you were cooking.

I've got the potential to be a good cook, in the creative sense. It appeals to me in the same way as music does, but I've never spent the time learning. I love watching cookery shows though. That scientific guy, Heston Blumenthal, he's interesting, though I think he takes it beyond the pale sometimes, like that roast chicken that he cooked for hours then deep-fried . It's a bit anal, but really interesting too. The thing is, I've never lived to eat - food hasn't been that important to me, but as I've got older I've started caring about it more. My mum used to make a lot of hot pots and Irish stews with crusts on. She still does. We had a lot of fish fingers too, which my kids eat these days too, but we stay away from Turkey Twizzlers. Jamie Oliver's getting bitten on the arse now though isn't he? Despite all his good intentions, all the mums are complaining their kids have stopped eating lunch altogether.

It's amazing how chip shop specialities vary from place to place. I once ordered chips and gravy in Preston and it had mushrooms in it, which was a bit of a shock. Then in Scotland there's the myth of the battered Mars bar. I've had a mushy pea fritter that was really nice. And in Bolton we have pie barm cakes - which is a pie in a bap. And in Glasgow they have chips and cheese, which is pretty good. Yesterday I had chips and curry. There's something about chip shop curry sauce which is a bit special. Especially if you eat them while walking home. It's nice to struggle with them a bit. It makes them taste so much better. I'm partial to a steak and kidney pudding, too. In Bolton they call it a baby's head because it has a dip in it. A bit of a sick analogy I know, but I didn't make it up.

I remember 'scraps' being a chip-shop order, but we called it the tramp's order because it was so cheap - just the price of the fork. There used to be 'pea wet and scraps' too - just the juice from the peas and the crispy bits from the fryer, for the odd down-and-outs in Bolton. I'd like to see Heston Blumenthal reinvent that.
Interview by Eva Wiseman

Badly Drawn Boy's best British chippies

Ann's Fry, Glasgow, 0141 429 0681
Smith's Ideal Fisheries, Grimsby, 01472 322000
Bretts Fish Restaurant, Leeds, 0113 232 3344
Mr Chips, Hereford, 01432 275671
Ocean Fish Restaurant, Wolverhampton, 01902 772882
Bardsleys, Brighton, 01273 681601
Rock and Sole Plaice, London, 0871 4263380
Brunswick Fish & Chips, Manchester, 0161 273 2737
Magnet, Bristol, 0117 963 6444
Toffs, London, 020 8883 8656
Smith's Ideal Fisheries, Grimsby, 01472 322 000

Matt Willis at Bob Dylan's Caff

I live just down the road from Banners and, one day when I was very hungover and craving a great breakfast, I walked past with my girlfriend [MTV presenter Emma Griffiths]. Greasy spoon breakfasts are always quite shit and you know you could make a better one if you could be bothered. But Banners' breakfast was amazing so, whenever anybody stays at my house, I take them there. Even Bob Dylan's been here! They have a table dedicated to him.

I got used to not eating when I was on I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here! Breakfast would be a handful of rice then you think, 'It's 13 hours till I'm eating again.' It makes you feel a little bit angry. I lost a stone in the jungle and looked pretty good, I thought, but I put it all back on over Christmas - I'll always have a little bit of meat on me. My appetite is ridiculous. I could be easily 20 stone. My guilty pleasure is a big packet of Kettle Chips with houmus. I would never cook if I didn't have to, but I did cook a chicken stir fry last night. I thought it was wicked but it was far too salty for anybody else. I'm a salt fiend but I've been told I've got to cut down. Not by a doctor, by Emma. She very much keeps me in check.
Interview by Charlotte Heathcote

· Matt Willis's single, Don't Let It Go To Waste, is out now. Banners, 21 Park Road, Crouch End

Tamsin Little on foie gras, good wine

I've only recently discovered Chewton Glen, but it's exactly my sort of place, and really handy when I'm playing with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Besides, I'm very fond of this part of the world and have happy, sun-filled memories of childhood holidays in the New Forest.

Food is important to musicians. We spend so much time out on the road, that a good meal is a real bonus. I try to eat a good lunch on the day of a performance; plenty of protein but not too much carbohydrate; something to keep me going until after the concert. Playing the violin is very physical; it's a bit like being an athlete and I have to have an athlete's mentality when deciding what I eat and when I eat it.

Of course, we perform when most people are sitting down to dine, so we often have problems finding good restaurants that are still open after a concert. In some places in the world, that good lunch might be the only meal I get. Luckily, I have a kind metabolism and can go for long stretches without eating.

The restaurant here is superb. Their Menu Gourmand is amazing. I can recommend the seared duck foie gras with lentils and bacon, the Scottish scallops with Jerusalem artichoke purée, and the canon of lamb with rosemary polenta...all delicious. The wine list is extensive. I adore good wine, but have to be sensible about alcohol. I've got 49 violin concertos in my repertoire, so I have to keep a clear head!

I think that service is as important as the quality of a meal, and here it is superb. They get the tone just right. I have noticed particularly how good the staff are with single diners; they are friendly without being intrusive, and that's quite an art.

I spend a lot of time abroad, but I'm careful not to be away too long from my children. I used to take them when they were very small, so they now understand what Mummy is doing when she is away. I love to come home, though. This is quite a rarefied calling, and it's good to ground yourself in domestic routine as often as possible.

My career is at an interesting stage at the moment. As well as playing, I'm running festivals and play/directing, which is a wonderful experience. I love to champion neglected concertos; last year, I did the Glasunov at the Proms and this year I shall be playing the Ligeti and Korngold, and the Bruch second concerto.

I'm off to the Far East this year for what will be the longest trip away from my kids since they were born. It's the 150th anniversary of Elgar's birth and I shall be playing his wonderful concerto. I'm rather proud to be taking one of our English greats away with me.
Interview by Stephen Pritchard

· Chewton Glen Hotel, Spa & Country Club, New Milton, Hampshire BH25 6QS (01425 275341). Tasmin Little plays the Bruch Second Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Brighton Dome on Wednesday, 7 February, and at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Friday, 9 February

Amerie on why she never eats in public

When I work with people like LL Cool J or Ludacris, we don't usually go out to eat when we've finished a studio session. The revelry kinda just happens in the studio, and then it's often late so we all go home and sleep.

I remember a time when I was really not used to being recognised in restaurants, but all of a sudden, when my track 'One Thing' went to number one in the US in 2005, I found that people were really watching me eating, and not subtly at all: women would poke their husbands and point at me. I mean, I've got good manners and all, but it does feel like being in a zoo. And when you go to events you daren't actually eat anything as it will be at that exact moment that a photographer will take a picture and I'll have food in my teeth.

I cook every night. My sister lives with me in New York, and she's also my lawyer and works very hard. I'm Korean, so that's what I cook. I used to get so nervous before I went onstage that I wouldn't be able to eat all day before, but afterwards all I want to do is eat, eat, eat.
Interview by Rebecca Seal

· Amerie's single Take control is out in March and her album in April