I grew up in the Yorkshire Dales, in farming country, so I've always been around animals. I keep chickens, so generally I have fresh eggs. I have to kill them occasionally if they get ill. I tried wringing their necks but wasn't terribly good at it so now I chop their heads off. Large log, hold the chicken steady, thank it very much, and boom, down goes the axe. Then you wait until it stops kicking. If you're not prepared to see an animal slaughtered you shouldn't be eating meat. I've got a very good butcher who does lamb from the fields around us and I fully intend to get a few sheep. And maybe a couple of alpaca.

I don't cook a lot, I don't have the time, but I love it when I do. Like all guys, I have three or four dishes and I tend to stick to those. I got the recipes for my new book from friends and family. I devoted a whole chapter to food and drink. My wife's fish pie is in there. She's got a very clever recipe using cod, hard-boiled eggs, prawns and cheese sauce.

I understand the importance of shooting, and its place in the regeneration of the countryside. The vast majority of the population don't appreciate that every square inch of our countryside is managed. I don't say that in a hectoring way, they just don't, but they should before they start condemning the people who manage it.

I was a kid in the Fifties, immediately post-war, so the table wasn't over-filled with food but we never went short. My mum was a great home cook. We always had home-baked bread, buns and pies. I've always been a pie man but struggled because they're not very good for your waist. I grew up with seasonality: winter would be a time for roots and cabbage and summer would be a time for blackcurrants, raspberries and strawberries. The year was divided up according to what you were eating. The problem is that once people have got things on demand, they're reluctant to relinquish them. I don't eat strawberries in December because I want to look forward to the first ones that come in May and June. Sun-warmed strawberries have a different flavour. The fresher the food, the better the flavour. In my garden in Hampshire, I can pick stuff and eat it within half an hour. The moment you pick an apple or whatever, it starts to decay. The sap stream has stopped so it starts to break down and rot.

I remember growing a crop of carrots on my first vegetable patch but they failed because it was too stony. I was more successful with some onions and I've always had a great fondness for them ever since. With a vegetable patch you go through that phase of growing purple-podding peas and asparagus then, as you get older, you cut it down and down to the things you really love. I still have snowball turnips that you pull very young and cook very quickly, then eat with butter and pepper. Delicious.

I like it here at Acorn House because nothing's air-freighted to the restaurant. All the profits from the bottles of water go to charity, they use organic paint, the floor's recycled, the list goes on and on. The wild-mushroom ravioli is fabulous and I like the seasonal vegetable platter. I read about the owner, and the fact he'd been at Tante Claire and so he obviously knows what he's doing.

· England, Our England is out now (£14.99, Hodder & Stoughton)

Acorn House, 69 Swinton Street, London WC1, 020 7812 1842

History

Managed by Jamie Grainger Smith and top chef Arthur Potts Dawson, the environentally friendly Acorn House serves seasonal, nutritious food. Winner of OFM's Best Newcomer award in 2007.

Popular dishes

The menu changes monthly. Highlights include chargrilled squid with chilli and rocket, £10.50; line-caught sea bass with quince aioli, £25; spiced warm flourless chocolate cake with ice cream, £6.50

Who eats there

The OFM staff, Mick Jagger, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Nigel Slater, Jay Rayner

Opens

Monday-Friday, 8am-10.30pm

Saturday, 10am-10.30pm