Nick Park as Wallace

As an avid reader of this column, I've noticed that many people mention tea. I'm no exception, English breakfast tea is my favourite. At breakfast we still use our pop-up toaster that you may have seen in our films; I invented this and it still works to this day. Two thick slices of the best wholewheat bread with a modest dollop of thick-cut marmalade and butter; nothing like it to start the day.

In our latest film Gromit tried to put me on a vegetable diet. Well I've nothing against vegetables but not first thing in the morning. I buy fresh vegetables almost every day from the farmer's market two streets away - carrots and courgettes are our favourites. Since saving the Tottington Hall Vegetable Growing Competition from disaster we do get given vegetables by locals in the village, but being a proud Northerner, I don't always accept.

Much has been written about my liking for cheese. I actually think the press has blown this out of proportion - one minute they say I love Wensleydale the next it's Stinking Bishop, the truth is I like all cheeses and if you were to look in our refrigerator you would find a fine range of cheeses from around the world. I buy cheese locally most of the time, though it's fun ordering a really smelly one on the internet and watching the postman having to hold his nose. In the evenings a nice glass of port with a large chunk of Stilton and cracker ends the day very well indeed. I had a clause put in our film contract that while we were on location, cheese had to be supplied to our trailer on a daily basis.

On Saturday's it's tradition to make Lancashire hotpot. I know it's now a favourite dish all over the country, but did you know the name comes from the straightsided brown pottery dish in which it was cooked? At one time, oysters were one of the ingredients, but even though we are internationally famous movie stars I find this a little extravagant, so we stick to the regular ingredients. You should always use the middle neck of lamb and, take it from me, our local butcher has the best lamb. I'm not going to tell you his name as I know all you nancy southerners will be up here in a flash buying in bulk. We had that George Clooney chap round for dinner last weekend . He's a cheeky chappy you know, asked why we had dinner at 1pm. I often wonder what world these stars live in; it's certainly not ours, nor normal.

Potatoes - I haven't mentioned potatoes. Maris Pipers are the best. I have just finished a new invention that mashes potatoes: it peels, boils, mashes and serves them all from the same container. It has its own generator and runs on rapeseed oil, very environmentally friendly. It's patent pending so if you have a similar invention in mind, my advice is to drop it.

DR JOHN BRIFFA ON WALLACE'S FOOD CHOICES

CARROTS

Although famed for their vitamin A content, carrots actually contain none of this nutrient. They do, however, contain plenty of betacarotene (which can convert to vitamin A in the body), along with a stack of related nutrients with relative protection from cancer.

CRACKERS

Any food the primary constituent of which is refined flour is never going to rate highly from a nutritional perspective. Healthier accompaniments to Nick's favourite cheeses include apple wedges or celery.

CHEESE

Cheese-lovers often exhibit symptoms that suggest they may be sensitive to this and perhaps other dairy products. Telltale signs include asthma, nasal congestion and excess production of mucus and catarrh.

WHOLEMEAL BREAD

I see this as one of the most overrated foods in the modern-day diet: wheat, in my experience, is a common cause of food sensitivity-related symptoms including abdominal bloating and fatigue and liberates sugar too readily into the bloodstream.

HOT POT

Lamb is one of the least intensively reared meats, and getting it from his local butcher means that Nick can be pretty sure of this animal's provenance. To my mind, locally reared lamb is generally a good choice of principal ingredient for some sort of stew or casserole.

PORT

Evidence shows the health 'benefits' of alcohol have been seriously overstated, and this particular drink has the added disadvantage of being very sugary. However, a little tot of this of a night is unlikely to wreck Nick's quite decent diet, and is not a pleasure I suggest he denies himself.