I love restaurants and I love cooking. We started an Italian restaurant in the King's Road below our first shop. It was called Alexander's, my husband's name. It was terrifically fashionable. Everybody came there - from Brigitte Bardot to Grace Kelly, Stanley Kubrick to David Bailey. Many of my friends are chefs and I learnt to cook watching them. We used to have wonderful Sunday lunches in our flat in Draycott Avenue which was a vast converted ballroom, my chef friends would bring a course each and our lunch would go on until dinner time. That's what I really enjoy, great big Sunday lunches and also like cooking Italian food. I often put a table out of doors at my house in Surrey and pile it with big pots of delicious pasta and salads. I divide my time between all the mud and open space in Surrey and the social life and work in London, particularly Chelsea, which still has the same village feel that it had in the swinging Sixties.

Poissonnerie de l'Avenue was always pivotal to Chelsea, it has been here forever and I've been coming forever, well since it opened in 1964. It has thrived through four recessions and is still going strong. The owner, Peter Rosignoli, knows about fish, how to buy it, how to deal with it and how to cook it. He also has the best fish shop, La Maree, next door. The Poissonnerie has always been packed, and a place where celebrities can come without being gawked at. Mick Jagger would be in one corner and Andrew Lloyd Webber in the other . The one person that did turn heads was Sister Wendy. I had a riotous lunch with her and her publisher Toby Eady that ended with her filling huge doggy bags to take back for all the other Sisters.

When I lived round the corner from the Poissonnerie in Alexander Square, I used to take my son Orlando, aged 5, so he liked fish at an early age and he's come here ever since - in fact, he was here last night. I think a restaurant that the whole family loves, like this one, is a truly great restaurant. We used to lunch here most days when my studio was round the corner. I came here on my own sometimes and once, after a fractious meeting with some manufacturers, I came alone to have two dozen oysters just to calm me down. A Frenchman at the other end of the bar suddenly turned to me and said 'well I've never seen a women do that', and I felt extremely chuffed.

In fact it was at the Poissonnerie that I discovered oysters. Alexander, my husband, ordered them for me. I was terrified but I didn't dare say I hadn't eaten them before and with some difficulty got them down. He said 'that's what my father did to me and I've loved them ever since'. And so have I. It's like diving into the sea. One of the reasons that this restaurant appeals to me is because I grew up loving fish. As a child I used to spend nearly all my summer holidays with my aunt in Wales and we used to catch mackerel in a boat and then cook them on board. I remember going down to the harbour where the fisherman used to throw mackerel up to the children - if you caught them you could have them - and then I'd carry them up to my aunt's house, still alive, leaping out of my arms. I think it is one of the most delicious fish, but it must be fresh, and jumping. At Poissonnerie de l'Avenue I know that the fish will always be fresh and jumping.

Poissonnerie de l'Avenue

Address 82 Sloane Avenue, London SW3 020 7589 2457

History After working as head-waiter in classic restaurants, including the Ritz, Italian born Peter Rosignoli, at 33, decided that it was time to open his own business. That was in 1964 and Poissonnerie de l'Avenue has been a Chelsea staple ever since. The Poissonnerie has always been a family-owned and managed- business and the restaurant is particularly keen to promote healthy eating. The family also owns La Maree a fishmonger's next to the restaurant at 76 Sloane Avenue which opens 8am-6pm Monday to Saturday.

Food philosophy Proprietor Peter Rosignoli says 'Don't mess with the taste of the fish but make sure the sauces are super special'

Most popular dishes Starter: West Mersea oysters £12 to £24. Main: Dover sole £20. Dessert: Tulipe de fruits frais tropicaux £6

Also on the menu The set lunch is £12 (one course), £16.95 (2 courses) and £22 (three courses)

Famous customers Grace Kelly, David Niven, Ingrid Bergman (two days before she died), Ava Gardner, Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Peter Ustinov, Princess Margaret, Patrick Cavendish, Michael Schumacher with Max Moseley, Bryan Ferry, Richard Gere (who was asked to leave because he wasn't suitably dressed).

Opens Mon to Sat: from 12.00-3pm, 7.00-11.30pm. Reservations are recommended for dinner.