This is Somerset --Lorraine Pascale knows a fair few things about criticism. The model-turned-TV chef was once, of all things, accused of breaking a customer's teeth.
Apparently, it was with a vanilla cupcake sold in her shop, The Cupcake Bakehouse, in central London.
But the 41-year-old wasn't about to give up because of one disgruntled punter.
"I thought, 'You need to get your teeth sorted if they break after eating frosting on a cupcake'," she says, smiling.
"People have said things about my food and my books, but it's all about not believing the good and not believing the bad and staying in the middle," adds Lorraine.
These words may prove some comfort to the contestants in her new Sky Living cooking competition, My Kitchen Rules.
The 10-part series will see Lorraine and Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton judge dishes made by six pairs of amateur cooks in their own homes, with the winning couple scooping a £25,000 prize.
If you fancy a shot at cooking victory, here are three recipes, taken from Pascale's latest book, A Lighter Way To Bake.
Baked store-cupboard chicken with lime, honey & soy
Ingredients for four
Eight chicken pieces, skin removed (drumsticks, thighs or a mixture of the two); eight garlic cloves, peeled and gently crushed; 1tspn chilli powder; leaves from three to four sprigs of thyme; juice of one lime; salt and freshly ground black pepper; a few mint leaves
For the glaze:
3tblspns honey; 1tspn English mustard powder; ½tspn soy sauce; ½tspn Worcestershire sauce; zest of one lime
For the sauce:
300ml chicken stock; 2tspns cornflour; salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C (Fan 200C/gas mark 7). Toss the chicken pieces on a large roasting tray with the garlic, chilli powder, thyme, lime juice and salt and pepper. Lay them out in a single layer and pop them into the oven to bake for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the honey, mustard powder, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and lime zest in a small bowl to give a sticky glaze.
Once the chicken has been cooking for ten minutes, remove from the oven and brush over half of the glaze. Then brush over the remaining glaze after another ten minutes of cooking. Pop it back into the oven for the remaining five minutes, or until the chicken is piping hot in the centre.
Remove from the oven, transfer the pieces to a serving plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Put the roasting tray on a high heat on the hob. Pour in all but about three tablespoons of the chicken stock, stirring all the time and scraping up from the bottom of the tray. Blend the cornflour with the remaining stock to give a smooth liquid and pour this into the tray, stirring constantly.
Let this bubble away for two to three minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened. The sauce may have a few lumps, which you can just sieve out before serving. Season to taste and remove from the heat.
Serve two pieces of chicken per person with a little sauce poured over and a scattering of mint leaves on top. This is delicious served with some brown rice and vegetables.
Wild mushroom tart with sherry & onions
Ingredients for four, or eight as a starter
Four sheets of frozen filo pastry, defrosted, spray oil (vegetable or sunflower spray's fine), two onions, finely sliced, 200g chestnut mushrooms, halved or quartered, 100g oyster mushrooms, sliced, 100g mixed exotic or wild mushrooms, sliced, halved or quartered, depending on their size and shape, 25g unsalted butter, one garlic clove, finely chopped, leaves from four sprigs of fresh rosemary, roughly chopped, 100ml sherry, 50g pine nuts, toasted, 50g wild rocket, salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C (Fan 160C/gas mark 4). Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
Lay the four sheets of filo out on top of each other and cut the stack in half down the length, then divide it into quarters across the width. This will give you eight stacks of about 12cm squares.
Fold an edge of about 1cm wide inwards all the way around each of the stacks to create a small border. Arrange each one on the baking sheet as you go, and then spritz with a little oil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until crisp and golden brown.
Meanwhile, spritz a little spray oil into a large frying pan set over a medium heat and gently fry the onions for about six minutes, or until they're just going soft and a little golden brown.
Then, add the mushrooms and cook for a further minute, before adding the butter, garlic, rosemary and seasoning, stirring around to coat the mushrooms.
Continue to cook for eight to ten minutes until everything is soft. Turn the heat up to high, pour in the sherry and allow to bubble down for two to three minutes. Be careful, as the sherry may flame up a bit, in which case the flames will go as soon as the alcohol burns off. Taste the mushroom mixture, season if you feel it needs more and remove from the heat.
Remove the pastry squares from the oven once they're cool enough to handle and arrange on serving plates. Divide the mushroom mixture between each square, scatter the pine nuts and rocket over, and serve.
Blueberry and Limoncello Drizzle Cake
Ingredients for 12
For the sponge:
Spray oil (vegetable or sunflower spray is fine), 125g caster sugar, 100g unsalted butter, softened, 100g full-fat Greek yogurt, two eggs, lightly beaten, 250g self-raising flour, four egg whites, 2tsp baking powder, ½tsp vanilla extract, Finely grated zest of two unwaxed lemons (if waxed, wash them in hot, soapy water and dry them to get rid of the wax before using), 200g blueberries
For the topping:
50g icing sugar, sifted, 2tbsp limoncello (or lemon juice for an alcohol-free version).
Preheat the oven to 170C (Fan 150C/gas mark 3) and set the shelf in the middle. Spray a 20cm round, loose-bottomed, deep cake tin with oil, line the bottom with baking parchment and then set aside on a baking sheet.
Put the sugar, butter and yogurt into a food mixer or large bowl and beat with a whisk until well combined. Now, this mix is not going to go all light, fluffy and pretty like its full-fat cousin, but you're just looking for some semblance of uniformity (it will have quite a few little lumps in, but that's OK).
Next, add the two whole eggs and half of the flour and beat for a good few minutes, until the mixture is well blended and starts to look a little smoother.
Whisk the four egg whites until light and frothy then fold them into the mixture with the rest of the flour, the baking powder, vanilla extract and lemon zest and beat until you have a smooth batter. Finally, stir half of the blueberries through.
Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth it down evenly with the back of a spoon. Arrange the remaining blueberries, flat side down, on the top in a few lines across the centre.
Pop into the oven for about 25-30 minutes until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. The top should be quite a light golden brown and the sponge will feel firm to the touch.
Meanwhile, to make the topping, put the icing sugar into a small bowl. Stir in the limoncello (or lemon juice) to give a smooth, runny mixture and set aside until ready to use.
Once the cake's cool, place it on a serving platter or cake stand.
Slowly spoon the topping all over the sponge and allow it to pour over the edges. Cut into 12 wedges and serve. If making in advance, keep it in the fridge. Reported by This is 16 hours ago.