When I was working on the Olympic cookbook it was amazing to discover how different athletes need different types of diets. Everybody thinks that an athlete has to eat lots of carbohydrates, however some athletes don't need that. Some sports such as sprinting are explosive so you need a diet that will give you the energy for that moment.

One of the key things is to encourage people to have a go in the kitchen and not to be embarrassed by it. Try and spend a couple of nights a week cooking something up. It doesn't have to be complicated, it can be something really simple.

Be ready, be prepared, be alert and then everybody around you will notice and they will want to share their skills with you even more. You're showing that you're enthusiastic, you care and that you're dedicated. It's not always easy, but if you've got a passion and a desire to do something then your natural energy will get you through.

Your skin and hair feel good, you sleep better and you start feeling so much better about yourself when you start eating properly.

Cooking gives you the ability to grow as a person and to give yourself confidence. You can invite people around, you can sit down and eat together and it makes you feel about ten feet tall because you've done it with your own hands.

I like carrots that have got a bit of personality and have three or four legs! They may look weird but they taste fantastic.

Like anybody else, athletes like to pig out on a bit of junk food every now and then, but they also know that they couldn't do that all the time if they wanted to keep their body in peak condition to compete at the highest level.