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I grew up in the kitchen, mostly with my grandfather, my mother and my aunt Raffy.

You know, my parents had a restaurant. And I left home, actually, in 1949, when I was 13 years old, to go into apprenticeship. And actually when I left home, home was a restaurant - like I said, my mother was a chef. So I can't remember any time in my life, from age 5, 6, that I wasn't in a kitchen.

I come from a massive family, and the youngest is twentysomething years younger than I am, so I grew up with children.

I left school when I was 14 to work in kitchens.

I grew up as one of six kids.

I grew up in a family of nine kids.

I moved south when I was 11 years old, moved to England. I've lived in all kinds of places, all parts of England.

About age ten, we moved from the place where I was born, moved overseas.

I started working myself from about 14, really, so I wasn't a burden on my family. I did a paper round and a milk round. When I was 15 or 16, I worked in a supermarket on Saturdays stacking shelves, and then every summer I temped, right through university until my working days started.