Food: Feminism, family, fads, favourites and fantasy – Q&A with Maia Dunphy

The new series of Maia Dunphy's What Women Want starts on Thursday on RTÉ 2 at 10pm, when Dunphy explores food, shopping, attraction and fame

Is food a feminist issue?
"I'd never really given the connection too much thought, but the reality is that women still make the majority of food choices in the home and usually take more responsibility for cooking, so I suppose it is. And the other side of it is that I's pretty hard to ignore how shamelessly many food companies (particularly the diet food industry) target women. The first episode of my new series of What Women What looks at this issue, amongst other food-related topics. The unrealistic images of the female shape we're bombarded with and food are inevitably inextricably linked."

What role does food play in your daily life? Functional or fun?
"Both! I'm one of those people who cannot skip meals, so in that respect, it can often be functional on very busy days. But I never fail to be excited by the prospect of eating out and love cooking for people - I get that from my mum. I always associate food with good times."

Have you ever been on a diet?
"Oh God yes, in my teens. I get quite sad thinking about it now. I've been the same weight since I was 17, so was never overweight, but still pored over photos of impossibly tall, skinny women and wished I looked more like them. The funny thing is, I always ended up putting on a bit weight any time I tried to diet. It's all about moderation. If I deny myself something, it's all I end up thinking about."

What food reminds you of your childhood?
"My mum is an amazing cook. My siblings and I would walk home from school actually excited about eating and betting on what she might have waiting for us. Pretty idyllic. So anything she cooks makes me feel loved. Plus the comfort food of both my dear departed grandmothers; my Irish granny's apple pies she would bring on a Sunday, and my Spanish granny's churros with melted chocolate on Christmas morning."

Favourite meal?
"I'm lucky to have eaten in some incredible restaurants, but really good quality food cooked simply is always a winner. Great steak and homemade chips is hard to beat."

Why are the majority of chefs men?
"Commercial kitchens are extremely tough, competitive environments. (I was thrown into a few on Masterchef last year and was completely terrified) and there's no denying that men do tend to be more competitive than women. But at the same time, the image of the aggressive, swearing chef doesn't tend to be the norm, and more women are rising to the top. Unfortunately, the hours are long and extremely anti-social.As one well-known female chef told me, motherhood and running a restaurant is an almost impossible combination."

Favourite food memory?
"Baking wouldn't be my mum's favourite aspect of cooking and we rarely ate desserts (which was a good thing), but she would pull out all the stops for our birthdays when we were kids. There were cakes in the shape of trains, dragons, pink doll prams and castles. Marshmallows dipped in chocolate and myriad gooey delights to rival Willy Wonka. We took it all for granted as kids do, but looking back, the effort she must have gone to was enormous."

Fantasy dinner guests?
"Kermit, Fozzie Bear and Zig & Zag. We'd talk about humans behind their backs and only eat desserts. Puppets don't do savoury."

Your signature dish?
"I love food you can share. So Asian food or Spanish tapas are firm favourites. I never hand people a plate of food when they come to my house, I prefer to let them help themselves."