“When people are in trauma they need the love of food.” — Andi Oliver Quote

When people are in trauma they need the love of food.

Every island has its own version of Caribbean food.

It's frustrating when people talk about Jamaican food as a general word for Caribbean food - there's nothing wrong with Jamaica, but we're not all from Jamaica.

As a teenager, I ran away from home to see the Clash perform. After school one day, my mate and I hitchhiked across the country. We had the time of our lives and got backstage, until someone asked our age, and everyone scarpered quickly.

My favourite restaurant is Cornerstone by Tom Brown. It's one of those places where not one bite is ever wasted, every morsel is beautiful and savoured, thought out, carefully balanced and nuanced.

My best friend was Aboriginal. She taught me about 'bush tucker' - the food of the land, the different things you could eat if you got lost in the bush, like grasses and berries. There's this tree called the billygoat plum - the fruit is quite nice.

If 98 out of 100 doctors tell me I've got a problem, I should take their advice. And if those two other doctors get paid by Big Snack Food, like certain climate deniers get paid by Big Coal, I shouldn't take their advice.

The air that people breathe in many Chinese cities has become dangerously polluted. Their food supply is subject to constant contamination scandals. Now it appears that not merely stagnant ponds but the water people draw from deep underground is already tainted.

Just because the Americans are so good at rattling out accessible and cheap junk food, nobody looks twice when it comes to their food. But there are golden nuggets everywhere.