Cooking show host and model Lorraine Pascale — best known in Britain — is touting her latest cookbook, A Lighter Way to Bake, here in the USA. That book offers 100 of her favorite sweet & savory recipes made a bit lighter, from everyday breads and savory meals to teatime treats, puddings and cakes. Her two TV shows, Simply Baking and Home Cooking Made Easy now air on The Cooking Channel.
Note: You can find the recipes for the *starred items in this interview in A Lighter Way to Bake.
Which food product or gadget would you never give up? I would never give up my KitchenAid mixer as I use it for so many things from cakes to making sausages it is a great piece of kit.
What do you like to serve when you entertain? Bellinis with either club soda and peach juice or prosecco and peach juice. I would start with a *baked coconut shrimp salad 
with honey dressing and spicy mango and cilantro salsa. I would then serve the *Moroccan chicken pot pies with cumin and cilantro and crisp filo. Dessert would be the *coffee and pecan Swiss roll with Irish cream filling (you can use whipped cream instead of this).
Describe your “last meal?” It would be a *mac and cheese for sure!
What food is your secret guilty pleasure? I love white chocolate and so it would have to be my let them eat more cake cake with blueberries and white chocolate icing
What is your go-to neighborhood restaurant? My go to restaurant is called the Chiltern Firehouse in London’s Marylebone. The atmosphere is great and it is full of interesting people, amazing deco and great food.
What is one food product most people don’t know about, but should? I think people need to know about filo pastry. It’s not used so much but it is a great pastry to use when you are trying to eat more healthfully. Really quick to cook, no real preparation needed and it has a lovely crispy crunch to it.
Describe your worst kitchen disaster and how (if possible) you saved it: I was making a chocolate cheesecake with a really detailed top and I carried it to the table to serve and the bottom of the tin just fell out. It went a big splat on the floor and looked like a truck had ran over it.. sadly I could not save it!
How did you get your first job in the culinary world? I sent out lots of CVs until a restaurant called me up and asked me if I could do a stage (intern) at the restaurant… of course I said yes!
Who was your most influential mentor? Marco Pierre White has been a big influence on my cooking and helped me a lot.
– bonnie
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