Hair and makeup: Justine Jenkins using et al. beauty. Photograph: Alex Lake/The Observer
Being half-Swiss, I’ve eaten fondue all my life. My uncle made it with gruyere and vacherin cheeses and he’d rub the casserole dish with garlic first. And you have to have a salad otherwise you’ll be awake all night: lovely grated carrots with apple cider vinegar and dill. Oooh yum! Then, at the end, when there’s hardly any cheese left, you crack an egg. It’s called la religieuse (“the nun”) and you’ve basically made a cheesy omelette.
My first year after drama school, I was sort of encouraged to lose weight. That was a real bummer for me, because I love food. And why would you torture yourself? I don’t think you’re allowed to say that any more. I was working with a trainer on the Obi-Wan Kenobi job and she works with a lot of high-flying people. And she said that producers now, if they want someone to lose weight, they say: “We need her/him to be really fit.” So the language has changed: “athletic”. But you’re not allowed to say you want them to lose weight, which is a good thing.
My dad was a better cook than my mum. He was Indian, and he was a vegetarian, so I was brought up predominantly vegetarian with a few fish fingers thrown in. Because they were both from other countries growing up in England, they travelled quite a lot. So we were eating spaghetti from the off and things like avocados and artichokes. Oh God, that sounds so pretentious.
My school was a 45-minute walk away, at the bottom of a hill. On the way home, I used to go into the newsagent and buy a Boost bar. But not just one, I’d buy three: the coconut one, a biscuit one and a peanut one. I had three every day.
I feel like Ravinder Bhogal from Jikoni is a soulmate. She was born in one country – Kenya – but is from an Indian heritage and then moved to England. That’s a bit like me. And I love the whole concept of food without borders: she’s unafraid of mixing things that you wouldn’t necessarily expect, though she’s obviously a billion times better at it than I’d ever be.
I’ve had lots of lunches with people where you’re thinking: “Am I going to get a job? What is this dinner about? How much should I order?” It’s that awful thing where you feel a bit on show. “Am I going to be judged for ordering dessert? Or ordering the most expensive thing on the menu?” I remember hearing that a lot of people who go to those state dinners eat beforehand, so they can just pick. I’ve never done that. Because if you’re in a nice restaurant, my God, you want to take advantage, don’t you?
I hate white sliced bread. That texture when it gets stuck behind your gums is so disgusting. It really upsets me.
I was a latchkey kid: people growing up in the late 1970s, 80s were. When I was nine or 10, I began the process of making snacks and things like that. It would often consist of baked beans, but not just baked beans. I’d put garlic in there. I’d put chilli in there, Worcestershire sauce! That was the beginning of my culinary awakening. When I was quite young, I started collecting recipes, because I just loved it.
Years and years ago, I did the TV series Rome. And there was one scene where we essentially had a hog roast. And we’re filming in Rome and there were loads and loads of extras, and there was a real pig. And day one we were like: “Oh my God, it looks amazing!” But I didn’t really any of the meat because I just knew. By day three, that pig was rank. And then you don’t have to repeat all those massive spoonfuls of whatever you’re having to eat over and over again.
My favourite things
Food
Spaghetti alle vongole. My first experience of it was when I was six in Calabria and I thought I’d arrived in heaven. It’s hard to find the really small clams so I often make it with the slightly bigger ones but that’s not right.
Drink
Currently, a paloma: tequila, grapefruit, lime juice, a little soda water and salt round the rim. I love the bitterness of the grapefruit, the kick of the tequila and that sweet-salty thing going on. Marvellous.
Dish to make
Moules marinières. Mussels are cheap, they’re good for you and they’re delicious. I always put a bit of curry powder in the sauce, maybe a bit of saffron, a little brandy or cognac, creme fraiche, parsley, a shallot. Just serve with bread.
Indira Varma is Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth at venues in the UK and US from November; macbeththeshow.com
