Are the foods we like set in stone, or we can we develop our tastebuds over time?

OF course, it almost goes without saying that I’ve got impeccable taste.

Well I would think that, wouldn’t I? Just as you probably think you have too. In fact it’s unlikely that you’ve ever met anyone who declares that their own taste to be appalling – even if it obviously is. And what is taste? An understanding of what looks good to wear, or possibly how one’s house is decorated? All in the best possible taste.

But taste is also a thing you experience when you stick something in your mouth. And, when it comes to that, I know I’ve definitely got impeccable taste. If I like it, so should you. But you don’t always, do you?

So, why is it that we like different things? You know what I mean: he likes Marmite and she hates it and so on. I remember being surprised when I first went to school to find that other children didn’t like the things I did. This was probably for a couple of reasons: first, we were born naturally different and second, we were brought up in different ways. And it’s that latter thought that’s interesting because, if it’s correct, it means we can blame the parents. And we can change ourselves.

I know that I’ve deliberately forced myself to like something that I’ve previously hated. I did it with whisky, with continued persistence over a period of a year or two, after getting so drunk on it as a teenager that merely the smell of it could make me retch. I’m so pleased I succeeded.

It was seeing other people get a kick out of certain foods that I wouldn’t touch that got me thinking I wanted the same kick as them because I was obviously missing something. And as a result, these days I’ll eat virtually anything that you’ll eat; with the caveat that it helps if it’s cooked well and made from reasonable ingredients.

You frequently hear that it’s difficult to get children to eat their vegetables but if they’re made to experience them as a natural part of life, not given any choice that generates prejudices, then life’s so much easier. When I had my own children, I made the conscious decision that, once they were old enough for solid food, whenever they wanted a snack or a treat, they’d be given fruit or vegetables. And so it was that you’d see them sitting in their pushchairs sucking on orange segments, bananas and carrots. They thought sweets were something to which only grandparents had access.

As a result they didn’t actually get into sweet things until they were quite a bit older than their contemporaries and while, once they’d experienced it, they loved chocolate as much as anyone, they loved fruit and vegetables too. And if truth be told, they probably feared I’d starve them if they hadn’t eaten the healthy stuff.

This conditioning affects us all, and the way we’re brought up from day one determines, to a large extent, what we’re prepared to eat in later life.

This isn’t some scientific study but there’s no doubt that the theory’s got legs. Next time you’re in a shopping centre, just look out for children in pushchairs being given sweets by their fat parents.

So, next time I see you in our restaurant, I’ll be able to listen to what you say when you read the menu, hear what you like and dislike – and know exactly how you were brought up.

But, of course, you’ve got such good taste. It’s just that mine’s better than yours.