Grace Dent: ‘I eat like a wild animal’

The restaurant critic on being a part-time vegan, giving up drinking, and the simple joy of a bag of chips on a blustery British beach

I have a job which often requires me to eat more than a human being probably should; 2,000 calories in one meal is quite normal – lots of butter, sugar, fat, cream – all the things that make things taste delicious. I realised early on in this game that I could only do it if I ate quite sparsely the rest of the time.

I really watch what I put into my body now. I’ve realised that, from your mid-40s, everything you eat and drink shows in your face. You become hammered on a G&T and feel awful after a late-night Burger King.