The chef says we need to forget fads and focus on the joy of good food cooked with love

• Yotam’s recipes for roast chicken with butter beans, and perfect potatoes

The kids normally have breakfast at 7.30. I make eggs – soft boiled, scrambled or an omelette – sliced cucumber, toast with butter and a bowl of yoghurt on the side. Whether I eat too depends on how much I ate the previous night – and how late.

Last year, I decided I’d skip breakfast altogether. I was reading everywhere about the benefits of intermittent fasting (IF) and it didn’t feel like a huge sacrifice. Apparently, if I managed to avoid food for 16 hours, half of it spent sleeping anyway, I was more likely to sustain weight loss compared with following any other diet. On top of that, fasting periods are said to allow the body to repair cells and, as a result, help to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, general inflammation, memory loss, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other maladies.