Daniel Green was overweight until he converted to a healthy lifestyle. After shedding the kilos, he became a model but then decided to help others to become healthier. His cooking programmes have aired in Britain, Spain, the United States and Asia. Recently, he spent a week at the Mandarin Oriental, cooking simple, healthy dishes in The Cafe.
What are your most memorable Hong Kong meals? 'Vong [at the Mandarin Oriental] has always been fantastic: great food and a view of the Hong Kong harbour. The tapas bar at the Kowloon Shangri-La is a great jet-lag recovery place - it has everything. I also like Jade Garden near the Star Ferry pier.'
Your books focus on Asian cuisine, but curries and rice aren't particularly slimming. 'If you look at Thai and Chinese cuisines, they are healthy and low in fat. With Thai food, there's so much variety, especially the seafood and spices. In pan-Asian cuisine, there are healthy foods such as naan bread, tandoori chicken, yoghurts. You can use stock instead of oil and the food isn't fattening.'
Did you go to cooking school? 'No - my cooking is all self-taught. I have a niche and I don't necessarily make things by the book. Because I'm not traditionally trained, I'm not preachy. On my show, I'm more like, 'Try this and see if you like it'.'
Do you fall off the wagon sometimes? 'Of course. Forbidding junk food will never work. But I do find after I've indulged, there's no satisfaction. It doesn't really fill you and you feel a bit sick.'
What do you think of raw-food movements and other extreme diets? 'Deprivation isn't generally a good idea and you have to substitute the protein loss. The Atkins and South Beach diets are just not healthy. You need fuel for the day and you need your carbohydrates.
No wonder people are tired all the time - it's the deprivation.'