I had to fight to be allowed to cook at school. It was pretty much unheard of to give up Mr Oakley’s woodwork lessons for a day in the kitchen. The lone lad in a class full of girls. Forty-five years on, I am still one of the few male cookery writers in a mostly female profession (most other male food writers are professional chefs or restaurant reviewers). In this issue of OFM, we meet Itamar Srulovich from the wonderful Honey & Co, who tells us what it’s like to be a male cook in a restaurant group whose senior staff are mostly women. How different is the working environment? Apparently, it’s less egotistical for a start … well, there’s a surprise.

One of the most unforgettable days I have spent behind a stove was with Ghanaian Zoe Adjonyoh, shopping in Ridley Road market in east London, then going back to her home and cooking and eating with her.

I love days spent with other cooks. We forgot the BBC Eating Together film crew peering over our shoulders and just rolled up our sleeves and chopped, stirred and gossiped, making spice pastes and frying plantains, then laying the table for her friends who joined us for dinner.

I remember being at first shocked at the amount of chilli we used, and later pleasantly surprised at the warmth that exuded from her cooking rather than the expected unquenchable heat. She knew how to use it.

Zoe has since put together her family recipes in a new book, Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen, and for this issue she chats with Ruby Tandoh about cooking and their shared heritage.

On the subject of chillies, we have science writer Bob Holmes letting us into the secret of why some people are both psychologically and physiologically inclined to enjoy heat more than others.

We also have words from Susanna Reid and Grayson Perry, and the lovely Jeremy Lee takes on a taste test of tea and coffee.