4

“Honestly,

when I think

of what we

used to eat,

I’m surprised

I’m actually

still alive.”

nutrients in them whatsoever. Honestly,
when I think of what we used to eat,
I’m surprised I’m actually still alive.

Who did the cooking?My dad, and
because I was the eldest I was always
helping. I had to clean the cow and
goat’s tripe. There’s a real art to it.
I would stand in the kitchen over
a hot bowl of water and get all the
muck and gunk off it. It did taste
nice, don’t get me wrong, but
conceptually it’s utterly disgusting.

You’ve travelled around India. How
was the food?Once you’ve got past
the dysentery it’s great. Of course,
having grown up in England I was
very familiar with Indian food. I ate
in people’s houses; I ate food from
all the street vendors. After a while
you stop worrying about getting the
runs and you just roll your dice.

Do you enjoy dining out?IfIgoout
it’s usually to a vegan restaurant.
ABCV in New York is amazing. There
are wonderful Indian-style dishes with
cashew-based yoghurts, for instance, and
it’s all gluten-free. If you took anybody,
even a carnivore, and told them they
could eat like this every day, everyone
would be vegan.

How have your attitudes towards food
changed over the years?The older you get
the more true the saying “You are what
you eat”. It sounds so clichéd but you
really feel the effects of what you put in
your body so much more profoundly.

What’s a typical meal when you’re in
the recording studio?Vegan pizza. It’s
made from all the husks that remain
after you juice vegetables, the stuff
you’d normally throw away. You congeal
it, press it together, dry it out, and it
forms a crust. And then for toppings,
perhaps mozzarella made from cashews
or coconuts, cherry tomatoes and basil.

What’s been the most memorable meal of your life?

It was in Venice. When we got there, the chap at the hotel

recommended a small, hole-in-the-wall kind of place down

the road. I had tagliatelle al salmone: straightforward pasta

with a cream of salmon sauce. I don’t even know if there

was any cream in it, and I don’t eat gluten any more, but

my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

What do you hope to teach your children about food?A healthy

body is a healthy mind. I’d like them to understand that they

don’t have to eat what’s put in front of them because, for the

most part, what’s on offer in schools and supermarkets is either

toxic, ploughed with sugar or

genetically modified.

Do you entertain a lot?Ihave

dinner parties at my house;

I call them speakeasies. I don’t

do any cooking, but I do the

entertaining. There’s a piano,

which I think is essential, and

I’ve got guitars lying around

everywhere, too.

What’s your secret to

entertaining?We’re living in a world where we’re constantly

being forced to defend ourselves,

to retreat, to become more insular. I think that the key to

good entertaining is pretty much my basic philosophy in

life: be open and be accessible.

Your new album is calledStandards. What are the standards on

the playlist at Seal’s Speakeasy?Hall & Oates’ “She’s Gone”.

Joni Mitchell albums likeCourt and Spark, bits ofThe Hissing of

Summer Lawns, and of courseHejira, which I’ve just read means

travel in Arabic. We listen to Steely Dan, too, and of course

Stevie Wonder. You know what? While we’re talking I’m going

to put something on in the background. “Okay Google, play

‘I Was Made to Love Her’ by Stevie Wonder.” You can’t really

go wrong with Stevie.

What does your kitchen look like?It’s part of my living room,

so very open plan and very welcoming. My crockery is all from

Kit Kemp. She does her own line of Wedgwood china called

Mythical Creatures. And there’s always lots of apples, protein

powder, vegan pizza and vegan burritos in the fridge.●

How I eat

GOURMET TRAVELLER 33

Seal is on tour in

Australia in April

to celebrate his

10th studio album,

Standards. For

dates and tickets

see tegdainty.com