We asked Mac van Dinther, contributing Dutch editor to the World edition, to answer the Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery Questionnaire. There are only two rules – you have to tell the Truth, and do it with Love.

Mac van Dinther is food writer for de Volkskrant, the leading quality newspaper of the Netherlands. He was a restaurant critic for twenty-one years and is the author of several books about food.

What is your idea of perfect happiness? To be in a state of 100 per cent awareness. That is when striking the perfect ball in a game of billiards, being confident in a series of tai chi movements or making love to my beloved one. In such moments, every sense of time and space disappears.

What is the purest thing you have ever tasted? A fresh sea urchin.

What is the best thing you can do with your hands? Make love and feeding myself.

What do you love most about what you do? Being able to satisfy my curiosity about everything.

What do you consider the most overrated ingredient? Spelt, the ‘gluten free’ replacement for wheat, a big hit in the Netherlands. Also the so-called ‘summer truffle’, which is as tasteless as a piece of cardboard.

What’s the best thing you’ve ever been taught? Learning to speak.

Is there anything you don’t particularly care to eat? I refuse to eat anything that comes from endangered species (eel, Bluefin) or from animal abuse (forced goose liver, meat from industrial farming).

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? God. To set things right finally.

When was the last time you ate out, and where? Two days ago. I had a Bratwurst on the German Autobahn driving back from a late-night job reporting the resistance against the destruction of a German forest for mining. It tasted awful, but I had to eat something warm.

Are there any mentors or food heroes you would like to thank? I was very much inspired by Michael Pollan’s first books: The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. It inspired me to write my own books: Ons Eten (Our Food) and De Tien Geboden van Goed Eten (The ten commandments of good food).

What are your favourite books or cookbooks? The Larousse Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking, Karen Duve’s Anständig Essen. And of course my own books!

What do you make from scratch? Scrambled eggs.

What would you be doing if you weren’t doing what you are doing? As little as possible. The world belongs to the lazy.

How do you like to spend your day off? For me, hiking and walking are the best ways to enjoy a day. With or without my wife.

What does success mean to you? To earn the respect from people that are important to me.

What is your current obsession, the thing you think about at 3am? How to improve my billiards game.

What are the qualities you most admire in others? Being relaxed and self-confident when tension rises. Being gentle and friendly even if everything seems to be against you.

Can you tell us something we don’t know about you? Do you have a few days?

Which three words best describe your cooking style? Improvisation, tasty, spicy.

If you could eat only one thing today, what would it be? French fries.

What do you see when you think of the cuisine of your own country? I see a lot of young chefs working hard to bring about something that is Dutch Cuisine.

Which producer or supplier really brightens your day? My local pub.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse? I don’t know.

Which talent would you most like to have? To play wonderful music, being able to improvise without written music. On any instrument that is portable.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Lose three kilograms.

What do you think the food of the future will look like? I foresee two directions: one is the technological food like cultured meat, plants from fully-controlled green houses, and genetically-modified species. On the other hand, a smaller movement of artisanal products, locally produced.

With apologies to Marcel Proust.