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A food writer for 17 years, Nigel Slater is one of the country's best-loved cooks. He has written 10 books, seven of which are cookery books and, in November 2009, he was named Food Personality of the Year at the Â鶹Éç Food and Farming Awards by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

In Autumn 2009, Nigel's first series of Simple Suppers aired on Â鶹Éç One, showcasing his enthusiasm for food and love of laid-back cooking. The series was tied-in with the Â鶹Éç's Dig In campaign, which encourages viewers to grow their own vegetables, either in their garden, allotment or patio, or even in a yogurt pot on the window sill. Nigel showed viewers how to rustle up simple but tasty fare from the fruits of their labours.

The series was a huge success – so much so that this autumn Nigel returns with more foodie ideas in a new series of Simple Suppers. And, if he wasn't busy enough with that, the Â鶹Éç is also currently in production of a film version of Nigel's memoir: Toast – A Story Of A Boy's Hunger.

Nigel took time out from his busy schedule, with three weeks of filming for the second series of Simple Suppers to go, to talk to Â鶹Éç Programme Information's Hannah Khalil about the new series and offer some grow-your-own tips.

Once again the series is not restricted to the kitchen and Nigel gets out and about with his cooking: "It's the same format, we do some of the cooking in the kitchen, some outside in the garden and then we go off to people's allotments and gardens and cook. We have a portable barbeque and a portable stove."

With such an array of food and recipes Nigel confesses it's difficult to pick his favourite simple supper. "That is a hard question, I suppose it's our version of sausage and mash which is sticky sausages, which have got honey and mustard on them, and carrot mash, which is like a potato mash but made with carrots."

The Dig In campaign is, in essence, an attempt to get people growing and cooking their own food. There are five selected vegetables each year, and, for 2010, they are basil, salad leaves, carrots, courgettes and French beans, and new and novice gardeners got the chance to apply for free Dig In seeds so they could learn to grow their own. The campaign has an accompanying website, with expert advice, and this year builds on the considerable success of the first. According to Â鶹Éç-commissioned research, 75 per cent of those asked said the seed-starter pack motivated them to take part in Dig In, and 87 per cent said that they have now created a permanent vegetable patch in their gardens.

Nigel continues to be enthusiastic about the campaign, which he's participating in again this year: "I've grown salad leaves, green beans and, for the first time, I've had great success with basil; I've never been able to make that work but I've triumphed with the Dig In basil seeds.

"My favourite ingredient is the herbs that I grow, scattered in pots on the back step; thyme and particularly basil this year. They are such a small thing but they can improve the flavour of food immensely."

As well as herbs Nigel reveals another vital ingredient in his cooking, when asked what one food stuff he would take to a desert island: "I would take lemons, because, obviously, I'm going to be catching a lot of fish and lemon is the most important seasoning, even more important than salt and pepper."

Although some of the hot, dry weather this summer may have been suitable for growing lemons it wasn't ideal for the Dig In veg: "It was a slow start this year and then we had perfect growing weather and then we are praying for rain, so things like pumpkins that need plenty of water weren't doing brilliantly."

Weather aside, Nigel asserts that growing your own isn't just for those living in rural areas or the suburbs: "I live right in the city by Arsenal's stadium and I've got things growing on steps and window ledges; anybody who has a tiny bit of space can put some seeds in tubs and water them, or some herbs on a window sill."

Nigel visits some allotments in the series but doesn't have one of his own and, he says, he's unlikely to get one: "In Islington there's about a 10-year waiting list."

He may not have an allotment but Nigel is full of advice on how to keep pests out of both allotments and gardens, and he reveals that he shows no mercy towards one particular nuisance: "I don't mind cats, I see the garden as much theirs as mine," he says, "but slugs are a different matter.

"I don't bother with pellets any more; I buy these copper rings that you can get from any garden shop. It's a big copper ring a couple of inches deep which you put around the base of the plant and every time a slug tries to climb up it gets a little electric shock. That works very well."

When asked what he would have for his last supper Nigel doesn't hesitate: "I have to admit, I have been asked this a few times before and I'd say a coffee and walnut cake or a trifle. I wouldn't want anything else, just a big bowl of trifle and a spoon."

And who, if he could choose anyone, would cook this final trifle?

"I would have to make it myself because a final meal is a very important one, it would have to be just right. So I'd do it myself."

He's in good company because, one suspects, Nigel would perhaps be in great demand as the man many would want to cook their own last meals. And even if that's unlikely to happen, the new series of Simple Suppers means viewers have the chance to get some tips from the great man himself so they can cook their own perfect last supper.