The best meal of my life by John Barrowman

This month's guest writer is actor, presenter, author and showman John Barrowman, who recalls a superb dish that, sadly, will never be replicated. The star of Torchwood explains...

I have to admit, recalling my ultimate meal does fill me with a small amount of sadness, for the simple reason that I’ll never have it again. If I do, it may kill me, so I tend to find that’s reason enough to look for something else on the menu!

Bring in the lobster

That perfect meal, and the finest thing I have ever tasted is lobster, with a caviar truffle filling – incredible textures, endless flavours, and usually served in a setting befitting such elegant tastes. The most memorable time I indulged wasn’t in a seafood restaurant on the coast, but actually in the famous J Sheekey fish and seafood restaurant just off Leicester Square.

This was a few years ago, and for the time that I was there, at least, it was the most sumptuous meal I’d ever experienced. A pure joy! I used to eat it all the time back then – it was still a treat every time, but it had become as much of an addiction!

Too much of a good thing

But there was an incident... I was doing a show for Stephen Sondheim, and Stephen and I used to go out in the evening after each performance. For a week, solidly, after every show we ate oysters in a half shell. We would do Oysters Rockefeller, Champagne oysters... everything.The only trouble was we had so many oysters over the course of that week, I ended up poisoning myself!

Loving the lobster

So on this, our last shellfish blowout, we had this gorgeous lobster, with a caviar truffle, preceded by champagne oysters and lobster bisque... or was it seafood chowder? It might have been both, actually. We were washing it down in J Sheekys with my favourite tipple – (Grey Goose) vodka tonic with a lime twist, toasting what had been another fantastic night, and gradually coming down off the buzz of the performance.

Call 999!

We simply gorged ourselves on this amazing feast of shellfish and thought nothing more of it. But overnight I obviously developed an allergic reaction - my face blew up, my tongue nearly choked me and I had to go to the hospital. Lo and behold, I was suddenly allergic to my favourite meal. 

I can still eat caviar but it’s not the same without the lobster, and it’s rather expensive too. So any shellfish is a long distant wonder to me now, and it’s all come about through pure overkill. There’s a lesson there for all foodies - everything in moderation!

Lobster for a last meal

I suppose I’ll always know what to request should I ever end up on death row – the fish will see me off before the electric chair!

More best meals

The best meal of my life by Tim Hayward

The best meal of my life by Fergus Henderson 

The best meal of my life by Chris Pople

John Barrowman’s debut fictional novel, ‘Hollow Earth’, which is co-written with his sister Carole, is out now.