The Last Supper: Michael Socha on his mum’s Sunday roast
This is England and The Cage star Michael Socha tells us what he’d eat for his last meal on earth, from his mum’s Sunday roast to a Pizza Express dessert
I’ve always liked food that’s a bit weird. I like going to the local store in different countries to try and find something strange. As a kid, I was really fascinated by fish so I used to try lots of different types, which was quite unusual for a lad growing up in Derby.
I do like to cook but I just make simple stuff that you can do in one pan. I’ll find something I like and eat it every day until I’m sick of it and then move onto something else. Right now I’m making a lot of rice and tuna: it’s not too unhealthy and it doesn’t take ages to wash up. I’m fed up of washing dishes.
When you’re on set the food tends to be pretty decent. There’s always something reasonably healthy. It’s when you get back home and you can’t be bothered to cook that’s the problem. I went through a phase of ordering loads of takeaway. When I was a kid takeaways were a real novelty so when I started earning money, I went hard on them but it’s dangerous, financially and nutritionally. I’ve realised as I get older that eating shit food makes me feel like shit. Who’d have thought, eh?
We have a bakery in Derby called Bird’s, which is amazing. It’s a Derby institution. It has the best bread, the best cakes, the best hams and cold meats. If I’m meeting someone who’s not from Derby I’ll try and bring them a Bird’s cob because there’s nothing quite like it.
I’m so into prawns. I think they are fascinating little things. Some people are freaked out by the little line of shit in them but that doesn’t bother me
I’m a bit worried that if I was on death row I wouldn’t be able to eat anything. I’d be too worried. So ideally I’d like the creator to come down, or up, or wherever the creator comes from, and just say: ‘Right, you’ve got to have a last meal. I’m not going to tell you why it’s your last meal and it might not definitely be your last meal but you’ve got to pick one.’ That way I might be able to enjoy it, you know what I mean?
To start with I’d have garlic king prawns. I know a lot of people like a prawn cocktail but I can’t stand that sauce. Just thinking about it is making me feel a bit sick. But I’m so into prawns. I think they are fascinating little things. Some people are freaked out by the little line of shit in them but that doesn’t bother me. I don’t really care where they’re from – you could just buy them from Sainsbury’s. It’s like coffee: I love coffee, but I don’t know what’s good coffee and what’s bad coffee.
Michael Socha: My main would be my mum’s roast
My main course would be my mam’s Sunday dinner. There’s something about being starving on a Sunday afternoon and then tucking into a roast. There would be roast beef with bits of garlic in it, homemade Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes. Then you’ve got the broccoli, cauliflower and definitely carrots. There’s always carrots. And home-made gravy. I was even allowed to have a little glass of wine with it. My mam used to say it was dead easy to cook but nobody has ever given me a better Sunday dinner. It can’t be recreated. When I was a kid, I was always out. I’d come back from school and then just piss off straight out the door. But on a Sunday, I’d make sure I was home for that roast.
Dessert is a bit tricky because I’m not really a pudding man. But there is one thing I’m really into at the moment: the Biscoff Billionaire Sundae at Pizza Express. If you have a whole one you’ll end up feeling sick but if you just have a few bites it’s amazing. There’s not that much good scran in Derby so sometimes I’ll go to Pizza Express as a treat and I’ll always get that dessert.
I’ll wash it down with a nice glass of San Pellegrino with ice. There’s a guy I really like called Blindboy who’s a big fan of different sparkling waters. He was in the Rubberbandits but I mostly know him from The Blindboy Podcast. In fact, I’d like to listen to that while I eat my last meal. I’d want to be alone and just put that on in the background. I’d have good food and good podcast company. That doesn’t sound too bad, does it?
• Michael Socha can be seen in The Cage on BBC One and iPlayer from 26 April