Ian Oswald confesses to being “an absolute foodie – you can’t keep this boy away from food,” he admits.

In fact, it was the offer of food that kick-started his stage career when he was around 8 years old.

“I was enticed to a dance class by a friend who said she needed a male partner, and she bribed me with a packet of pickled onion Monster Munch.”

Since then Ian has performed in films like Wicked and Pirates of the Caribbean and TV Productions such as The Crown and Saturday Night Takeaway.

He has also appeared in musicals such as Moulin Rouge, Aladdin, Starlight Express, Priscilla Queen of the Dessert and Chicago, to name but a few. However, Ian's career began in Blackpool with the production Mystique.

This year sees Ian returning to Blackpool as company manager in The Hot Ice Show XS at the Pleasure Beach Ice Arena.

As company manager, Ian is the glue that holds the show together. He is responsible for the integrity, discipline, safety and well-being of the cast and and is the producer'ss representative during the run.

Being resident for the season gives Ian the opportunity to cook, something which, when he is on tour, he doesn’t get much chance to do.

Ian has always been fascinated by food and what goes on in the kitchen since an early age when he used to watch and help his mother makeakes.

“She is a fantastic baker. I remember at Christmas time she seemed to bake dozens of cakes for friends and relatives, as she was so good at it and her cakes just tasted so good,” he admits.

“At home in Liverpool we were mostly a meat and two veg family at meal times, but when I moved to London I started to eat lots of pasta because it was quick and very easy to prepare.”

Ian still cooks a lot of pasta and admits he makes a great sauce with garlic, onion and sweet peppers.. “It’s a proper smooth sauce, not like a soup,” he adds.

But he confesses although he’s a dab hand at most dishes, one thing he just cannot master is a roast dinner. “I once invited some friends around for lunch, and it turned out so bad I had to destroy it and send out for a takeaway.”

“Being a Northern boy, I am quite daring when it comes to different foods and have tried many different styles and tastes when on tour in different parts of the world.”

“When I was in Mystique in Blackpool, we had different nationalities in the cast, and they used to make lots of dishes from their own countries. I found the Russian and Polish food very tasty and full of flavour and even learntto cook some simple dishes myself.”

But despite sampling different dishes worldwide, Ian admits there’s one thing that is his absolute favourite. “A plate of regular chips from the local fish shop – you can’t beat that.”

During the show run, Ian has a regime that he follows to give him the energy he needs for a busy day. For breakfasthe has avocadowith scrambled egg andand bacon bits with lashings of Canadian maple syrup over the bacon.

His next meal is usually after the matinee, and his favourite is gnocchi. Ian cooks this in the air fryer, as “it makes it more crunchy”.

“I add some chicken and serve it with a salad with my ‘go-to’ magic ingredient, balsamic glaze.”

After the show Ian indulges in some granola and Greek yoghurt with honey, “but I won’t mention the chocolate bars I eat in between shows,” he adds.

Ian’s meat loaf recipe
1 and a half pounds ground beef
1 large egg
1 onion chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup dried bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
One third of cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard

Combine ground beef, onion, milk, bread crumbs and egg in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Transfer into prepared loaf pan.

Mix ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard together in a small bowl until well combined; pour over meatloaf and spread evenly over the top.

Bake in pre-heated oven at approx. 200c until no longer pink in the centre for about 1 hour.