I've been lucky that I haven't encountered much adversity growing up in London and having friends from all different backgrounds.

I could keep McQuiston, but growing up it was a hard-work surname. Everyone would always ask me to spell it or just get it wrong. I could call myself Emma Weymouth, or maybe I should take the family name and become Emma Thynn.

I've always, always wanted to present my own food show - one that includes a little bit of lifestyle, too. That's my ultimate goal.

I have long held the ambition of my own TV chef programme.

What about those who help growth indirectly, those who stay at home and look after others - mothers, carers of elderly parents or sick relatives who save the state millions of pounds annually. What is their worth? How is their value to be determined?

I was emancipated at 15. I went to school and had a full-time job and apartment, and ever since, I've been on my own, parenting myself.

It was fantastic to work in Cornwall partly because my family live there so I was able to do lots of visiting and eat lots of cake. They live all over Cornwall and all over Devon.

In the richest country in the history of the world, this Obama economy has crushed the middle class. Family income has fallen by $4,000, but health insurance premiums are higher, food prices are higher, utility bills are higher, and gasoline prices have doubled. Today more Americans wake up in poverty than ever before.