The round face and strong jaw-line look familiar. The name is unmistakable. But Henry Dimbleby, son of BBC television veteran David and food writer Josceline, nephew of presenter Jonathan, and grandson of broadcasting legend Richard, is coy about his family. "It is only two generations," he says, bristling at the suggestion that he belongs to a media dynasty.

We have met for a lunch of Moroccan meatballs, brown rice (with lemon, olive oil and toasted seeds) and grilled chicken, in the Bankside, south London, branch of Leon, the healthy fast-food chain he co-founded. Although Mr Dimbleby says he had a very normal upbringing, he is in one way following in his family's footsteps on his mother's side. "She exposed me to flavour," he says. "Our house was always full of spices when I was young, in the 1970s, which I remember thinking at the time was very strange." Indeed, he has also trained as a chef.