KEY POINTS:
Three likely lads in Masterton were put in their place by Peta Mathias this week, and so was an Auckland audience of women at a Herald-Dymocks literary lunch.
But all in the nicest possible way, as the popular TV foodie explained the philosophy behind her latest book, Can We Help It If We're Fabulous - and other thoughts on being a woman.
Asked by the blokes: "Who would be your dream date, where would you dine and what would you eat," she kept them at arm's length by saying: "I'd let Brad Pitt force himself on to me."
The meal of choice was delicious fresh produce, eaten on a Kiwi beach, though the restaurateur turned-author turned-gastronomic tour conductor rates French and Vietnamese as her favourite cuisines.
For an overwhelming female audience she sampled chapters from her latest book which offers advice on clothes, food, sex, relationships, travel and more - all with the underlying theme of being comfortable in your own skin and making the most of your assets whatever your age.
On the subject of what not to wear, Mathias is almost as vocal as Trinny and Susannah. She bemoans the habitual black in which many New Zealand women shroud themselves
Bigger women, especially, were chided that all black didn't make them look slimmer, just dowdier. By being confident and colourful they could look fabulous and sexy.
Mathias, aged 58, is as irrepressible in her dress as in her opinions and she says the Kiwi copout over clothes doesn't cut it.
