So there she was - sipping Domaines Barons de Rotschild (Lafite) - Legende R Bordeaux Blanc 2004 when Keith Floyd bounces up and says: "Darling, you look like a dish tonight. I'd love to cook you."

Stop. Rewind.

Sorry, that was just what I imagined happened last night.

What really happened was, he did shake my hand, asked after my health ever so cordially and enquired as to whether "they were feeding you enough, ducky?"

I nodded, tongue-tied. Floyd in person. The irrepressible, effervescent man who's made a living from drinking on the job while cooking his way through the icebergs of Scandinavia to the mountains of the Himalayas. The man, really, who made me fall in love with cooking shows because he made them ever so fun. The man who's cussed and swore his way through paellas, tom yum kung and pickled herring.

He looked older than I remembered – but then of course, I have been watching re-runs of his programmes on Discovery Travel & Living. At 63 and live, he is as full of boundless energy as he comes across on television.

As the star of the "Uncorking Keith Floyd" dinner held as part of the World Gourmet Summit at the Grand Hyatt on Tuesday night, he was also the consummate, professional and, of course, irreverent host as he regaled us with his alcoholic-laced tales and liver-pickled anecdotes and later took questions from the audience.

The five-course meal and six different wines were, even to me, a foodie, mere backdrops to the rich tapestry that is Floyd's life.

Floyd (right) in good spirits.

Married four times and bankrupt once – "don't come to me for marital advice or financial services", Floyd, former barman, dishwasher and vegetable peeler told us of the last time he was in Singapore and was drinking at the bar at midnight when a man came up to him and said, "Call Room 2014."

"I never speak to anyone after midnight. It's a good way to go bankrupt," he said.

But he did. And he called. And Ronnie Wood (of the Rolling Stones) answered. Ronnie and the boys were also in town for their concert.

"Imagine, Rolling Stones came to my cookery demonstration and people like that don't get up in the morning," he said, adding, "Mick didn't though. He's a total prat."

He then dedicated the evening to his mother, "the greatest cook in the world".

He talked about how things had changed since he was a lad, growing up in Somerset. At 10, "we were bleeding little boys with scraped knees" out collecting berries and mushrooms, fishing, plucking chestnuts from trees and ferreting for rabbits.

"There was no frozen food, no Hyatt, no TV. We hunted and foraged for food to supplement the meager income of our parents. We were poor but we never starved."

He then told us of his time in Australia. "Being a man of total principle, I wouldn't advertise anything that was frozen or processed. But when someone offers you £110,000 to advertise pot noodles, well, your principles melt away."

So he did that for five years. One day, flying first class on Qantas along with other luminaries such as Gough Whitlam, Kylie Minogue and Anna Murdoch, the crew came up and served everyone but him caviar, foie gras and roast beef.

"They didn't give it to me. I wasn't drunk or suffering from air rage or anything. Later, one of them came up with a trolley, lifted the cloth, revealing one of my pot noodles and he said, Floydie, you advertise it, now eat it, mate."

Or the time he was in on the Thai-Burma border, trying to cook while bombs were flying as the Thai army was waging their anti-drug campaign against the Burmese drug warlords.

"It was one of the most interesting meals I've ever had. They opened the stomach of an ox, took out its still pulsating liver and presented it to me. Sometimes it's a pain in the a... to be an honoured guest."

Or the time in India two years ago. "Behind me was some Indian prince's palace. In front was a lake with elephants bathing and squirting water. On my table in 44 degrees heat. I was trying to make the definitive briyani with 14 different spices. I had my rice, my karahi (Indian wok) and our rather dubious gas connection ready to go. I get one hit, I can only do it once. I got the gas lit, I am ready to face the camera when the director – all directors are complete pricks – said, ‘Cut. Can you get the elephants back in position?'"

Or the time in South Africa when ostriches came up to attack him and ate his meal as well as cutlery. "Greenpeace wrote to me and asked, how could I cook an ostrich egg in front of its mother? Ostriches don't give a toss. They are thick."

Through it all, Floyd never stopped drinking. Then he took questions.

Tickled pink by a feast of Floyd

Here was Yeoh Siew Hoon's chance. An opportunity to ask Keith Floyd the questions she's always wanted to ask. Problem was, she had 1,000 questions and only one hit. Brainwave. "Who's your favourite other chef? And do you think chefs today are too prissy and too precious about what they do?"

Floyd – he calls himself Floyd because "Keith is such a naff name" – removes his jacket, takes a deep breath, grabs the mike, looks around at the audience, flashes his roguish grin … and declares, "I am a cook. I am not a chef, I am not a prat. I believe in food and television in the UK is manipulating young wannabes to become personalities, not cooks.

"Having said that, I salute Jamie Oliver for improving school dinners, Rick Stein for what he does with fish, Gary Rhodes for showing what British cooking can be and (French celebrity chef) Jean-Christophe Novelli, even though he's a frog."

He said that it was very sad that young cooks were getting into the restaurant business not to be cooks but to get into some "X factor TV personality s…".

I asked what he thought his X factor was. Quoting from the "best rock n' roll novel ever written (according to website)" – "I Am Still The Greatest, says Johnny Angelo" – Floyd screams, "I'm good ‘cos I'm good."

What does he think of durians, asked a Singapore man in the audience? "I'm disgusted at the news that this man in Thailand has taken the smell out of durians. I say, let the durian live."

Asked what food or drink he would like to be remembered by, he challenged the Grand Hyatt. "If you're a real hotel, after I knock off this gig, bring me caviar and vodka and I will die so very happy."

He then talks about his heroes – "none of them are cooks, they are all musicians."

Once in Sydney, he hears a knock on the door and (the late) George Harrison is at the door. "My god, I thought, I am talking to George Harrison. He asked me whether I had tried these vegetarian cakes. I wanted to talk rock n' roll, not cooking."

Why does he cook such large quantities? "Because I am a generous guy. I don't cook for one, I cook for the world."

What's your most memorable drink? "This one because it could be my last."

The next time I meet Floyd, I will ask him if he ever wrote his life story, what would he call the book?

Pink Floyd? Or Pink (and Pickled) Floyd? Whatever the name, I know it will tickle me pink.

Yeoh Siew Hoon, one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators,  write a regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry for 4Hoteliers.com.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection".  She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is 'free to do, and be'.

Yeoh Siew Hoon's other writings can be found at www.thetransitcafe.com . Get your weekly cuppa of news, gossip, humour and opinion at the cafe for travel insiders.