She survived for 210 days at sea on freeze dried meals and dried fruit, and now Jessica Watson, the youngest person to sail unassisted around the globe, has happily returned to dry land and her mum's cooking.

With a newly released book and recently being voted 2011 Young Australian of the Year, Jessica is enjoying the fruits of her labour, alongside the fresh fruits of her home town in sunny Queensland. We asked her what floats her boat when it comes to food.

What ingredient can't you live without?
I love Maggie Beer Verjuice, it adds just a little more flavor to any salad.

Who is your food hero?
Mum is my food hero. She's not the world's best gourmet chef (sorry, Mum!) but I never cease to be amazed by her ability to produce yummy meals for hordes of hungry teenagers at a moment's notice!

What is your go-to dish when people drop by for dinner?
My all-time easy meal that I like to cook when I've got guests is salmon with dill sauce, potatoes baked with lots of garlic and cucumber salad. As long as the salmon is nice and fresh you can't go wrong.

What dish do you want to perfect?

I'd love to be able to make lasagna but all my attempts never quite work out!

What is your dessert specialty?

I'm quite proud of the pavlova I can make. It's Granny's recipe and really quite simple but delicious. Of course no pavlova is complete without piles of fresh fruit. A pavlova is all about presentation so the brighter the better.

What food did you crave most when you were out at sea?
While out at sea I craved lots of different foods, pretty much anything I couldn't take with me. I suppose you could say that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence! But more than anything I craved fresh food, particularly summer fruits, like fresh cherries.

Who is your dream dinner date?
Dream diner date? That's a question I've never had before. It's a little tragic but there's no one I'd rather have dinner with than my mum, my brother and my sisters! When you spend so much time away, you come to realise who the people are that you really want to spend time with.

Did you catch fish on your journey and cook them? How did you prepare them?
I always get asked about whether I caught lots fish while at sea and I wish I could say I did, but sadly I didn't. And not because of a lack of trying! I sailed 23,000 nautical miles around the world, taking 210 days, and only managed to catch one fish! It was pretty tasty though, there's nothing like fish straight into the frying pan with a little bit of butter (yes I did have tinned butter!).

More: Browse our great selection of fish recipes