FAKING it, LBC radio’s Jeni Barnett admits, is par for the course if you’re going to earn your crust in the media. As the presenter and actress, who kicked off her stage career on the Watford Palace stage, states in her blog: “Acting is all about honesty, if you can fake that you can fake anything”.

In the run-up to her An Audience With... appearance at The Radlett Centre at the end of the month, Jeni, who hosts London’s Biggest Conversation weekdays on LBC, confesses she wasn’t all that knowledgeable about cooking before she embarked on her five-year stint as the face of Great Food Live and Great Food Bites. Between 2002 and 2007, Jeni was host of the UKTV Food flagship food show and in 2004/2005, she also hosted the second series of the ITV1 cookery show, Too Many Cooks, which featured chefs made famous by Great Food Live, such as Gino D’Acampo, who will be making a guest appearance at the Radlett show.

“It’s all about enthusiasm,” says Jeni. “I can be enthusiastic about anything – gardening, cars, relationships, food. On the show I had to be Mrs Everywoman and had to keep knowing nothing for five years. If I burnt something I called it burning but as far as the chefs were concerned the correct term was caramelised.”

Born in the East End of London, after her family were “pogromed out of Russia”, Jeni moved to Borehamwood as a child and attended St Hilda’s School in Bushey before training to be a classical pianist and then moving on to acting.

After 12 years on the stage, which included founding the Belt and Braces left-wing political theatre group, Jeni was headhunted by the BBC for its first ever feminist sketch show, Revolting Women.

Jeni switched channels and joined ITV when TVAM was launched in the 1980s, in which she breastfed her daughter, Bethany on air. Soon after this, she moved to LWT and worked on two series of The Good Life Guide and the Gardening Roadshow. Jeni went on to join Frank Bough on Six O Clock Live.

After a couple of years, Jeni shifted back to the BBC to make films for Anne and Nick, and also host their live coffee mornings.

Given all this experience, you’d imagine Jeni has no time for nerves, but reading her blog around the time of her inaugural An Audience With... in Lewisham, the sleepless nights tell another story.

“I will not sleep when we do the Radlett thing,” says Jeni. “There will be no sleep until it’s over. I’ll be tossing and turning and worrying and panting and ranting. The human condition is to worry, but if you’re Jewish it’s natural to worry about worrying and worry if you’re not worrying.

We’re neatly back on the food theme, so what else can audiences expect to see?

“I’m creating another myth around myself. I will come on stage, there’ll be a bit of music, something will occur and it will go from there. It’s all about me, me, me and more me or should that be moi, moi, moi?

“I’m a few months off being 60, so I’m aiming to be the oldest woman in world travelling round the British Isles.

After 25 years in TV, I’m returing to the stage and perhaps becoming the stand-up people always thought I should be.”

Listen to Jeni Barnett on LBC weekdays from 1pm to 4pm.

An Audience With... comes to The Radlett Centre, Aldenham Avenue, Radlett on Saturday, November 29 at 5pm and 8pm. Details: 01923 859291, www.jenibarnett.com (£15-£16)