His second book, "The Year of Eating Dangerously" has just been published by Ebury in October 2006. In it he goes to Laos to sample water beetles and to Korea to taste for himself why dog is still found on the menu. He climbs Spanish cliffs in search of goose-neck barnacles, and surreptitiously seeks out elvers (baby eels) at the witching hour in Gloucestershire. He takes part in a chilli-eating contest in New Mexico and savours sauces with names like Butt Twister, Colon Cleanser and Ditch the Bitch. He discovers that bee pupae are delicious, 'as addictive as Pringles but 100 times as nice' whereas silkworm pupae make him think of 'freshly dug graves'. The book teaches us, if nothing else, that Tom Parker Bowles is seriously dedicated to eating.

Tom is the son of the Duchess of Cornwall (formerly Camilla Parker Bowles) and Andrew Parker Bowles. He is married to Sara Buys, a fashion features editor at Harpers & Queen. Tom and Sarah are expecting their first child in autumn 2007.

Tom admits that he wakes up every morning thinking about food - whether to have a big breakfast or to conserve his appetite for lunch, or what to cook for Sara's supper - and he eats so fast you'd think he'd been starving for a week.