GIVEN that Toast is based on his own best-selling memoir, you would perhaps think that food writer Nigel Slater would know what to expect from the stage version which is returning to The Lowry next week.

But he openly admits, it gets to him each time he sees it.

“I get emotional every single night,” he said. “Every time I go along I think ‘this is not going to affect me but it does’.”

Toast is a beautifully-observed look at Nigel’s childhood growing up in the West Midlands. It’s part autobiography and part love story about his mum, whose death had a major impact on the whole family and how the arrival of his step mum changed the family dynamic.

But at its heart is Nigel’s love for food - the audience is also treated to both the smells and tastes from the family kitchen as the production goes on.

“I knew that food would be the heart and soul of the whole thing which is why the production has its own food director,” said Nigel. “He decided early it would be rather nice if audience got to taste a bit of it. Logistically it’s not that easy to have the cast passing food around but he’s made it work.”

As a result audiences can look forward to bags of sweets and even lemon meringue pie being offered to them

“The moment the audience passes a plate to the person next to them gives me such a thrill - it’s a great idea,” said Nigel.

Toast is a feast for all the senses. Entering the theatre the audience will smell freshly made toast.

“There is a fine line between making the entire theatre smell of toast and setting off the fire alarms,” laughed Nigel.

Toast, which is returning to the Lowry where it first originated as a stage play, began life as a book and there has also been a film version.

But Nigel never envisaged it would become such an important part of his life.

“Originally it started out a list of things I’d grown up with - the food of the 60s and 70s - for a column for the Observer. Then I thought it would be a good idea to taste them again. So I went out and bought some Angel Delight and I realised that every thing had a story attached to it.

“I ended up adding all these little bits and pieces to the list. I even told my editor she could cut them all out and just run the list.

“I never had an idea it would have the life it has. When I wrote the book, it was a very personal story. But when the book came out I started to get letters from people saying I had written about their childhoods.

“I didn’t appreciate how many people come from families where a major member of the family disappears and someone else comes in. So many kids go through things and don’t tell anyone - just like I did.”

With Toast being so personal, Nigel was at first a little reluctant to see the story brought to the stage.

“It’s my story; it was my little boy and I wanted to protect him,” he said. “I’d seen him on the page and heard him on radio and seen him on screen and I felt very protective.

“But with the idea of him being on stage, I felt there was something very different about that. It seems more real.

“I was reluctant at first but that changed when I read the first bit of the script. I thought it was so sensitively done. But it had to be - it’s about my mum and other people I need to protect.”

Toast is both moving and hilarious in equal measure and for Nigel it will always provoke an emotional response.

“I never cried reading the book or seeing the film,” he said, “but I have cried watching the play more than once. It is much more emotional though I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe there’s something so real about hearing those words come from the stage combined with the little tiny details that the cast have managed to capture about my family.”

Giles Cooper will portray Nigel at the Lowry - a role he undertook in London’s West End.

“Initially it was very nerve wracking because Nigel has been so involved in the production,” he said. “The first time he came into rehearsals I had to reach for the script - I was shaking like a leaf. But it has been a real pleasure to work with him.”

As young Nigel, Giles has to prepare a number of dishes on stage.

“I knew how to chop a mushroom I suppose but not to a professional standard,” he said. “Nigel helped me with the technique and what started out as one of the scarier moments when I started rehearsals has turned out to be one of my favourite parts of the show. I think that’s partly because I don’t have any lines when I’m cooking!

“I’ve even started to cook Nigel’s recipes although that nearly backfired on me when I made a Victoria sponge and brought it into a technical rehearsal. Nigel suddenly turned up and helped himself to a slice - fortunately the sponge gods were on my side that day.”

Nigel said: “There is something very strange about watching someone playing you on stage but I’m thrilled with the way the whole cast have brought so much to my story. It’s quite magical for me to see it all come together.

Toast, the Lowry, Salford Quays, Monday, November 11 to Saturday, November 18. Details from www.thelowry.com or 0343 208 6000