Life for the under-12s at the Ramsay household looks character-building to an outsider. There's a daily pull-up-your-socks, get-on-with-it attitude, plus the occasionally slaughtering of whatever "pet" happens to be in the back garden. Yet this atmosphere is deliberate, says Tana Ramsay, cookbook author and wife of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

"One of the things we've always done is taught the children to be independent, not to be waited on hand and foot," says the mother of four and author of Tana Ramsay's Family Kitchen and Tana Ramsay's Real Family Food.

The aim is not to put pressure on Megan, 10, Matilda, 6, and eight-year-old twins Jack and Holly but "encourage them to do the things that help them out and make their life easier. Knowing how to dress themselves, to organise their school bags and gym kits, just making life realistic for them."

Realistic is a relative notion here. After all, Tana did not claw her way onto the best-seller list the typical way - with, say, a whimsical blog or a career as a glamour model. She has acknowledged in previous interviews the boost from that guy who's always screaming on telly. 'I'd be stupid if I thought that Gordon wasn't the reason I'd been asked to do it. But I can either dwell on that, and worry what people are going to say, or I can get on with it,' she told the Guardian. She "never, never, never" feels overshadowed by her famous husband.

Instead, the impression one gets is that Tana thrives on the chaos of family life and work.

"It's a juggling act. My role with Gordon and me being so busy is, I try to fit my working day as much as I can around the children," says Ramsay, who does not have full-time help. "The older they get it's more important to have the routine and having us around. But at the same time I love the pressure and I know that I work better under pressure."

A day might start with her testing recipes and end with writing them up after the children are in bed. Or spending the first part of the week on the book then posing for promo shots on Friday.

Considering her husband's well-reported aversion to changing nappies and his punishing work schedule, it's a good thing Ramsay relishes her hectic schedule. She relies on having deadlines to meet. "That's what I love - my routine can change. It's very flexible. But I have to have deadlines. Thank goodness or I'd have it going on forever."

Her latest project is acting as ambassador for the inaugural Playing for the Planet Awards. The campaign, organised by Playhouse Disney, invites preschoolers to enter competitions that teach what they can do to be greener. It includes educational packs for nurseries plus tips everyone can use.

It's hardly groundbreaking stuff - recycling plastic at home, refilling water bottles from the tap, turning off lights and not leaving gadgets on stand-by. Yet the appeal for Ramsay is the focus on starting young.

"I used to teach, so preschool and nursery school is an age that I'm very familiar with," says Ramsay. "Teaching children how to be eco-friendly at preschool age is just so obvious and so fantastic. It creates habits that they get into for a lifetime and then they put pressure on their parents."

Even if their parents are a famous foodie couple. "When we put a plastic bottle into the household waste - we get lectures from our children on that," she says.

Gordon's penchant for flash cars presents a challenge. "We're certainly not perfect," she says. "Our problem is we have to have seven seaters. But certainly with the array of cars on the market that are eco-friendly, that's something we're looking into."

In the meantime Tana will continue her career as the domestic foil to Gordon's professional hothead.

"I'm a domestic cook, I'm not a trained chef. Someone asked if will I open a restaurant - not a chance. That's not my thing at all. I'm a home cook and that's what I love doing."

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