Aaron Eckhart as 'Nick' and Catherine Zeta-Jones as 'Kate' in Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures' romantic drama 'No Reservations', distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones might be mother to two gorgeous children with acting legend Michael Douglas, but this working mother still has time to light up the cinema.

As temperamental chef Kate Armstrong, Zeta-Jones plays against type as a harassed chef forced to play mother to her young niece Zoe (Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin) while wrestlingwith her feelings for new chef Nick Palmer (Black Dahlia's Aaron Eckhart). The Welsh stunner submitted to a little Film Focus Q and A.

Catherine, when did you know you wanted to make No Reservations your next film?

I met Aaron for lunch, actually, because I heard through the director that Aaron was really interested in being in the movie. And I thought, 'wow, that would be terrific.' So, we met for lunch. We'd never met before, and got on really well, chit-chatted about the project and then before we knew it, we were all signed on, and up here in New York, ready to go. So, it was an easy process for us to get together. The idea of being a chef, for me, was pretty terrifying, to be quite honest. I'm serious, if I could pull this one off, let me tell you. But we had this intense training together, which was a laugh because we arrived in this kitchen at Fiamma. I've got my little apron on, looking ever so professional, looking at Aaron going, 'oh, God, my finger's coming off before you know it.' We had a few weeks of that, then we were up and running. I felt very comfortable in the kitchen, and I still do, actually.

You cook at home now?

Oh, all the time. I have a new appreciation of being in a kitchen. I've a new appreciation of when a plate of food gets put on my table, how much goes into it, as opposed to going, 'Is this cooked right?'

Catherine, your character's picky about food in this movie. Is there anything in real life that you can't resist?

Actually it sounds so ridiculous and so crazy, but I'm obsessed with smoked salmon sandwiches on brown bread with potato chips in the middle crushed down. I had it on each of my pregnancies and I actually had it two nights ago for dinner. It's one of those comfort foods.

You have a busy career, but you also have a family and a husband. How do you find the balance?

Well, I hate to say balance with my work and my children because at the end of the day, that is my life, and everything else is a bonus. What's changed for me considerably since I've had my family is that the logistics have completely gone crazy, as opposed to me being offered a role in Romania for four months, I'd say, 'What time is my flight?' I'll pack my case and I'm gone. Now, I can't do that. I try to schedule my work in between times when they can either come with me or I know that Michael's definitely not working and he's with them. Doing No Reservations here in New York, it was great because our home is Bermuda, predominantly. And so, even though I was working pretty much every day, he did give us some time off and I'd go home to Bermuda either for just a day or they'd come and see me. The last movie I just completed was during summer break, so they were with me all the time.

Prior to your marriage, were you as focused and as driven as your character in the film?

I wouldn't say that I was like Kate in the way that she was so blinkered in her career and her work and how she goes about it. But I've always said I had a healthy ambition, I call it. When I came from Wales to try different things, go to London, do theatre, do some TV, I had that inherently. But I wouldn't say that I was such a control freak the way that Kate is or that there was nothing else in my life. I had my friends. I had my other life, as well as my career.

What do you think the recipe is for a successful relationship?

I think just to be kind to each other. We meet so many different people in life and sometimes we spend more time being nice and friendly to complete strangers than you do to the person you love more than anything else in the world. So, just to have that at the back of your mind, just to be respectful, kind and nice.

You play a much different role in this film than the 'glamorous leading lady'. Did you enjoy playing somewhat against type?

When I read the script, I went, 'wow, this is not a character that a director would naturally think of me as a slam dunk,' and I think that's what was exciting to me, to be able to play a much more vulnerable character than what is necessarily an image of me onscreen. I've found this such a fascinating experience, just the process of going into work, and the hair and make-up, every day I went in, just stuck on my chef's outfit and that bloody green coat, okay. I had a great time doing it.

- Published in The Voice September 6, 2007