'If you wish to, but it is not necessary. Eating merely satisfies cravings for tastes and textures; I do not have to do so, in order to survive. My homeworld has a limited food supply.'

Of course, if Mia really wants to bring strawberry tarts, then Vexen is quite unlikely to turn them down. But he will insist on being permitted to make good an exchange of sorts, at least the first time. He can always go hunt a dire bird, or something.