The Farmers Market movement is coming of age – it’s now over twelve years since Myrtle Allen and I first set up our stalls in the Coal Quay side by side with fish smoker Frank Hederman, vegetable grower Caroline Robinson, Klaus and Hannah Balz with their beautiful bunches of fresh flowers and a couple of [...]

Claire Ptak makes wonderful cakes, it all started when she was little girl in Point Reyes, California – every time her Irish grandmother visited they baked cakes together all day long. At Christmas granny would send 15 different types of cookies – bliss. Claire couldn’t wait to open the parcel; all she wanted to do [...]

I’ve been backwards and forwards to London a lot recently to work with my long suffering editor doing the final tweaking on the manuscript of my ‘Forgotten Skills’ book. I’m chained to the desk all day and well into the evening so I don’t get distracted by London’s many temptations. However the deal is we [...]

We’re at the height of the strawberry season at present, all along the main roads strawberry growers are doing their best to tempt us to indulge. So let’s feast on beautiful ripe berries while they are at their best. Eco Santa is the favourite commercial variety but a few growers are beginning to offer some [...]