Kale, White Bean & Lemon Broth from The Soup Solution

Whether it’s welcome for the first time or welcome back, it’s great to be writing to you today and I’d like to thank you sincerely for subscribing to my newsletter.

For those of you who are new here, I write a monthly roundup newsletter on the first Friday of the month for free subscribers and an almost weekly newsletter for my paid subscribers. It’s my place to share my best culinary recommendations and advice with readers each week. So, if you’d like to sign up for more from me, I’d be so delighted and you can do so using the below link. Thank you for your support.

This month’s newsletter is rather different to usual. It’ll be my last for a little while because I am expecting a baby soon and I am about to start a period of maternity leave in the coming days.

I haven’t shared this information in the public domain yet, mainly because it’s not been entirely straight sailing to get this far and positive outcomes are never certain, but it’s now time for me to step away and set myself up for these important weeks to come.

I will very much look forward to continuing to write to you all when I’m back at work, so you can expect to hear from me again in the coming months. Right now, I am very keen to try and carve out some time and space for what lies ahead without too many distractions, but I will probably try and post on Instagram from time to time in a personal capacity whilst I am off, so you might like to keep up with things there, if you are interested.

I am signing off with three lovely seasonal recipes from my latest book The Soup Solution, which I hope you will find enjoyable as the seasons change and summer starts to arrive.

Thank you, as always, for reading, and I wish you a happy and healthy summer,

Charlotte

The following recipes have all been taken from my latest book, The Soup Solution.

Kale, White Bean & Lemon Broth

This is a vibrant and clean-tasting soup that I find very uplifting to eat because it makes me feel I’m doing myself some good. The light broth is nutrient-rich and the beans, kale and garlic add fibre, vitamins and minerals. I like to serve it with a good drizzle of olive oil and sometimes a grating of Parmigiano Reggiano. The Fougasse or Focaccia (see pages 148 and 151) are wonderful accompaniments.

S E R V E S 4 – 6

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus

extra to serve

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 celery sticks, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped

rosemary needles

400g (14oz) can white beans,

such as cannellini or haricot,

drained and rinsed

1 litre (1¾ pints) vegetable or

chicken stock

250g (9oz) kale leaves, stripped

from the stalks and roughly

chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

cheese, to serve

1. Warm the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add

the onions and celery, season with a little salt and pepper and

soften them for around 10 minutes, adjusting the heat so that

they don’t catch on the base or colour too much. Next, add the

garlic, rosemary and beans. Stir and fry for another couple of

minutes.

2. Stir in the stock and simmer for around 15–20 minutes until the

ingredients have melded nicely and the beans and onions are

tender. Add the kale and simmer for a further 5 minutes until it

is tender.

3. Stir in the lemon juice, taste and add a little more salt or juice if it

needs it. Ladle into bowls and top with a drizzle of oil, and some

Parmigiano Reggiano, and enjoy nice and hot.

٭ This soup will keep for around 2 days in the fridge and will reheat

well, although if you wish to prepare this in advance, don’t add

the kale until you reheat the soup a few minutes before serving.

Roasted Tomato, Coconut & Basil Soup

Tomato and basil are a classic combination in various cuisines, not least Italian, but they pair amazingly well with coconut, too. I am really fond of this trio of ingredients. This is another soup that I’ve found to be popular with children and adults alike.
S E R V E S 4 – 6

900g (2lb) tomatoes, cored and

quartered

4 garlic cloves, peeled

1 large onion, thickly sliced

4 fresh basil sprigs, plus extra

to serve

2–3 tablespoons extra virgin

olive oil

2 teaspoons sugar

500ml (18fl oz) vegetable stock

400g (14oz) can full-fat

coconut milk

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C/210°C fan (450°F), Gas Mark 8.

Line a large baking tray (or 2 if you need more space) with baking

paper.

2. Put the tomatoes, garlic, onion and basil sprigs onto the tray(s).

Drizzle over the oil and season with salt, pepper and sugar. Toss

the ingredients to coat them evenly with the oil and seasoning

and roast for around 20–30 minutes until the onion is soft and

the tomatoes are sweet and tender.

3. Meanwhile, gently warm the stock and coconut milk together

in a large saucepan – one big enough to accommodate the

roasted vegetables.

4. Once the vegetables are roasted, transfer them immediately to

the warm stock and coconut milk in the pan. Blend until smooth.

Taste, adjust the seasoning if it needs it, and serve topped with

more fresh basil.

٭ This soup will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge, ready to be

reheated when needed. Don’t add the fresh basil garnish before

you ladle the hot soup into bowls, though, otherwise it will

deteriorate. Do not freeze this soup.

Parsnip, Rosemary & Olive Soup

Th is one is a personal favourite of mine. I love the combination of sweet parsnips, the green, almost resinous, taste of fresh rosemary, and salty black olives. It’s an unusual but moreish set of flavours and I find myself drawn to making this soup again and again.
S E R V E S 4 – 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 leek, trimmed and thinly

sliced

400g (14oz) parsnips, peeled

and cut into 1cm (½in)

chunks

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped

rosemary needles

850ml (1½ pints) vegetable

stock

75g (2¾oz) pitted black olives,

chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Put the oil and leek into a large, lidded saucepan over a medium

heat, season with salt and pepper and fry for around 10 minutes

until the leek starts to soften.

2. Add the parsnips, garlic and rosemary and season with a little

pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes until fragrant.

3. Add the stock, then simmer with a lid on for around 30 minutes

until the parsnips are tender.

4. Blend until smooth and stir in the olives. Taste to check the

seasoning and serve immediately.

٭ This soup will keep for up to 5 days stored in the fridge and

reheats well. It can be frozen successfully, but I recommend you

only add the olives when reheating the soup just before serving.

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I am expecting a baby soon and I am about to start a period of maternity leave.

The time has come for me to slow down, look after myself and to have a little time and space to try and prepare myself to get through the next few weeks safely and for everythin…

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There is nothing quite like some delicious nibbles to serve with drinks. It’s such a nice way to start an evening and an increasingly popular alternative to a starter for weddings and dinner parties.

Here are three suggestions I really like. They are also quite flexible to suit various dietary requirements, which can be quite helpful, especially when ser…

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This week, my intention is to share some recipes with you that I hope will be useful and enjoyable in the coming weeks. I’ve dived into my recipe archive and chosen some really lovely recipes that are tried, tested, trusted and get the thumbs up every time.

First, there’s a fantastic baked aubergine caponata that makes a brilliant vegetarian main or sid…

Read more

Whether it’s welcome for the first time or welcome back, it’s great to be writing to you today and I’d like to thank you sincerely for subscribing to my newsletter.

For those of you who are new here, I write a monthly roundup newsletter on the first Friday of the month for free subscribers and an almost weekly newsletter for my paid subscribers. It’s my place to share my best culinary recommendations and advice with readers each week. So, if you’d like to sign up for more from me, I’d be so delighted and you can do so using the below link. Thank you for your support.

As I write, the sun is shining yet again, my fruit trees are in blossom with some leaves slowly unfurling and I’ve made a start on sorting out some herbs and fruit trees in the greenhouse of the months ahead.

There has been plenty going on in March and April is set to be even busier. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve enjoyed the taste of the first of the English asparagus (Wye Valley), Jersey Royals, some surprisingly good English strawberries and lots of watercress in salads and made into sauces.

Some professional highlights included espresso judging for the Great Taste Awards, a trip to North Yorkshire for lunch at Hansom (click on the link to read).

Here on Substack, I’ve shared some of my top tips for a cleaner, greener kitchen, some plus brilliant fish recipes and a list of my top suppliers. Please do take a look at my archive of posts to find over 200 pieces I’ve written in just over three years here.

Thank you, as always, for reading, and I wish you a happy and healthy month ahead,

Charlotte

On my Easter menu

My family and I are really looking forward to spending the long weekend together this year. Flights are booked and we will spend the weekend at home together, keeping our fingers crossed for good weather so we can get out and about - hopefully to the coast.

For our main meal on Sunday, we’ll have roast hogget leg and all the trimmings, which is so delicious and actually a more appropriate choice than lamb, because the animals will have possibly been born indoors in the autumn for them to be served at Easter. Hogget will be a little older but has such a wonderful flavour - not too lamb-y for those thinking it might be - and a real treat. Try Dolwen if you’d like to order some online. I’ll make a chocolate mousse for pudding - so easy to make, it can be prepared in advance and actually quite light, too.

This year, we are all in the market for easy-to-prepare menus, so we’ll have a fish curry one night (it will suit us with one vegetarian and saves making a meat plus a vegetable curry) with some rice, a veg-based side dish and lots of poppadoms and chutneys, followed by a tropical fruit salad.

We’ll also have a Middle Eastern-inspired meal on Monday night, which works well with everyone’s preferences. I’ve chosen four dishes from the original Ottolenghi book and Honey & Smoke, which include a marinaded, grilled chicken dish which we could even throw on the Big Green Egg if the weather is favourable, a rice, quinoa and nut dish and two complementary vegetable dishes, including the Ottolenghi cauliflower fritters which are so good, which will give everyone plenty of variety without too much work. I’m going to have a go at making the famous Honey & Co cheesecake with kataifi pastry for pudding which I think will be very well received.

I also will make a few batches of some cheesy biscuits which can be cooked in under 15 minutes to serve with drinks and are always a big hit.

Whatever your plans are this weekend, I hope you’ll have a pleasant and relaxing few days.

If you’re after a recipe with a little chocolate in this weekend, then what about these lovely cookies…

Chocolate and Walnut Cookies

Makes 12

Ingredients

90g butter, softened

80g soft light brown sugar

80g caster sugar

1 large egg, beaten

220g plain flour

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

½ teaspoon Maldon sea salt

100g dark chocolate, chopped (I use 75%)

100g walnut halves

Method

Cream the butter and sugars together using an electric mixer. Beat in the egg, then the flour, bicarb and sea salt to form a stiff dough. Fold in the chocolate and nuts and bring the dough together into a ball. Note that the chocolate and nuts will break up further at this point, which is fine. Flatten the dough ball into a disc, wrap and chill for an hour in the fridge.

Just before baking, preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4. Divide the mixture into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place onto a large baking tray, covered with non-stick baking paper. Put the cookies onto the prepared tray, spread out well and flatten to about 1cm thick using a flat-bottomed glass.

Bake for 12 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool. These cookies will keep for around a week in an airtight container. Alternatively, freeze the raw dough balls and bake on demand. They will bake in around 16 minutes from frozen.

Something to read or listen to this weekend

Perhaps you might have a little more time in the coming days, so here are some really good things to read and listen to. Do give them a go:

• I always enjoy listening to the Good Food Podcast, presented by my lovely friend Sam Goldsmith. If you like that, you may also like the Table for Four podcast, also from Good Food, featuring Joanna Page and Matthew Horne, plus guests.

• Also new to the food podcast space is the Love NI Food Podcast, presented by another great friend, Shauna Magill-Fegan, an authority on the wonderful food scene in Northern Ireland which, if you know me, you know I really love. Shauna’s weekly chats with brilliant industry figures are really interesting and thoroughly enjoyable.

• I’ll be delving into my new book, The Productive Garden, by Stephanie Hafferty, which I hope will equip me for a bumper year in the veg garden. It’s her latest title and one that is bound to be enormously useful for anyone keen to grow their own fruit and veg at home.

• The Indonesian Vegetarian Table by Petty Pandean-Elliot is a fascinating read and sumptuously produced, just like its sister book, The Indonesian Table. It’s a book I’ll be savouring this week.

Some brilliant new product discoveries

• Chimi Love Chimichurri - a particularly good shop bought option

• Biddenden Ice Cider

• Mulino Murano, my favoured 00 flour brand, now sell a great gluten free flour for pizza and bread. Italian gluten free products have always been extremely good.

• The Real Cure Hargtrove Coppa

• BeanCraft micro-batch chocolate

• The Norfolk PX

• Pimhill Oats, by the sack

• St. Helen’s Goats Milk Yoghurt

Thank you so much for reading this month’s newsletter. Please feel free to share it with anyone else who might be interested to have a read. I hope to see some of you out and about this month - please do say hello if so!

I’m always up for a good lunch and Hansom has been high on my list for some time. In just over two years since opening, it’s gained much attention and praise, so when I was invited to visit for lunch with a group of my fellow food writers, I jumped at the chance and hopped on the train up north.

Ruth Hansom, Chef Patron has been one to watch for some time. Some of you may have seen her appear on Great British Menu and she was the first female winner of Young National Chef of the Year and worked for some years at The Ritz and then The Princess in Shoreditch. Born and bred near Darlington, she returned home with her husband to open her eponymous restaurant in 2024.

Yorkshire is a real gem of a county for food and I try and visit as often as I can. Hansom is in Bedale, just a short distance from the Yorkshire Dales and Northallerton railway station, where I caught the train to from King’s Cross in around two hours. All very easy, but it certainly meant that I was very much ready for lunch when we arrived.

The restaurant is quite small, simple and comfortable with an attractive fireplace and jars of homemade fruit liqueurs adding colour and interest on the windowsills. The welcome is very warm and sincere from the front of house, who looked after us in the best way; friendly, polished and professional service but in a genuine and unstuffy way.

We all ate the tasting menu with drinks pairings, but there is a shorter menu option available, if that feels a bit much. That said, I thought the quantity and balance on the tasting menu was really well judged – I really didn’t think it was excessive and was very well-designed to create a wonderfully engaging experience where each dish felt very welcome and deeply satisfying, which isn’t always the case. My menu was slightly altered due to temporary dietary restrictions and I chose a non-alcoholic drinks pairing, but it was very good to see what everyone else was having and how it differed to my own meal.

We started with a thyme sable. Mine was topped with a herbed mascarpone instead of a duck liver pâté and delicate slices of pickled plum. We were off to a good start. Next, was something I haven’t seen before but absolutely loved – a savoury bread and butter pudding, made with Curlew Wensleydale and Granny Smith apple. I loved the contrasting textures – the hot, crisp edges, the soft, warm cheese and the softness of the bread and butter pudding. It was really excellent and I would easily have eaten more than one. No wonder their regulars won’t allow Ruth to take this off the menu. Paired with the Hansom Lemon Thyme Radler, made with Radgate Brewery ale, homemade lemon thyme syrup and for me, ginger ale, it worked very well.

Next, were the excellent Parker House Rolls, a recipe originally from Massachusetts, which creates a wonderfully fresh, pillowy and slightly sweet roll with the wonderfully squidgy texture you get with very freshly baked bread. Served with a cultured and Marmite butter, this was just what I needed after a long morning of travelling. I am a sucker for fresh bread and butter in a restaurant, but this was really, really good.

We moved onto a delicious smoked leek agnolotti with a wonderfully rich, creamy and light wild mushroom sauce, topped with a cloud of Yorkshire Pecorino cheese. I loved the depth of flavour from the mushrooms and the silky, light texture of the pasta and sauce. It was paired with a very good glass of Thomson & Scott Nought Dealcoholized Sparkling Rosé.

Next, was cured Whitby Sea Trout (although mine was very lightly cooked due to dietary requirements), with Yorkshire rhubarb, blood orange, radishes and an amazingly vibrant garden herb sauce. This was an absolutely wonderful dish with such fresh, vibrant flavours and a delectable combination of textures. It was a real stand out and really wowed the group.

Our main course was another standout with a thick slice of deeply flavoursome Swaledale lamb loin, served with the first new season asparagus I’ve had this year, wild garlic and a very clever slice of mint gnocchi, filled with a layer of slow-cooked lamb which the group loved. The fresh, green and crisp Hansom Garden Basil Smash paired very nicely with the richness of the meat.

We then moved on to a two course pudding. The first was very innovative, with a crispy, cheesy base, topped with Mallorcan olive oil, a white chocolate crumb, candied pumpkin and lemon verbena, which made an interesting and satisfying transition from savoury to sweet.

We then moved onto a smooth, rich, dense chocolate delice, made with Valrhona 66% Caraïbe chocolate – a personal favourite – paired with a beetroot sorbet, hazelnuts and sorrel.

What I particularly liked about Hansom was the wonderfully skilful cooking from Ruth who is clearly a huge talent. Combining that with the unpretentious, honest and relaxed way the restaurant delivers a fine dining experience, it felt like a really special way to spend a few hours. The way seasonal ingredients are handled with such care and attention to detail is simply a pleasure to experience. Ruth makes use of a particularly special garden in Bedlade in which many of the leaves, herbs and vegetables are grown, creating a wonderful link to the restaurant alongside the many local and regional suppliers featured on the menu. You may even spot the tiny bouquet of fresh leaves tied with a chive on the lamb dish. What is even more impressive is that Ruth delivers this in the kitchen on her own. What a woman!

Please note that I visited Hansom as a guest, but please know that all opinions are entirely my own.

Photo by byMATTER MADE BETTER on Unsplash

Over the last few years, I’ve been trying out ways to reduce chemicals, toxins and pollutants in the home. I was keen to reduce the amount of landfill I produce, specifically from the kitchen and household cleaning and to try to eliminate the use of harmful chemicals and aerosolised toxins.

I am sometimes asked about the changes I have made over the last six years and below, you will find the swaps and discoveries I really rate.

Washing up

Ecologically friendly washing up liquid has been a great swap. I was reluctant, thinking it would not be as effective as Fairy, but I believe it really is. After a fortnight private cooking and doing all the washing up single handed, I was convinced to swap.

It works slightly differently to the traditional brands, but still works very effectively. I really notice how much more gentle it is to use, particularly as I have always found that Fairy wrecks the skin on my hands and nails very quickly, whereas Ecover does not damage my hands in the same way. I also like that it is non-toxic and in the summer months, I will use the grey water to put on the garden from the washing up bowl. The plants thrived and it felt like a good use of water.

I have given up plastic sponges and find a couple of good brushes (I put them in the dishwasher to clean if they’ve had a heavy scrubbing session), a copper scrubber and some loofah sponges work well and can be recycled or composted when they reach the end of their working lives.

I am working on a homemade dishwasher tablet option, but have not cracked it yet. At the moment, I use either Ecover dishwasher tablets or dishwasher soap nuts, which are available online and in health food shops. Again, I was sceptical, but they work really well, placed in the cutlery drawer or basket. As with many eco friendly options, one can often wonder if they will be effective and also the lack of smell is very noticeable, but I think these clean very thoroughly and can be composted once they’ve been used 2-3 times.

Microfibre cloths do work really well, but to reduce microplastics entering the waterways when they are washed, I am switching over to cotton. Cotton cloths work really well, but I think the tight weave cloths give a much better result. I use them for general cleaning around the house and, in many cases, just lightly dampened with some hot water for wiping down surfaces, stains and dusting.

A good tea towel is extremely useful, too, and the combination of cloths and tea towels really cuts down on the use of kitchen paper towels. I bulk buy tea towels from Samuel Lamont in Northern Ireland. Their Poli-Dri range are my favourite as they are really hard wearing, wash and dry brilliantly and work as an oven cloth if needed, too. I really think these are the best around and buy them in 20 packs for home delivery. They last for such a long time, too. And if you can’t give up kitchen paper towels, you might like to try Naked Paper.

General cleaning

A clean kitchen is crucially important to me. I have been inspected for years by the local council to be able to work from home and I am proud that I’ve always achieved a 5 Star (the highest) rating.

I have used Delphis cleaning products for a number of years and they are very effective. Ocado sell them, as do some health food shops and occasionally, some products are available in Waitrose.

I have found many recommendations from Nancy Birtwhistle absolutely invaluable. I make and use her Pure Magic and Basic Magic sprays to use for all-purpose cleaning and they work fantastically well. The Pure Magic spray is fantastic on sinks and bathrooms and the Basic Magic works very well for wiping down appliances. I bought some reusable glass spray bottles to fill with the solution and store any excess in reused Bold Bean jars. I also avoid sticky labels and have some marker pens which write directly onto glass. I now do this with preserves, too. Also, some really hot water with a dash of washing up liquid and a clean cloth works wonders. I really like that I am not spraying lots of scented chemicals around as I have become so much more sensitive to their smell since giving them up. I find this particularly noticeable in the kitchen, where fragrance can feel particularly out of place.

I won’t publish Nancy’s recipes here without permission, but they are available quite widely online and on her Instagram. They are easy to make and really work. I bulk bought citric acid and bicarb of soda online to use in larger quantities.

Cleaning the oven is always a bit of a chore, but I tried Nancy’s technique of putting a bowl of boiling water in a low oven to loosen any grease with the steam. Then rubbing bicarbonate of soda onto all the inside surfaces and this lifted grease very effectively and it felt much less harmful than the packs of oven cleaning gel I was buying. It really doesn’t take very long to do, either.

Nancy also has a trick to nestle oven shelves in a wheelbarrow of fresh grass clippings to release stuck on grease – it may sound a bit unusual, but it really works. Give the racks a good, hot, soapy wash afterwards.

Around the house, I have some great British-made brushes with bristles, feathers and wool for dusting and cleaning.

Cooking and storage

I have been busy seasoning pans recently as I try and give up non-stick. So many non-stick pans, even the really expensive ones, fail comparatively quickly, so I am determined to make the swap. I have some by Netherton Foundry, Lodge, Le Creuset Fissler and Zwillings on the go at present.

I am switching over to If You Care non-stick parchment paper for cooking instead of foil and Peace With The Wild cling film alternative is working well. It is compostable and made from PBAT and PBA.

Wherever possible, I don’t use plastic in conjunction with heat, and this applies to cooking equipment, too, such as mixing jugs and bowls, for example. I try and put warm food or liquids into glass, such as Pyrex, or ceramic for measuring and mixing and so on and when I do reheat using the microwave, I follow these principles.

I have found some good uses for beeswax covers and reusable plastic covers, but they are a bit hit and miss, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend going out to invest in some, although I do find uses for them now that I have them. If you like the idea of beeswax covers, they are surprisingly easy to make from scratch by ironing a piece of fabric, sprinkling on some beeswax pellets and baking them for a couple of minutes until the wax melts. They’re ready to use when cool.

Aside from that, I make good use from the excellent Lakeland storage boxes, which work brilliantly, stack very well in the fridge or cupboards and don’t trigger a meltdown when trying to store them or find the appropriate lid to fit as they all fit together very neatly.

Another way to reduce plastics is to use hardwood chopping boards instead of plastic. They are an investment but a real pleasure to use. I bought some lovely ones from Sacha Whelan in Ireland and David Mellor in London.

I hope you may find some of these suggestions useful. And I’d love it if you have any recommendations you have discovered that you rate? Please leave me a comment, if so.

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Whether it’s welcome for the first time or welcome back, it’s great to be writing to you today and I’d like to thank you sincerely for subscribing to my newsletter.

For those of you who are new here, I write a monthly roundup newsletter on the first Friday of the month for free subscribers and an almost weekly newsletter for my paid subscribers. It’s my place to share my best culinary recommendations and advice with readers each week. So, if you’d like to sign up for more from me, I’d be so delighted and you can do so using the below link. Thank you for your support.

As I write, the sun is shining and the spring flowers are blooming. Weather-wise, the start of March has been wonderfully uplifting.

February has been a busy month that has kept me on my toes on all fronts. I have started my awards judging for the year and have already started judging for Great Taste. I have also been working to support businesses who are preparing their entries to help them to get into the best possible position for success, which I just love. My book talks and demonstrations have started for the year, with my first event taking place at The Kitchen Table in Shaftesbury, where I had a wonderfully uplifting evening cooking soups and breads from the book and sharing them with the audience. I should have made it to Derry/Londonderry last week, but sadly didn't due to flight issues, but I hope to visit again very soon.

Here on Substack, I’ve shared some delicious, easy supper recipes, some great new cookbooks, a selection of wonderful Mexican recipes and recommendations and recommendations for great food and drink in Dorset, my home county. Please do take a look at my archive of posts to find over 200 pieces I’ve written in just over three years here.

Thank you, as always, for reading, and I wish you a happy and healthy month ahead,

Charlotte

Books and events

It was World Book Day this week, which is an important moment to appreciate the importance of books in our lives. I’m very grateful to have added another book to my name in the last year and I’d like to thank all of you who have supported me in many ways.

As always, if you’d like a signed and personalised book, perhaps as a present, please do drop me a line to organise. I have also been asked about where to buy my books from. I recommend looking at Waterstones, Blackwells, independents (who are always happy to order in) and Amazon.

I mentioned that I’ve started my book events for the year. There will be more details in due course, but you may be interested in the following dates I have lined up so far for demonstrations:

• The Big Retreat Festival, South West Wales, May

• Aldeburgh Food Festival, September

• One of my favourite spots in the North West, October (TBA)

In the kitchen

This month, I’ve been focussing on cooking simple recipes that are quick to prepare. We have been very busy and have more home renovations on the go at the moment, so time has been in short supply.

As I mentioned, I’ve shared some of the simple supper recipes I've been making recently. We’ve had plenty of squash, kale, mushrooms alongside purple sprouting broccoli, watercress and citrus fruits, which are all in season at the moment. New discoveries include the wonderful Cacklebean eggs, unbelievably good spices from Food of the Gods, amazing bread and crackers from RÅG Nordic Bakery, MOMO rhubarb kombucha and, good news, the utterly exceptional Woodcock Smokery cold smoked Irish Wild Atlantic salmon is available to order again from Neal’s Yard Dairy. Genuinely, there is nothing quite like it. Phone to place an order as supplies are very limited.

In the garden

It’s definitely time to start to bring the garden to life for the year and some seed ordering and sowing is top of my list of things to do at the weekend.

Seeing the spring flowers and blossom on the trees bursting into life is very motivating to get ahead in for the coming months outdoors.

We have a little clearing to do across the veg beds and should have some nice compost to mulch them with before planting. We have four large daleks on rotation (similar to these) which work well with the amount of grass cuttings and veg peelings we produce and then compost. I really recommend these to anyone thinking about composting at home, especially in a more urban setting as they are a very neat, practical and quick method producing great results.

We will start to sow our seeds in trays and keep them in the greenhouse before planting them out. Always on the list are a curly kale and cavolo nero, runner beans, courgettes, beetroot and some nice mixed salad leaves, but no doubt I’ll try a few weird and wonderful new additions too once we get going.

Learning to cook

Many of you have asked if I will be running any more cookery classes in the coming months. Sadly, the cookery schools I worked with are no longer in business, so I am currently running a very small number of one-to-one cooking classes either at home or for businesses. Please get in touch if you’d like to organise a class.

I am often asked if I can recommend classes for teenagers and I wholeheartedly recommend Lorna Wing’s exceptional Duke of Edinburgh Online Courses. Lorna’s courses are really well organised, cover a range of interests and tastes and really do offer the opportunity to learn from a true expert.

Further reading

Whilst you’re here, I thought you might like to read some of the Substack accounts that light up my inbox. Do give them a go:

• Angela Clutton & The Kitchen Bookshelf

• Gorse by Ciara Ó hArtghaile

• Irina Georgescu

• Tales from the Veg Patch by Kathy Slack

• Joyous Things by Karen Barnes

• Taste, Test, Repeat by Good Food, written by Lulu Grimes

I have also enjoyed these books this month:

• Ramadan Express by Lina Saad

• Planting for Honeybees by Sarah Wyndham Lewis

• In Good Taste by Mallika Basu

Thank you so much for reading this month’s newsletter. Please feel free to share it with anyone else who might be interested to have a read. I hope to see some of you out and about this month - please do say hello if so!

One of my favourite spots, near Heaven’s Gate

Dorset is my home county and I still spend a lot of time there. I think Spring and Summer are the best times to plan a visit as so many of the best sights the country has to offer are outdoors.

I am regularly asked for my food and drink recommendations and I’m very pleased to share a selection with you here. They are mostly for shopping as I don’t have that many places I recommend to eat out. Please leave me a comment if there is anywhere you like that I should know about.

Bakeries

Orchard Bay Bakery in Cranborne make some excellent loaves. Their sourdough is extremely good and they have a number of small independent stockists throughout the county. If you’re in the area, they make pizzas on Fridays - telephone to order one.

Le Petit Prince Bakery is one we use a lot as they have three branches in Westbourne, Wimborne and Ferndown, which are very convenient for us. Their bread and baked goods are great, as are their generous filled rolls and their coffee is usually very nice, too. They use Extract beans from Bristol.

M’s Bakery in Pokesdown is a great find. It’s family owned (I believe the owners are from Hungary and there are often Eastern European bakes available). They are a true small craft bakery with a rotating menu and make their goods using traditional techniques and quality ingredients. Portion sizes are extremely generous, too, particularly with the pastries, which are huge.

In a similar vein, you may well have heard about the award-winning Dorset Pastry - a long-established producer of high quality ready-to-use pastries. They produce a genuine all butter pastry and are the only Organic pastry producer in the U.K.. Orders can be placed online.

Dairy

We are fortunate to have a number of brilliant dairy producers in the county. Several farms have milk vending machines, so bring a bottle if you’re visiting (I usually keep a clean 1 litre glass bottle in the car for this purpose).

Dorset Dairy Co. produce an amazing Greek Yoghurt that won the top 3 star award at Great Taste. They also produce cream, butter and a wonderful milk kefir, alongside flavoured yoghurts and kefir. I think they’re an excellent company and you can order from them online and find their produce in a wide range of local shops.

Longman’s salted butter is one of my favourites with just the right amount of salt and creaminess.

There are some brilliant cheese producers within the county. I particularly like Open Air Dairy’s delicious Cheddar and Book and Bucket in Cranborne produce some excellent cheeses and pop up at quite a few farmers markets across the county.

Meggy Moo’s milk, cream and milkshakes are great and quite widely available.

Madjeston’s milk station and café are worth a visit if you are near Gillingham.

Forte’s Gelateria in Swanage is the real deal for an ice cream.

Fish

Portland Shellfish is, I think, the best place for shellfish and seafood. They have an online shop.

Sea Sisters have a brilliant cannery in West Dorset and produce some gorgeous tinned fish products with some interesting collaborations, too. Again, they have an online shop.

Many people visit the coast and fancy fish and chips. My favourite by far is Chez Fred in Westbourne.

I used to visit Rockfish quite often to eat fresh fish, which they do very well, but I had a very poor experience on my last visit and haven’t felt tempted back since, although I know it’s popular.

If smoked fish appeals, try Chesil Smokery. They produce a lovely range of products and their cold smoked salmon and hot smoked mackerel are excellent.

Meat

There are plenty of great butchers in the county and many offer an online service.

I really like Jurassic Coast Farm Shop which sells some particularly good beef and pork from nearby Fossil Farm. There is a farm shop and they have an online shop, too.

The Real Cure produce some excellent charcuterie and have won top awards across their range.

Fresh produce

We are fortunate to have a number of good greengrocers, still. My local, Minster Greens, is very good for seasonal fruit and vegetables and local watercress.

Gold Hill Organic is a great spot for lovely fresh vegetables all year round.

The Watercress Company grows watercress in Dorset and Hampshire, so you can often find lovely fresh bunches for sale. I love it.

Storecupboard ingredients

Spill the Beans is a wonderful health food shop established back in 1976 and was Dorset’s first health food shop and refill shop. I have memories of visiting from childhood to buy loose spices, dried fruits for baking and organic cereals, such as their homemade muesli blend. They’re still selling all of these things, plus loads of lovely ingredients from all around the world, local eggs and organic toiletries and health supplements. They are brilliant.

Purbeck Wholefoods in Wareham is also good, as is Country Foods in Swanage, where I always find lots of lovely things to buy.

Olives et al are a well-established local business producing some really great olives, dips, sauces and marinades. You can visit their place near Sturminster Newton or find their goods online and in many shops.

Drinks

We are spoilt for choice for drinks. Many breweries and cider producers have a shop or a visitor experience, so do check these out.

Purbeck Cider is great, Cider by Rosie is well-regarded and there are loads of breweries to visit, such as Hall & Woodhouse and Palmers. Lyme Bay Winery produces English wines, mead, fruit wines and liqueurs. Langham Estate grows and produces sparkling wine near Dorchester.

Dorset Ginger Company produces some lovely soft drinks and you’ll find loads of juice producers throughout the county.

You’ll also find so many pubs across the county, many with great gardens and fantastic views. Three very popular options we would consider to take visitors to are the Square & Compass in Worth Matravers for its unique setting, real ales and pies (this is the only food they serve), The Bankes Arms in Studland for the wonderful coastal views from the garden (and the novelty of taking the chain ferry there and back) and The Scott Arms in Kingston again for sensational views. You can drive (although the car park does get very full as it’s popular), but we like to walk from Corfe over Corfe Common, which isn’t that far and can be combined with some lovely longer walks out to Hans Tout and Chapman’s Pool and back.

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A few snaps from our Mexican feasts at home

Every few weeks, I make us a Mexican-inspired feast. I have one planned for this evening and as I have our potential menu swirling around in my mind, I thought I’d share some of my favourite recipes with you today.

Unfortunately, Mexican food is so often misunderstood and if you’ve not discovered just how wonde…

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First is The Irish Kitchen by Cherie Denham and Andrew Montgomery. This is the follow-up book to their excellent debut book The Irish Bakery. It’s every bit as beautifully produced and photographed as its sister book and contains a lovely selection of nostalgic but delicious and reliable recipes. The Potato and Apple Bread, Blackberry, Pear and Whiskey Cake and Boxty have all been standout recipes so far.

This book has deep appeal for anyone who loves all things Irish and is so beautifully produced, it would make a really fantastic present (there is also a lovely box set available, which contains both books).

Beans by Ali Honour is a really interesting new bean-based cookbook, designed to help home cooks bring out the best in beans at home. The recipes are inventive and offer a really wide range of sweet and savoury dishes that may likely use beans in ways you’ve not tried before. Ali describes herself as a climate-conscious chef with a focus on eating better for the health of humans and the planet. She finds beans particularly special as a sustainable food source which offers endless possibilities for interesting and creative dishes.

This is a concise but quite unique book that might really please anyone who currently enjoys or is interested in learning more about how to incorporate more beans into their life.

Jeremy Pang’s Chinese Kitchen is a great new cookery book from Jeremy Pang, the man behind School of Wok, the cookery school and cookware brand. Jeremy is a talented teacher and this really comes through in his writing. This is a really detailed book with loads of information on equipment, techniques alongside an enticing selection to recipes, organised by cooking technique, including stir-frying and poaching. The selection of recipes is well-judged and contains an interesting and wide-ranging selection of traditional dishes that are pretty straightforward to recreate at home without too many obscure ingredients to get hold of. Whenever I eat Chinese food, I am reminded that it is really delicious and I should eat it more than once in a blue moon, and this book has really encouraged me to explore Chinese food in greater detail.

Ultimate Comfort Food from The Slimming Foodie, Pip Payne, is a great new book for busy families at this time of year. Pip’s recipes are familiar and very straightforward to make and are designed to please a crowd. They are designed to be satisfying whilst keeping the calories limited and using everyday ingredients and no special equipment. This is a widely available book that’s currently sold for a very accessible price - around £12 - which I think could make it a very valuable resource for many families around the country.

Finally, I’d like to share The Heart-Shaped Tin with you, by Bee Wilson, which won the André Simon Award this week. It’s deeply moving, poignant and beautifully written and tells Bee’s extraordinarily personal tale and those of others with searing honesty. This is a book that is thoughtful and fascinating and really worth taking a look at.

Happy reading and wishing you a great weekend.

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Images used with thanks to Unsplash

Last week, I promised I’d share some recipes we’ve all been enjoying in recent weeks. They’re all very simple, straightforward suppers that have been very well-received and I’ve been making them on repeat. Some of you have told me you enjoy ideas for easy suppers, so I hope these recipes might fit the bill. Please do l…

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For those of you who are new here, I write a monthly roundup newsletter on the first Friday of the month for free subscribers and an almost weekly newsletter for my paid subscribers. It’s my place to share my best culinary recommendations, seasonal recipes and advice with readers each week. So, if you’d like to sign up for more from me, I’d be so delighted and you can do so using the below link. Thank you for your support.

It’s so nice to be writing to you all again today and I hope the last few weeks have gone well for you.

The start of the year has flown by. I always really enjoy January, which feels like an unpopular opinion, but I really enjoy getting stuck into the new year and everything it offers. I’ve been busy cooking (at home and for private clients), tasting products and advising businesses on NPD and enjoying hunkering down having a good sort out and organise at home. Our local charity shops have done very well from a comprehensive wardrobe clearcut in recent weeks and I’ve discovered Vinted to sell some of the more special items. I’m hearing more and more people are using Vinted to buy second-hand cookery books, too. I’d have a look, but I need to keep my ever-expanding collection under control, so I am steering clear for now.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed cooking with some of the lovely ingredients that are in season at the moment, including amazing citrus fruits, forced rhubarb and I can’t get enough pomegranate at the moment. I’ll be sharing some of the recipes I’ve been making on repeat in recent weeks in next week’s newsletter, so stay tuned to that.

I have some marmalade making planned for next week. I know some of you have been struggling to get hold of Seville oranges. I recommend trying to get those grown by Gospa, which are sold online by Abel & Cole. I always ask the retailer and supplier whose oranges they are (and don’t buy them if they can’t tell me). Unscrupulous suppliers may sell some of the vast stocks of street oranges that are sold wholesale cheaply. They are often polluted and have a poor flavour and texture, so it really is worth knowing exactly what you are buying and where it has come from. If you haven’t already, please do take a look at my last newsletter for my marmalade making tips and recommendations.

We had a wild week of weather in Dorset last week. It’s been absolutely awful for so many towns and villages nearby who have been very badly flooded. Sadly, due to road closures and floods, I wasn’t able to get to my Soup Solution demo at The Kitchen Table in Shaftesbury last week, but we have rescheduled for Monday 23rd February, so I hope to see some of you there. Tickets are available through The Kitchen Table directly.

This week has involved some time spent learning and brushing up my tasting skills before I start judging again this year. I attended an absolutely brilliant talk on spices by Eleanor Ford at the Guild of Fine Food. I strongly recommend her excellent books, The Nutmeg Trail and A Whisper of Cardamom. I have also discovered Spice Mountain, a useful source of spices for home delivery. Having recently had a good clear out, may I suggest you consider checking your reserves, too? Spices, particularly in ground form, deteriorate extremely quickly and it really is worth a refresh if you have not done so recently. It’s always best to buy spices regularly in small quantities for maximum freshness and to buy from a trusted, high quality and high turnover retailer. Many cheap spices can have their essential oils extracted and will therefore have lost so much of their aroma and flavour before they even make it to you, so knowing your supplier is very worthwhile.

Thank you so much to everyone who’s supported me in one way or another this month. Your messages, book purchases and book reviews are all enormously appreciated. I have a small number of copies of books here, so if you would like a signed and dedicated book, please let me know and we can organise it.

Thank you, as always, for reading, and I wish you a happy and healthy month ahead,

Charlotte

Photo by Jeremy Yap on Unsplash

Hello again and a belated Happy New Year to you all. Its’s good to be back here and I hope you have all had a pleasant few weeks since my last newsletter.

As you know, I took a break in December and we disappeared for some last-minute winter sunshine which was a huge treat. We arrived back just in time for Christmas with decorations put up and the family assembled and it was time for me to put my apron back on again. I rather enjoyed missing most of the build up before Christmas, although the Caribbean islands (we visited 10) were not short of decorated trees, carols and shop displays, even an ice rink in the British Virgin Islands! But somehow it all feels rather different in a hot climate.

We had roast rib of beef on our Christmas table from Jurassic Coast Farm Shop, one of my recommended suppliers and it was great. I’d love to know if you tried any of the companies I recommended and what you thought? It’s always great to hear how you get on.

Now that January is in full swing, I have been making the very most of all the wonderful citrus fruits that are in season. My favourite, Crowd Farming, has some absolutely wonderful products for sale, including pink grapefruits (why are they so hard to find now?!), blood oranges, kumquats and mandarins. They also have Spanish avocados and guava. I always like to have some guava when I’m in the Caribbean as it’s so delicious and so hard to find back home. I’m placing an order this weekend.

I’ll be making marmalade again soon and those of you who have followed me for a while know just how much I respect Vivien Lloyd when it comes to all things preserving. Her recipes are just brilliant and she has just launched her brilliant new website, The Marmalade Manual, which is a brilliant resource for troubleshooting, expert advice and over 30 recipes, which I can confirm yield fantastic results. Even though I have her books, the recipes on the website are new and different and there are some great ideas to try. Membership is £4.99 for 6 month’s access to the site - a bargain.

Yorkshire forced rhubarb is now in season and I absolutely love it. Lots of independent greengrocers sell it and Waitrose usually does, too, but I have started to buy it in bulk online to make jams, chutneys and compotes. It’s one of those special short-season products that I really want to make the most of.

Another ingredient I can’t get enough of is kale, which is really great at the moment. Sadly, we don’t have any left in the garden, but it’s plentiful and cheap in the shops. I love using it in salads, such as this, as well as cooked as a side and a shredded handful thrown into a soup just before serving.

It’s certainly been soup weather here with the particularly cold start to the year. I am looking forward to demonstrating recipes from The Soup Solution (with tasters, of course) at the brilliant shop The Kitchen Table in Shaftesbury, Dorset on 27th January. This will be a ticketed event, with tickets for sale from The Kitchen Table directly. Even if you’re not based locally, they have a really great online cookbook gifting service which is a great option for present shopping.

Continuing on the Dorset theme, I have been finding it really tricky to get hold of good shellfish recently. I’ve tried so many suppliers and felt very underwhelmed with the freshness and flavour. Portland Shellfish sometimes comes to our local farmers markets in Dorset, but their online shop has been really useful and I really recommend it. Sea Sisters, also Dorset-based, can and sell some excellent tinned fish, which I’ve found really addictive. It’s a great standby for a quick and healthy meal.

Finally, I’m not the greatest fan of dry January as a concept, but so many people I know - and me - are not drinking much at the moment, if anything at all. I don’t really like many non-alcoholic drinks, finding many too sweet, but recent finds include REAL Sec 0% is quite good, as is Ens-Zwei-Zero Sparkling Riesling and Wednesday’s Domaine Alcohol Free Vignette, served cool.

Thank you so much for reading and sticking with me whilst I had a much-needed break. I’ll look forward to writing again very soon. In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend.

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Many of them will be useful for festive eating, but in fact, might be useful at other times of the year, too. I’ve really enjoyed testing these recipes and I hope you may feel inspired to give them a go.

First up is a …

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Pepys Cottage Garden Wreath

You may have read my December newsletter earlier. I have decided this year to send you my festive recommendations early in the month, so that they are potentially more useful to you, with more time to make plans. So, I hope you will understand why I am sending a number of emails in quicker succession than usual.

In preparation …

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For those of you who are new here - and there are several each month - I write a monthly roundup newsletter on the first Friday of the month for free subscribers and an almost weekly newsletter for my paid subscribers. It’s my place to share my best culinary recommendations, seasonal recipes and advice with readers each week. So, if you’d like to sign up for more from me, I’d be so delighted and you can do so using the below link. Thank you for your support.

I won’t take up too much of your time this month as I feel sure many of you will be finding this a very busy time of year. I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling a little daunted when I look at my to-do list.

The last month has just flown by and I can’t believe we are properly into December now. A highlight of last month was a trip to Dublin for the Irish Food Writing Awards, which I judged again this year. It was such a brilliant night celebrating so much wonderful work in food and drink writing in Ireland and I urge you to have a look at the shortlisted work as there is some brilliant stuff to read and listen to. As ever, Dublin was gorgeous (as was staying in The Merrion - heaven!) and the evening got off to a lively start in town, as it happened to be the night Ireland beat Portugal at home in the European football.

Other than that, I put my professional apron back for a few days on to support the memorial for a much-admired longstanding client of mine who is very, very sadly no longer with us. It is always a privilege to cook for people, but there is something significant about supporting people in their grief through providing sustaining food. I’ve decided to take on a little more cooking again, so if you know someone looking for a chef, please do bear me in mind.

In the coming days, I’ll be taking a holiday, so this will be the last time you will hear from me until the new year. Paid subscribers will receive some festive posts and I will send them out quite early this year, so that they will potentially be of use before it’s too late. If you’d like to subscribe and receive more regular content, I’d love you to join me.

Thank you so much to everyone who’s supported me in one way or another this year. Your kind and uplifting messages, book purchases and book reviews are all enormously appreciated.

Thank you, as always, for reading, and I wish you a happy and healthy month ahead,

Charlotte

Seven Kitchens by Torie True is a really exciting new release - Torie’s second book. The book’s strapline: ‘ A journey through India’s culinary heritage’ hints at what’s inside. It is a fascinating exploration of the influences and food cultures across India through seven different communities, which include Goan Portuguese, Mughal, Anglo-Indian, Indo-Chinese, Parsi, Syrian Christian and Tibetan-Nepalese. Torie has been travelling across India for the last 20 years and indeed her husband has family who are based in Kolkata. The recipes are interesting, inviting and very well-researched, and the tales are fascinating and enticing. I attended the London book launch last week and can confirm how delicious the recipes I tried from the book are. A lovely book that’s full of interesting recipes to try that are also really manageable to make at home.

Winter in Tuscany by Amber Guinness is an utterly gorgeous new book from Amber, author of three beautiful Italian cookery books. If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you’ll know that I visit Italy quite often and have spent quite a bit of time cooking for clients out there. What I love here is the autumn and winter focus in this book. I hadn’t really thought about how summery many Italian recipe books are before, probably because I associate Italy with sunshine, but this is so brilliant and the recipes are wonderful and also are ones that I really want to cook through the winter months here, especially as the ingredients are mostly very readily available. The book is a great read for anyone who loves Tuscany - I certainly do - and there is lots to learn inside for anyone who would like to learn more about Tuscan food culture. It’s beautifully presented and absolutely gorgeous to look at and touch, making it a really special gift, for oneself or a friend.

No Worries, Just Chicken Curries by Suki Pantal is a delightful book for anyone who loves a chicken curry. This book really impressed me as it’s absolutely packed with so many seriously enticing chicken curry recipes, plus fascinating background on the origins of each recipe. Not only are there 70 chicken curry recipes, but there are so many additional recipes in there too for vegetarian curries, sides, accompaniments, sauces and more. There is so much information and so many recipes within that are unfamiliar and I’ve really learnt an awful lot from this book already. Suki is a deeply knowledgeable authority on Indian cooking - she lived there until she was 36 and has travelled extensively and this all comes through in the richness and depth of information in this excellent book. I know I’ll be using it an awful lot at home.

Messy is the excellent new book from Aoife McElwain, a cook, food stylist and event planner based in Connemara. It’s also the latest in the brilliant Blasta Books series of genius independent cookbooks produced in Ireland (and available across the U.K. as well). This is a book to guide those who perhaps struggle to organise themselves in the kitchen to achieving culinary success. It’s described as being for ‘distracted bakers’ and ‘forgetful fermenters’, but what it does so well is offering really useful coaching tips to help harness the joy of cooking and produce results you’re proud of. I certainly know a few people in my life who love cooking, but find some of the practical elements challenging and this is the book I’d recommend to them and anyone feeling similar. It’s really great and is a fun and encouraging read, too.

The Japanese Pantry by Emiko Davies is a beautiful new book focussed on Japanese how cooking. Emiko has produced a beautifully written, fascinating book that is so approachable and absolutely packed full of information I didn’t realised I needed to know. This really is a book to settle down and enjoy reading as there is so much information within to take on board. The recipes look hugely enticing and are designed to be achievable at home. You may likely need to buy some if the ingredients from a specialist retailer or online, but all are quite widely available for home delivery. I’d recommend this book strongly for anyone keen to make Japanese food and home and I’m planning on giving a copy to some people I know who are just back from Japan and loved their trip there.

Share Into the Kitchen with Charlotte Pike

For those of you who are new here, I write a monthly roundup newsletter on the first Friday of the month for free subscribers and an almost weekly newsletter for my paid subscribers. It’s my place to share my best culinary recommendations, seasonal recipes and advice with readers each week. So, if you’d like to sign up for more from me, I’d be so delighted and you can do so using the below link. Thank you for your support.

It feels like it’s been longer than a month since I last wrote as such a lot has happened.

I started the month with a fantastic trip to Parma. If you haven’t been, it’s such a lovely city and the ideal size for a weekend break. As you might expect, there is some truly excellent food and drink to be found. I have written about it here, plus my visit to a Parmigiano Reggiano factory, which is, of course, one of the great products of the region and one of the most delicious and useful ingredients to have to hand in the kitchen. I have been very fortunate to have had a number of opportunities to spend time in Italy this year.

Not only have I written these two pieces in the last month, paid subscribers will have received a selection of seasonal recipes each week. Please do have a look at the archive if you’d like to have a read.

Next on my schedule was the Isle of Wight Literary Festival in Cowes to demonstrate recipes from The Soup Solution. I haven’t been to the Isle of Wight for several years and was a brilliant weekend. Us speakers were treated to a wonderful dinner at the amazing Castle at the Royal Yacht Squadron on the first night, which was very special indeed. I was so pleased to meet Lady Anne Glenconner, who told me how much she loves soup! I have enjoyed reading her brilliant books on our holidays around the Caribbean over the years. I am now reading my (signed!) copy of her new book The Picnic Papers.

My cookery demonstration the following day was hosted by lovely Gioia Minghella (ice cream maker extraordinaire, amongst many talents) and it was such a fun way to spend an hour. We were supported by some talented students from the local catering college who did a brilliant job with my mise en place.

Whilst on the island, we sadly didn’t manage to make it to The Terrace in Ventnor, run by Tom and Ashley Fahey - very much on my list for next time - but we did manage to get to Harvey Brown’s farm shop and restaurant, which was very good indeed and I recommend a visit very highly.

Next on my itinerary was Dartmouth for their fantastic food festival. I demonstrated from The Soup Solution again and was joined by my friend Andy Clarke who paired some great wines with the recipes. I also joined a panel talk in the Food Matters Stage, with my wonderful colleagues Orlando Murrin, Felicity Cloake and Letitia Clark. I have known and worked with Orlando and Felicity for a number of years and so it was a pleasure to do an event together like this because it’s always worth listening to what they have to say. Letitia was a great help to me when I planned my trip to Sardinia over the summer and indeed, I cooked from her wonderful Sardinian cookbook Bitter Honey whilst I was on the island. All three authors have written a number of terrific books each, so please do have a look at their back catalogues!

The food at Dartmouth is always excellent and we feasted on fresh crab, crayfish and fantastic fresh fish from Rockfish. Wild Artichokes is another local favourite restaurant, if you’re in the area. We walked some of the amazing coastline, watched seals and even had a dip in the sea - heaven.

On Sunday, I was thrilled that the You Magazine’s (in the Mail on Sunday) pull-out recipe feature was dedicated to The Soup Solution.

Next stop on my travels is a trip to Dublin for the Irish Food Writing Awards, which I’ve judged again this year.

Thank you so much to everyone who’s supported me in one way or another this month. Your messages, book purchases and book reviews are all enormously appreciated. I have a small number of copies of books here, so if you would like a signed and dedicated book, please let me know and we can organise it.

Thank you, as always, for reading, and I wish you a happy and healthy month ahead,

Charlotte