Toss them into a large pot and add the chicken stock.

Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and let bubble gently for about 40 minutes or until the carrots are tender.

Mix the carrots with a stick blender, add the juice of the 2 limes, the cream and mix again. Toss the pressed half limes into the soup, stir, and allow them to infuse for 5 minutes.

Take the limes out, stir well and season to taste. Serve with freshly chopped coriander, grated cheese and croutons.

After 5 minutes, add the honey, curry and coriander seeds and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.

Add the stock and cream, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until the artichokes are tender.

Correct the seasoning with a bit of pepper (you should not need to add salt since the stock is already salty) and blitz into a smooth velouté. I personally like to leave a few pieces in it to add texture.

Serve with freshly grated or shaved parmesan and a sprinkle of paprika for a bit of colour.

Add the onion and sauté over gentle heat, stirring occasionally, until translucent (4-5 min).

Add the pumpkin, apple and sugar, mix and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sugar melts.

Add the curry, orange zest, and 3/4 of the chicken stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until pumpkin is tender.

Purée the soup until smooth and add some of the orange juice to taste (my children have a fine balance here, the soup must be orangy but not too much, so I keep the juice to adjust at the end) and the remaining stock until you reach the desired consistency. Stir the cream in if using (I usually don’t).

Serve topped with crumbed roasted chestnuts or roasted pumpkin seeds, and feta or parmesan cheese.

Gently rinse the mushrooms under running water.

Melt over medium heat the butter in the oil in a large frying pan with tall sides.

Add the garlic, sauté for about 30 sec until flagrant (make sure the garlic does not brown otherwise it will taste bitter), and toss the mushrooms into the pan with the lemon juice, coriander and cumin. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

While the mushrooms are cooking, crumble a cube of chicken stock into the milk topped up with an equal volume of water and heat up the mixture over low heat.

Add 100g crumbled stilton and the milk and water mixture to the mushrooms, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl and blitz with a hand mixer. Add pepper to taste. You should not need to add salt (or only a little) since the soup already contains salted stilton and stock.

Stir in 2 tablespoons of cream and serve in each plate with 1 teaspoon of onion confit and a bit of crumbled stilton on top. Alternatively, you can spread the confit on toasted bread.

Meanwhile, cook the onion in a saucepan with a little of the stock until the onion has softened and the stock has evaporated; this will take about 15 minutes.

Remove the peppers and tomatoes from the oven and toss them into a bag – paper or a plastic freezing bag will do. Close it tightly and leave until the vegetables are cool enough to handle (about 8-10 minutes). The steam produced by the vegetables inside the bag will loosen their skin, making the peeling easy. Peel both peppers and tomatoes, keeping as much juice as you can.

Toss the lot into the pan with the onion and the peeled roasted garlic. Add the remaining stock and seasoning, bring to the boil and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Liquidise and taste for seasoning, add a few drops of tabasco if you want to give the soup a bit of bite.

Serve hot or chilled (best in my view) with plenty of torn fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil, fresh goat’s cheese and croutons.

Crush lightly the garlic clove with the flat of a knife to help it release its juices and peel it.

Toss into the pan all the ingredients, add 1/2 litre water and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat to a slow bubbling and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Whiz smooth with a blender and season to taste.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and toasted bread.

Bring about 1.5 liter water to the boil in a kettle.

Peel, wash and halve the potatoes. Slice each half into 2 mm slices (thin slices cook faster) and toss into the pan with the onions. Pour the boiling water over them and simmer, uncovered and bubbling gently, for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop and discard 1 inch off the root ends of the asparagus. Peel the bottom half of each stalk and chop coarsely. Keep 6 tips (cut to 6-7 cm length) on the side for garnish. This should have taken you halfway into the potato simmering time, toss the asparagus into the soup and simmer 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile, tear the ham into coarse strips and slice the asparagus tips finely, leaving the ends whole. Mix the asparagus, ham and parmesan into a salad and set aside.

Season the soup with salt and pepper and whiz thoroughly with a hand blender. Stir the cream into the soup and cook for a couple more minutes. Adjust the seasoning and serve into soup bowls with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and some asparagus, parmesan and ham salad prettily arranged at the centre of each bowl.

Prepare the pesto: blitz all ingredients in a blender until obtaining a homogenous yet grainy texture; reserve.

Chop the roots and leaves off the radishes, keeping a few mms green stems on the radishes. Discard the roots and keep the leaves. Wash both radishes and leaves separately and reserve.

Steam the radishes for 10 minutes, adding the fine beans to the steamer half way through.

Meanwhile, sauté the onions gently in hot olive oil in the frying pan. When translucent, add the vegetable broth. Bring to the boil and add the pasta. Simmer for 2 minutes, then toss the peas into the soup. Simmer two more minutes and add the mangetout and radish leaves. Simmer one last minute and take off the heat. Mix in gently the radishes and beans and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Serve the soup with a dollop of pesto in each bowl.

This part can be done 2 to 3 hours ahead if needed

Start by washing the mussels. Rinse them under running water and scrub their shell with a metal scourer or a small knife, removing the white marks and barnacles if there are any, and tugging off the little “beards” on the side when these are sticking out. Cultivated mussels are sold with very clean shells so they only need quick rinsing. If your mussels appear to be sandy, soak them for 4-5 minutes in fresh water with a pinch of coarse salt and a dash of milk, this will help them expel their sand. Rinse well under running water afterward. Do not let the mussels sit in water for too long otherwise they will lose some of their taste.

Discard any mussels that present either of the following: (1) shells are open AND do not close when you tap them; (2) shell is cracked; (3) mussel is unusually heavy, meaning it is probably full of sand.

Put the shallots, wine, bay leaves and thyme in a large stainless-steel saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the mussels, raise the heat to high, cover the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pot occasionally until all the mussels have opened. Pour the mussels into a colander over a bowl to catch the liquid from the pan. Let the mussels cool down and reserve. Leave the liquid in the bowl to rest for a few minutes and pour slowly into another recipient to leave any remaining sand at the bottom of the bowl. If the liquid is still sandy, filter through a very fine sieve.

If you have 2 hours to go before serving time, keep the mussels in their shell under a wet (but not soaking) teatowel. My fishmonger told me cooked mussels could be kept at 19-20 degrees for a couple of hours that way, but I didn’t risk it, I kept mine outside (temperature was 11 degrees). Avoid the fridge if you can, it may harden the mussels.

Wash the saucepan. Over low heat, melt the butter, add the saffron, fennel and salt and stew for 8 minutes, until it is softened. Add the strained mussel liquid, the water and cream and mix. Reserve in the fridge or in a cool place if not serving immediately.

Just before serving (4 minutes reheating work only, and absolutely NO stress!)

Bring the cream and fennel mixture to just under the boil. Add the chopped spinach and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the mussels. mix delicately and simmer for 2 minutes more. Generously pepper the soup and serve.

Chop fresh herbs (for instance coriander, parsley, or thyme) and mix with some single cream. The mix must be really herby, my ratio is usually 100ml cream for a small bunch of coriander.

Pour the cream into the cavities of an ice cube tray and place it in the freezer.

Prepare the soup

Bring 1 l water to the boil.

Wash the watercress, chop off and discard the larger stems. Chop the shallot.

Peel the potatoes and slice them as finely as you can (the thinner the faster they will cook).

Melt half the butter in a large non stick pan with tall sides. When it starts foaming, add the shallots and potatoes and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on medium low heat. Add the boiling water, 1/2 stock cube, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Melt the remaining butter in another pan. Add the watercress and sauté for  2-3 minutes, stirring regularly until the watercress leaves are just wilted.

Pour the watercress into the potato stock when it is ready, add 2 to 3 fresh pepper grindings, a bit of salt and whizz the soup using a stand or hand blender. Adjust the seasoning, add a bit of boiling water if needed and serve immediately with an iced cream cube in each bowl, and grated emental cheese and croutons on the side.