Preheat the oven to 150C.

Chop the onion, carrots, leek, celery and garlic. No need to cut them too finely as they will only be used to flavour the meat and the sauce.

Prepare the pigs’ cheeks by lightly flouring them. Heat a frying pan with a bit of olive oil. When hot but not steaming, add the meat and fry for about 5 minutes or until just coloured. Transfer the cheeks to a flameproof casserole dish.

To your frying pan, add all the chopped vegetables and garlic, bay leaves, star anise and a good sprinkling of ground pepper) and cook slowly until the greens are soft and golden, for about 8-10 minutes. Toss the vegetables over the pig cheeks and add the cider, vinegar and stock.

Bring the casserole to the boil on the stovetop then cover with a lid and transfer to the hot oven. Braise for between 60-90 minutes or until the cheeks are meltingly tender.

Remove the casserole from the oven, lift out the pig’s cheeks and set aside.

Strain the cooking liquor into a saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce its volume by 1/3 (7-8 mins).

Whisk the butter into the sauce and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Reduce the heat and add the pig’s cheeks, heat through gently before serving.

Prepare the pea puree

Blanch the peas in gently boiling salted water for about 2 minutes then put in a blender. Add 1 tablespoon of cream and the butter, and blitz until smooth

Slowly, stir in a splash of wine and the remaining cream if needed. You want the puree to be quite thick so only add these if you think the consistency will take it. (for reference, on the picture my puree is too runny but I could not correct it as I was out of peas!)

Season and adjust as required.

Serve the pigs cheeks with the puree and the sauce. For the posh factor, you can also add simple salad of fresh peas and pea shoots. (for the picture I used a mix of baby watercress and rocket salad).

Bring another litre of water to the boil with the sugar, vanilla extract (or a vanilla bean slit lengthwise, grains scraped off into the water), star anise and mixed spice. Don’t be tempted to re-use the water in which you parboiled the peaches as it will have been contaminated with pesticides.

Plunge the peeled peach halves into the lightly bubbling syrup and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and leave to cool.

While the peaches are cooking, save the 12 best looking raspberries for garnish. mash the remaining raspberries with the back of a fork with the icing sugar and a squirt of lemon juice.

Using an electric mixer, whip the cream into a silky crème Chantilly. The top tips for achieving the perfect Chantilly are: 1. make sure the cream, bowl and whisk are all very cold. I place the whisk and cream in the freezer 20 min beforehand. 2. beat the cream at low speed first, moving in stages to high speed, and wait until the cream starts bubbling before adding the sugar (slowly) and vanilla extract. 3. stop once the whisk leaves well defined marks in the cream. Dip a spoon in it and turn it upside down. If the cream peak on the spoon stays up, it is ready. If not, give it another whisking. The Chantilly should only take 2-3 minutes to make. Don’t overbeat otherwise you will reach the consistency of butter.

Just before serving:

Pour some raspberry coulis in martini or wide glasses, place a good sized ice cream scoop on top and a peach half. Top with the Chantilly and a few fresh raspberries. Serve right away.

Prepare the duck breasts by removing all the sinew with a small knife. Trim off any excess fat and score the skin in criss cross shapes. This will allow the meat to cook through the skin.

Place the duck fillets skin side down on a hot frying pan WITHOUT adding any oil on it, and cook on medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes, until the skin is crispy and golden brown. While cooking, drain the fat off the pan regularly. Finish the fillets by turning them over onto the flesh side and cooking until firm to touch, for about 4 minutes.

When ready, season the duck with salt and pepper and set aside, skin-side up.

Add the vinegar, lemon juice and syrup to the pan. When hot, add the thyme, walnuts and peaches and sauté for 5 minutes on medium heat, until the sides of the peaches are lightly browned.

In the meantime, dispose chicory leaves on each serving plate and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Slice each fillet thinly with a sharp knife.

When the peaches are ready, scatter on top of the chicory. Place half a duck fillet prettily net to the peaches and drizzle the sauce over the duck.

Use preferably a loose-based cake tin (I used a 20 cm square tin, a 22 cm round one will work as well). If you don’t have one, place parchment paper cut to size at the bottom of your mould to facilitate the de-moulding of the cake after it has been baked.

Butter the cake tin (and parchment paper if using) and sprinkle a bit of flour on all sides. The flour will form a barrier between the cake batter and the butter on the tin when baking, not only preventing the batter from sticking but allowing it to rise more easily.

Mix the flour with the baking powder, then add the ground almonds, granulated sugar and 75g of the icing sugar, and mix well.

Melt the butter and mix with the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt into firm peaks. This is how you do it: start by beating them on medium-low speed for a minute or so, until they form a grey foam.  Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the foam becomes smooth, moist and shiny. Stop and lift the whisk – you have achieved firm peaks when straight, upward-looking peaks form.

Gently fold the egg whites into the almond mix using a large spatula, until reaching a homogenous batter.

Pour the batter into the pan. Press delicately the raspberries one by one inside the batter until half sunk. Space them evenly, keeping a handful on the side for decorating.

Bake in the oven for 30 mins.

When ready, leave to cool. Once the cake has fully cooled down, separate its edges from the pan by running a knife’s blade carefully between the cake and the tin. De-mould the cake and place on a serving platter. Sprinkle the remaining icing sugar on top using a thieve to prevent it from lumping (with a sieve, the sugar will fall on the cake like light dust).

Place the remaining raspberries in a pretty heap or in the shape of a flower at the centre of the cake. Enjoy!!!

Cut the broccoli into small florets and steam for 7-8 minutes, until crisp tender.

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions in salted water with a dash of olive oil.

If using fresh bread slices, toast them. Dice the bread into small cubes and shred the bacon slices. Mix both with the garlic, olive oil and herbs. Spread on a piece of greaseproof paper and broil under the grill for 8-9 minutes, mixing half-way through, until the mix is nicely browned.

When the pasta is ready, drizzle it generously with olive oil and adjust the seasoning. Mix with the broccoli and top with the crumbs, and serve with parmsesan flakes on the side.

Place 4 tortillas side by side and spread on each the equivalent of 2 teaspoons of HP sauce.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat without adding any oil in it.

Once hot, place one tortilla on the dry pan, sauce side up. Sprinkle the broccoli and cheese and a bit of chopped chilli if using. Be generous with the ingredients, you want to obtain a filling on the thicker side.

Cover with another tortilla and cook until the bottom one is nicely browned. Turn the tortilla sandwich over and brown the other side.

The first tortilla may take 5 minutes to brown but be careful, once the pan is hot, things go much quicker. The broccoli should remain slightly crunchy, this is what makes these sandwiches so interesting.

Serve each tortilla cut into 8 slices with salad drizzled with vinaigrette, or with a nice tomato and coriander salsa.

Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured work surface into a 1-2 mm thick round. Cut out pastry circles slightly larger than the size of the cavities of your tartlet tray, using as a cut out a suitably sized bowl placed up side down on the pastry. Press the trimming together into a ball and roll it out again for more cut outs.

Butter the cavities of the tray (this step is not needed if using a silicon tray) and place the pastry circles inside each cavity. Pierce holes into the pastry with the help of small fork and bake for about 10-12 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned. Take out of the oven and let cool.

Place the cream and mascarpone in the freezer 15 minutes before using. Very cold cream is a key to a successful Chantilly – check out my tips here, which also apply for this mascarpone version. Mix both creams together into a bowl and whisk until the cream starts to thicken. Add the vanilla extract and sugar in small batches and stop as soon as the whisk leaves defined marks into the cream.

Unmould the pastry shells and fill them with whipped cream. Cover them with berries and reserve on a serving tray. Store in the fridge until time of serving.

Pierre Hermés shortcrust pastry recipe (2 hours before using)

Crack the egg into a small bowl; slice open the half vanilla pod and scrape the beans into a teaspoon. Reserve.

Chop the butter into small chunks, toss them into a large mixing bow and beat them with a spatula to soften. Add in succession the icing sugar, almonds, salt, vanilla beans, egg and flour, stirring well after adding each ingredient.

Shape the dough into a ball with your hands, wrap it in cling film and chill for 2 hours in the fridge before using.

In a small grinder or using a mortar and a pestle, grind the garlic, paprika, salt, rosemary and pepper into a paste. Transfer the paste to a small bowl and dilute it with the lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, oil and water.

If you did not ask your butcher to do it for you, cut the guinea fowl into two halves lengthways with a butcher’s knife. Score the skin and flesh on both sides of the bird’s halves, place them in a dish and pour the marinade over them. Rub both pieces thoroughly with it to ensure it coats all sides. Leave in the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours, turning the guinea fowl halves over and rubbing them again with the marinade halfway through.

Preheat the barbecue at high temperature and oil the grid. Place the two bird halves, skin side down, close to the heat on the barbecue. Grill for 10 minutes, checking the meat is not being exposed to high flames and brushing it with the rest of the marinade.

Turn the pieces over and grill for another 15 minutes, then place the bird halves to a higher grid and keep cooking on low heat for another 25 minutes or until cooked through. To know whether the guinea fowl is cooked, cut the flesh on the inside of a leg. The flesh should not have any pink marks at the bone.

Aubergines (10 min busy+cooking):

Wash the aubergines, trim off their ends, and cut them into disks one inch thick. Chop the garlic into fine slivers and slice the parmesan into 1mm slices. Chop parmesan slices into squareish pieces.

With a small pairing knife, cut a pocket inside each aubergine slice (think you are making a purse with a 5 cm opening slit on the skin). Slide inside each slice 3 parmesan square, one rosemary leaf, 2 garlic slivers and a few cumin seeds.

Now you can cook them in either of two ways: on the barbecue or the cooker. If grilling on the barbecue, lightly brush both sides of the slices with olive oil. Grill for 3-4 minutes of each side to get a nice colour then finish the cooking further from the heat for about 20 minutes, or until the aubergines are tender to the core. If using the cooker, DO NOT oil the aubergines. Place them flat in a large ungreased pan and cook on medium- low heat for about 30 minutes, turning them over halfway through. If some cheese were to escape, wipe it away with a paper towel to keep the pan spotless clean. Check regularly to make sure the aubergines do not burn.

Once the aubergines are cooked, drizzle with good quality olive oil and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and salt flakes.

Couscous (5 min busy):

Cook the couscous according to packet instructions.

Meanwhile, Place the raisins in a microwave-safe bowl and cover them with water so that they sit about 2cm under the water surface. Add a pinch of salt, the olive oil, curry and cumin and cook in the microwave for 10-12 minutes, until the raisins are soft and have absorbed most of the liquid. The water will bubble away so make sure your bowl is tall enough to avoid making a big mess in your microwave. If you don’t have a microwave, soften the raisins in the spiced water in a small saucepan.

When the raisins are ready, fluff the couscous with a fork and pour over it the raisins and their remaining cooking liquid. Mix well and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stir in the vinegar and transfer to a small recipient to cool down. When warm, whisk the butter and vinegar into the egg mixture.

In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat the dry mixture into the egg mixture in 2 to 3 batches, alternating with the milk. You should obtain a homogenous batter.

Pour the batter into a 20 cm round buttered cake tin or into the cavities of a muffin tray (fill in 2/3 of the way). Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40-45 minutes for the cake, 25 min for the muffins. When ready, a skewer inserted at the center of the cake or a muffin should come out clean. If not, bake for a few more minutes.

While the cake is baking, prepare the sauce by melting all the ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat.

Once the cake is baked, prick its top with a fork on several places, making a larger hole at the centre (same for the muffins). Pour 2/3 of the sauce over the cake/muffins while still in the tin, and allow the sauce to seep down into the cake for a good 10 minutes before unmoulding.

Serve warm with the rest of the sauce and fresh berries, ice-cream, or lightly cooked apricots.

Cook the polenta according to packet instructions. Typically for a creamy polenta, bring to the boil 500 mL water with sea salt. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to a low simmer. Whisking the water constantly, pour the dry polenta in a thin stream into the water. Keep stirring during the entire cooking time required by the instructions (about one minute for instant polenta) to prevent lumps from forming.

When ready, stir in two thirds of the parmesan and all the mascarpone. Add a bit of warm water to soften the polenta further if needed, then stir in delicately two thirds of the salsa.

Serve the polenta in large bowls with a spoonful of the remaining salsa on top and parmesan flakes. Enjoy immediately.