Recipes and Ideas
Two friends came for supper. We sat at the kitchen table with the garden doors wide open. This is ‘allowed’, indeed we could have had the doors closed but it’s still warm enough not to. Apart from that short discussion around virus etiquette (vetiquette?) it all felt reassuringly normal. I...Read More »

Rich, proper chocolate cake. Makes a great vegan birthday cake, or for someone with an egg allergy. Also very good served warm as a pudding, with thick cream. It is very quick and easy to make so works well for large numbers.
Ingredients
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These simple souffles are made ahead so it’s a realistic recipe for lots of people, provided you have enough ramekins.
Ingredients
serves, 8 people, 16 people, 35 people
mushrooms, 150g, 300g, 600g
butter, 50g, 100g, 200g
tarragon, 20g, 40g, 80g
extra butter for greasing
plain flour, 25g, 50g, 100g
whole milk, 300ml,...Read More »
This Nigella Lawson recipe works extremely well for large numbers as it’s very easy to make in a huge saucepan and extremely forgiving of almost any baking tray or oven.
Ingredients
ingredients |
serves 15 |
serves 30 |
serves 90 |
butter |
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A very simple but popular meal for lots of people: boiled gammon, mashed potato, and red cabbage. It’s low-budget and can be done in advance. It doesn’t sound or look very glamorous but it’s surprisingly delicious.
Baked Gammon
For 80 people you need between 10 kilos (mean) to 18 kilos (very generous) of gammon, boneless to make...Read More »

I have just come back from cooking at one of my favourite places in the world, The Abbey in Sutton Courtenay. I was cooking for a group doing a mindfulness retreat led by Alistair Appleton. One of the meals was eaten in...Read More »

Just back from The Hinterlands photographers workshop in Blackdown Yurts, a wonderful place in Devon. I was cooking for about 25 people in a shed – no running water! And only a small electric oven. So I knew I had to do as much cooking as possible...Read More »