It’s a bit eerie at Westfield Stratford, thousands of people all walking in the same direction and with the same expression on their face. ‘Day of the dead,’ says M glumly as we watch from behind the safety of our security barrier, He’s right the resemblance to zombies is undeniable, although to be fair most zombies wouldn’t be seen undead in a shell suit and many have better complexions.

Nduja. It doesn’t sound very Italian does it? More like a weapon used by a Kung Fu master, some kind of thing with blades sticking out that once thrown comes back like a boomerang lopping off people’s heads.It is Italian though, Calabrian to be precise.

This year’s pop-up ‘Galleria’ by Illy offers complimentary courses at its ‘University of Coffee’ among its heady cultural programme.

The point of a slow cooker is twofold. Slow cooking makes cheap cuts of meat tender and slow cookers can be left pretty much to themselves all day. This means that you can come home to a hot meal with tasty aromas filling the house, and in my case back then, drowning out the aroma of Mark B’s waccy baccy, which he grew in the attic under arc lights until the police came round questioning our power consumption.

Argentina will be taking over a small part of south London this weekend as the Tastes of Argentina event comes to the Southbank’s wine bastion, Vinopolis.

I’m very impatient – so much so that if something takes ninety seconds in the microwave, I’ll put it in for eighty-eight so as to avoid the time spent getting my index finger across the vast expanse of keypad separating the ‘9’ and the ‘0’. I guess the very fact that I use the microwave often enough for this time saving technique to become worthwhile is testament to my reluctance to wait for anything.

The foodepedia team list the foodstuffs they’d stock up on in preparation for the end of the world.

Jamaica Ginger Cake never lasts very long in our house. Certainly not long enough to make other things with. But if you’re the more patient/less greedy type, why not try a couple of recipes from tv chef Rustie Lee.

I’ve never been a fan of cider – it brings back too many bad memories. Most resounding of these is that of when, at the age of fifteen, in the queue to a scuzzy underage night in East London, my friend handed me an unmarked bottle of ‘White Ace’ that I foolishly took a swig of. Not believing that a drink could taste that bad – and all too aware of Tom’s reputation as a prankster – I remember wondering how Tom had managed to carbonate his own urine.

There’s no doubt that Mondavi can give the other new worlders a run for their money, and for your money you could do a great deal worse.